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Wisdom of Solomon

About this book

The Suffering and Hope of the Righteous

Chapter 3

1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,⁠ and no torment will touch them.⁠ 2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died. Their departure was considered a disaster,⁠ 3 and their travel away from us ruin, but they are in peace.⁠ 4 For even if in the sight of men they are punished, their hope is full of immortality.⁠ 5 Having borne a little chastening, they will receive great good; because God tested them, and found them worthy of himself.⁠ 6 He tested them like gold in the furnace,⁠ and he accepted them as a whole burnt offering. 7 In the time of their visitation they will shine. They will run back and forth like sparks among stubble.⁠ 8 They will judge nations and have dominion over peoples. The Lord will reign over them forever.⁠ 9 Those who trust him will understand truth. The faithful will live with him in love, because grace and mercy are with his chosen ones. 10 But the ungodly will be punished even as their reasoning deserves, those who neglected righteousness and revolted from the Lord; 11 for he who despises wisdom and discipline is miserable.⁠ Their hope is void and their toils unprofitable. Their works are useless. 12 Their wives are foolish and their children are wicked.

Virtue, Childlessness, and Lasting Fruitfulness

13 Their descendants are cursed. For the barren woman who is undefiled is happy, she who has not conceived in transgression. She will have fruit when God examines souls.⁠ 14 So is the eunuch who has done no lawless deed with his hands, nor imagined wicked things against the Lord; for a precious gift will be given to him for his faithfulness, and a delightful inheritance in the Lord’s sanctuary. 15 For good labors have fruit of great renown. The root of understanding can’t fail. 16 But children of adulterers will not come to maturity. The seed of an unlawful union will vanish away. 17 For if they live long, they will not be esteemed, and in the end, their old age will be without honor. 18 If they die young, they will have no hope, nor consolation in the day of judgment. 19 For the end of an unrighteous generation is grievous.

Texts in conversation

Compare Sirach 41:8 and Wisdom of Solomon 3:13

Deuterocanon

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Summary

Sirach warns that those who abandon the Torah bring disgrace to themselves and their children, reversing the pattern of children honoring their parents. Wisdom of Solomon builds on this, portraying the fall of sinners and their children as a consequence.

Passages

Sirach 41:8

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
6 The inheritance of sinners’ children will perish and with their posterity will be a perpetual disgrace. 7 Children will complain of an ungodly father, because they suffer disgrace because of him. 8 Woe to you, ungodly men, who have forsaken the law of the Most High God! 9 If you are born, you will be born to a curse. If you die, a curse will be your portion. 10 All things that are of the earth will go back to the earth; so the ungodly will go from a curse to perdition.
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

Wisdom of Solomon 3:13

Deuterocanon
11 for he who despises wisdom and discipline is miserable. Their hope is void and their toils unprofitable. Their works are useless. 12 Their wives are foolish and their children are wicked. 13 Their descendants are cursed. For the barren woman who is undefiled is happy, she who has not conceived in transgression. She will have fruit when God examines souls. 14 So is the eunuch who has done no lawless deed with his hands, nor imagined wicked things against the Lord; for a precious gift will be given to him for his faithfulness, and a delightful inheritance in the Lord’s sanctuary. 15 For good labors have fruit of great renown. The root of understanding can’t fail.
50 BCE – 50 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Wisdom of Solomon

References

"... Ben Sira now reflects on the unhappy earthly fate of the wicked (41:5-10), whose descendants are unsuccessful and whose name is a disgrace (Job 18:1721; Psalm 21:11). According to the sage, sinners’ children lose their power and gain dishonor (Wisdom of Solomon 3:17-19; 4:19). Against the usual biblical pattern for family life (Deuteronomy 27:16; Proverbs 31:28), these children will curse a father whose wickedness has caused them disgrace (Wisdom of Solomon 12:10-11). Sirach 41:8 laments those who forsake the Torah (49:4), a great temptation to Ben Sira’s students because of the strong influence of pagan Greek culture around that time (2 Maccabees 4:12-17). Whereas the human body decays (41:11), a good reputation is permanent, more precious than treasures (Proverbs 10:7; 22:1) ..."
Daniel Durken, ed., The New Collegeville Bible Commentary: In One Volume (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017), 1275.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Sirach 41:8 and Wisdom of Solomon 3:13

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