Wisdom of Solomon — Chapter 10
Wisdom preserves the righteous through history
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Greek-source study and notes · III. Wisdom
From the first-formed man to the rescued righteous
10:1 She guarded the first-formed father of the world,
who had been created alone,
and delivered him from his own transgression;
10:2 and she gave him strength to rule over all things.
10:3 But an unrighteous man, departing from her in his anger,
perished with the passions that made him kill his brother.
10:4 Because of him the earth was being flooded, but wisdom again saved it,
steering the righteous man by means of humble wood.
10:5 When nations were confounded in their shared wickedness,
she recognized the righteous man and kept him blameless before God,
and preserved him strong against compassion for his child.
10:6 When the ungodly were being destroyed, she rescued a righteous man
who fled the fire descending upon the Five Cities.
10:7 As a witness to its wickedness there still stands a smoking wasteland,
and plants whose fruit never reaches ripeness,
and a standing pillar of salt, a memorial to a disbelieving soul.
10:8 For by passing wisdom by,
they were harmed not only by failing to know what is good,
but also left life a memorial of their folly,
so that even in the things in which they failed they could not escape notice.
10:9 But wisdom rescued those who served her from troubles.
The fugitive and the righteous man sold away
10:10 She guided a righteous man fleeing his brother’s anger along upright paths;
she showed him God’s kingdom
and gave him knowledge of holy things;
she made him prosper in his hardships
and multiplied the fruit of his labors.
10:11 She stood beside him against those who overpowered him in their greed,
and made him rich.
10:12 She guarded him from enemies
and kept him safe from those lying in wait;
she presided over a mighty contest for him,
so that he might know that devotion to God is stronger than everything.
10:13 She did not abandon a righteous man who had been sold,
but rescued him from sin;
10:14 she went down with him into a pit
and did not leave him in bonds,
until she brought him the scepters of kingship
and authority over those who ruled him;
she showed those who accused him to be liars
and gave him everlasting glory.
A holy people delivered through the sea
10:15 She rescued a holy people and blameless offspring
from a nation of oppressors;
10:16 she entered the soul of a servant of the Lord
and opposed terrifying kings with wonders and signs.
10:17 She repaid the holy ones the reward of their labors,
guided them on a marvelous way,
and became for them a covering by day
and a flame of stars by night.
10:18 She brought them across the Red Sea
and led them through abundant water;
10:19 but their enemies she overwhelmed with the flood
and cast them up from the depth of the abyss.
10:20 Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly
and sang hymns, Lord, to Your holy name,
and praised with one accord Your hand that fought for them;
10:21 for wisdom opened the mouth of the mute
and made the tongues of infants speak clearly.
Source and editorial notes
Working translation preserved from the recovered manuscript of 8 September 2026. Declared source: Septuaginta, Rahlfs–Hanhart, 2006, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, publisher’s Greek main text. Independent linguistic and critical-apparatus review remains outstanding. Source-access and reception claims in the inherited notes have not been freshly revalidated. Chapter and section headings are editorial.
Source numbering retained: chapter 17 ends at 17:20.
10:1 Wisdom is the subject. The unnamed description is retained; this historical retelling is not expanded by inserting names into the text.
10:3 The compound ἀδελφοκτόνος explicitly concerns killing a brother. The person remains unnamed.
10:4 The causal ‘because of him’ is explicit and is not replaced with a different account of the flood. ‘Humble wood’ preserves ξύλον rather than adding the noun ark.
10:5 The last phrase concerns the inward affection evoked by a child; ‘against’ represents the difficult relation expressed by ἐπί. The tension is retained for review.
10:6 Πεντάπολις is the district of five cities; the numerical force is retained.
10:7 The landscape, unripe fruit, and salt pillar are three distinct witnesses. No personal name is inserted.
10:8 The ‘not only … but also’ structure and the purpose clause are both retained.
10:10 Ἅγια is rendered holy things, though holy beings is grammatically possible. ‘The fruit of’ supplies the productive sense of multiplying his labors rather than multiplying his suffering.
10:12 Ἐβράβευσεν concerns acting as an arbiter or awarding a contest. ‘Presided over’ retains that role without adding an unexpressed opponent’s identity.
10:13 The sale remains explicit; the text does not here name the righteous man.
10:14 The source’s pit, bonds, royal scepters, and reversal of authority are all retained.
10:16 The subject remains wisdom. ‘A servant of the Lord’ is not replaced with a supplied name.
10:17 The unusual ‘flame of stars’ retains the actual Greek image rather than substituting a familiar pillar-of-fire formulation.
10:18 The declared source explicitly names the Red Sea.
10:19 The two actions are flooding and casting up; the latter is not omitted because it differs from a simpler drowning account.
10:20 The narrative turns to direct address of the Lord within the verse.
10:21 Κωφοί can concern deafness or muteness; opening the mouth supports mute here. The infants’ clear speech is separately stated.
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