Anonymous (Septuagint) · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| But every righteous soul rests securely within God's own hand, and no torment shall touch them.
2| In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was reckoned a disaster,
3| and their going from us a ruin; but they are at peace.
4| For even if in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality;
5| and having been disciplined a little, they will be greatly benefited, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself.
6| Like gold in a furnace he tested them, and like a whole burnt offering he accepted them.
7| And when the season of their reckoning comes, they will shine out, and will run about like sparks through stubble;
8| they will judge nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever.
9| Those who trust in him will understand the truth, and the faithful will remain with him in love, because grace and mercy are for his chosen ones.
10| But the ungodly will have punishment to match their reasoning, those who neglected the righteous man and turned away from the Lord.
11| For the one who despises wisdom and instruction is wretched, and their hope is empty and their toils unprofitable, and their works useless.
12| Their spouses lack sense, and their sons are wicked; the children they produce are under a curse.
13| For blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled, who has not known a bed in transgression; she will have fruit at the visitation of souls.
14| And blessed is the eunuch who has done no lawless deed with his hand, nor devised wicked things against the Lord; for to him will be given a choice grace of faithfulness, and a most delightful portion in the temple of the Lord.
15| For the fruit of good labors is glorious, and the root of understanding does not fail.
16| But the children of adulterers will not come to maturity, and the offspring of an unlawful bed will vanish away.
17| For even if they live long, they will be counted as nothing, and in the end their old age will be without honor;
18| and should death take them swiftly, they hold no hope, nor any comfort on the day of judgment.
19| For the ends of an unjust generation are harsh.