ḤAḴMAH 12 (Wisdom 12)

1 For Your incorruptible Ruaḥ is in all.

2 Therefore little by little You discipline those who offend,
And warn them by keeping them in remembrance of that in which they have sinned,
So that turning from their wickedness they believe on You, O 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.

3 By the hands of our fathers You determined to destroy both those old inhabitants of Your qodesh land,

4 Whom You hated for doing most abominable works of witchcraft and wicked slaughterings;

5 And also those cruel murderers of children,
And devourers of the flesh of man, and the feasts of blood,

6 With their priests from among their idolatrous group,
And the parents, that killed helpless lives with their own hands;

7 So that the land, which You esteemed above all other,
Might receive a worthy assembly of children of Elohim.

8 Nevertheless even those You spared, being but men,
And sent hornets – forerunners of your host – to destroy them little by little.

9 Not that You were unable to bring the wicked under the hand of the righteous in battle,
Or to destroy them at once with cruel beasts, or with one stern word;

10 But executing Your judgments upon them little by little,
You gave them place for repentance, not being ignorant that they were a wicked generation,
And that their evil was inherited, and that their minds could never be changed.

11 For it was a cursed seed from the beginning;
Neither for fear of any man did You pardon them for those matters in which they sinned.

12 For who shall say, “What have You done?”
Or who shall withstand Your judgment?
Or who shall accuse You for the nations that perish, whom You made?
Or who shall come to stand against You, to be avenged for the unrighteous?

13 For neither is there any Elohim but You that looks after all,
To whom You might show that Your judgment is not unrighteous.

14 Neither shall sovereign or ruler be able to turn his face against you for any whom You have punished.

15 Even as You Yourself are righteous, You order all righteously;
Determining it not agreeable within Your power to condemn he who does not deserve to be punished.

16 For Your power is the beginning of righteousness,
And because You are Aḏon of all, it causes You to show favour to all.

17 For when men shall not believe that You are all powerful,
You show Your strength,
And among those who know it You make their boldness manifest.

18 But You, mastering Your power, rightly rule with straightness,
And command us with great favour;
For You determine when You use Your power.

19 But by such works You have taught Your people that the righteous man should be kind,
And have prepared Your children with good expectancy that You allow repentance for sins.

20 For if You punished the enemies of Your children,
And those condemned to death, with such deliberation, giving them time and place,
Whereby they might be delivered from their evil;

21 With what great discernment You rightly ruled Your own children,
Unto whose fathers You have sworn, And made Covenants of good promises?

22 Therefore, whereas You discipline us,
You scourge our enemies one thousand times more,
To the intent that, when we judge,
we should carefully think of Your goodness,
And when we ourselves are judged, we should look for kindness.

23 Wherefore, whereas men have lived corruptly and unrighteously,
You have punished them with their own abominations.

24 For they went very far astray in the ways of straying,
And upheld for mighty ones, the beasts which even among their enemies were despised,
Being deceived, as children of no understanding.

25 Therefore unto them, as children without the use of reason,
You sent a judgment to mock them.

26 But those who would not repent by that correction, in which He scolded them,
Shall feel a deserved judgment from Elohim.

27 See, for what matters they grumbled, when they were punished,
That is, from those which they thought to be mighty ones;
Being punished because of them, when they saw it,
They acknowledged Him to be the true Elohim, whom before they refused to know:
And therefore severe judgment came upon them.