ḤAḴMAH 5 (Wisdom 5)

1 Then the righteous shall stand in great boldness before the face of those who have afflicted Him, and taken no account of His works.

2 When they see it, they shall be troubled with awesome fear, and shall be amazed at the mystery of His salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for.

3 And they, repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit, shall say within themselves, “This was He, whom we once mocked, and a proverb of reproach.

4 “We fools accounted His ḥai madness, and His end to be without esteem.

5 “How is He numbered among the children of Elohim, and His lot is among the qodeshim?

6 “Therefore we have strayed from the Way of truth, and the light of righteousness has not shined upon us, and the brilliance of righteousness did not rise upon us.

7 “We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction; we have also gone through deserts where there was no path; but as for the Way of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, we have not known it.

8 “What has pride profited us, or what good has wealth with our boasting brought us?”

9 All these have passed away like a shadow,
And as a rumour that hastened away.

10 And as a ship that passes over the waves of the water,
Which when it has passed, the trace of it is unable to be found,
Neither the pathway of the keel in the waves.

11 Or as when a bird has flown through the air,
There is no sign of its way to be found,
But the air being lightly beaten with the stroke of its wings and parted with the rapid noise and motion of them is passed through;
And after passing there is no sign of it to be found.

12 Or as when an arrow is shot at a mark,
It parts the air, which immediately comes together again,
So one cannot know where it went through.

13 Even so, we also, as soon as we were born,
Began to draw to our end and had no sign of uprightness to show,
But were consumed in our wickedness.

14 For the expectancy of the unrighteous is like dust that is blown away with the wind;
Like a thin frost that is driven away with the storm;
As the smoke which is dispersed here and there with a storm,
And passes like the remembrance of a guest who stays but a day.

15 But the righteous live forever;
Even so, their reward is with 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄,
And the Most High looks after them.

16 Therefore they shall receive an esteemed reign,
and a lovely crown from the hand of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄:
For with His right hand He shall cover them,
And with His arm He shall protect them.

17 He shall take his ardour as complete armour,
And make creation His weapon for the vengeance of His enemies.

18 He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And true judgment in place of a helmet.

19 He shall take qodeshah for an invincible shield.

20 He shall sharpen His severe wrath as a sword,
And the earth shall fight with Him against the foolish.

21 Then the thunderbolts aimed true shall go out;
And from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow,
They shall fly to the mark.

22 And hailstones filled with wrath shall be thrown as a stone out of bow,
And the water of the sea shall rage against them,
And the floods shall cruelly drown them.

23 A mighty wind shall also stand up against them,
And blow them away like a storm:
So wickedness shall lay waste the whole earth,
And evil works shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.