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1Do not desire to have many children if they are worthless;
do not delight in godless offspring.
2No matter how many children you have, don’t rejoice over them
unless they are godly.
3Don’t count on them living a long time
or take confidence in how many there are.
For one can be better than a thousand,
and it is better to die childless than to have ungodly children.
4One intelligent person can cause a city to become populated,
but a clan of rebels causes it to become deserted.
5My eyes have seen many things like this,
and my ears have heard things even more astounding.
6A fire was kindled in Korah’s group of sinners,[#16:6 In 16:6-10, Korah, Canaanites and Israelites are alluded to but not explicitly named in the Greek text.]
and the Lord’s wrath blazed up within the disobedient nation.
7The Lord did not forgive the ancient giants,
who used their strength to rebel.
8He did not spare Lot’s neighbors;
he detested them for their pride.
9The Lord showed no pity for the doomed nation of Canaanites,
who were uprooted for their sins.
10Nor did he have pity on the 600,000 Israelite foot soldiers
that gathered together in their stubbornness.
11Even if there had been only one stubborn person,
it would have been amazing if he had escaped unpunished.
For the Lord possesses both mercy and wrath;
he forgives a great deal, but he also pours out wrath.
12His mercy is great, but so is his punishment.
He judges people according to their deeds.
13He does not let sinners escape with their plunder
or allow the patience of the godly to go unrewarded.
14He credits every act of mercy in a person’s favor,[#16:14a Or He shows mercy wherever he can.]
and all are treated as their deeds deserve.
17Don’t say, “I am hidden from the Lord.
Who will remember me from on high?
No one will notice me in such a large crowd.
What do I amount to in such an immense creation?
18Look! The very highest heavens,
the watery depths, and the earth tremble at the Lord’s coming.
19The mountains and the foundations of the earth
tremble and shake when he looks at them.
20But no mind thinks about these things,
for who can comprehend his ways?
21Just as the wind of a storm cannot be seen,
so most of the Lord’s works are hidden.
22Who will announce his acts of justice?
Or who will wait for them to happen?
It will be a long time before he carries out what he has decreed.”
23This is how people who lack understanding think.
They are foolish, senseless, and misguided.
24Listen to me, my child, and gain knowledge.
Focus your thoughts on my words.
25I will measure out my learning
and declare knowledge accurately.
26When the Lord created his works in the beginning
and determined the natural laws of creation,
27he arranged things in a certain order forever
and assigned their dominion for all generations.
They do not grow hungry or weary,
nor do they shirk their duties.
28They do not crowd each other,
and they never disobey his word.
29After this the Lord looked at the earth
and filled it with his good things.
30He covered its surface with all kinds of living things,
and to the earth they must return.