Exhortation to Uprightness

(Wis 6:1–11)

1 Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth,

think of the Lord in goodness

and seek him with sincerity of heart;

2 because he is found by those who do not put him to the test,

and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.

3 For perverse thoughts separate people from God,

and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish;

4 because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul,

or dwell in a body enslaved to sin.

5 For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit,

and will leave foolish thoughts behind,

and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.

6 For wisdom is a kindly spirit,

but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words;

because God is witness of their inmost feelings,

and a true observer of their hearts, and a hearer of their tongues.

7 Because the spirit of the Lord has filled the world,

and that which holds all things together knows what is said,

8 therefore those who utter unrighteous things will not escape notice,

and justice, when it punishes, will not pass them by.

9 For inquiry will be made into the counsels of the ungodly,

and a report of their words will come to the Lord,

to convict them of their lawless deeds;

10 because a jealous ear hears all things,

and the sound of grumbling does not go unheard.

11 Beware then of useless grumbling,

and keep your tongue from slander;

because no secret word is without result,a

and a lying mouth destroys the soul.

12 Do not invite death by the error of your life,

or bring on destruction by the works of your hands;

13 because God did not make death,

and he does not delight in the death of the living.

14 For he created all things so that they might exist;

the generative forcesb of the world are wholesome,

and there is no destructive poison in them,

and the dominionc of Hades is not on earth.

15 For righteousness is immortal.