Wisdom 7 • Wisdom’s worth and her radiant spirit — Greek text and reception

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I too am a mortal human being, equal to all,

and a descendant of the first-formed earthborn man;

in a mother’s womb I was sculpted into flesh,

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taking form in blood over a time of ten months,

from a man’s seed and the pleasure that accompanied sleep.

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And when I was born, I drew in the common air

and fell upon the earth that shares the same lot,

crying as my first sound just like everyone else.

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I was brought up in swaddling clothes and attentive care.

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For no king had a different beginning of birth;

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all have one entrance into life, and the same departure.

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Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me;

I called out, and a spirit of wisdom came to me.

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I preferred her to scepters and thrones,

and reckoned wealth as nothing in comparison with her.

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Nor did I compare a priceless stone with her,

for all gold in her sight is a little sand,

and silver will be reckoned as clay before her.

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I loved her more than health and beauty,

and chose to have her rather than light,

because the radiance that comes from her never sleeps.

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But all good things came to me together with her,

and immeasurable wealth was in her hands.

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I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom leads them,

but I did not know that she was their mother.

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I learned without deceit and share without envy;

I do not conceal her wealth.

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For she is an unfailing treasure for human beings;

those who acquire it enter into friendship with God,

commended by the gifts that come from discipline.

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May God grant me to speak with judgment

and to reflect worthily on what has been given,

for He is both the guide of wisdom

and the corrector of the wise.

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For in His hand are both we and our words,

all understanding and skill in crafts.

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For He Himself gave me unerring knowledge of existing things:

to know the composition of the world and the activity of the elements,

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the beginning and end and middle of times,

the changes of the solstices and the transitions of seasons,

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the cycles of the year and the positions of stars,

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the natures of living creatures and the tempers of wild animals,

the forces of winds and the reasonings of human beings,

the varieties of plants and the powers of roots.

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I learned all that is hidden and manifest,

for wisdom, the artisan of all things, taught me.

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For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy,

unique, manifold, subtle,

agile, lucid, undefiled,

clear, unharmed, loving the good, keen,

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unhindered, beneficent, loving humanity,

steadfast, secure, free from care,

all-powerful, all-overseeing,

and passing through all spirits

that are intelligent, pure, and most subtle.

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For wisdom is more mobile than every motion;

she penetrates and passes through all things because of her purity.

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For she is a breath of God’s power

and a pure outflow of the Almighty’s glory;

therefore nothing defiled enters into her.

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For she is a radiance of eternal light,

an unstained mirror of God’s activity,

and an image of His goodness.

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Though she is one, she can do all things;

remaining in herself, she renews all things,

and passing into holy souls from generation to generation,

she makes friends of God and prophets.

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For God loves no one except the one who dwells with wisdom.

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For she is more beautiful than the sun

and surpasses every arrangement of stars;

compared with light, she is found superior.

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For night succeeds light,

but evil does not overpower wisdom.