| 1 Εἰμὶ μὲν κἀγὼ θνητὸς ἄνθρωπος ἴσος ἅπασιν καὶ γηγενοῦς ἀπόγονος πρωτοπλάστου· καὶ ἐν κοιλίᾳ μητρὸς ἐγλύφην σὰρξ 2 δεκαμηνιαίῳ χρόνῳ παγεὶς ἐν αἵματι ἐκ σπέρματος ἀνδρὸς καὶ ἡδονῆς ὕπνῳ συνελθούσης. 3 καὶ ἐγὼ δὲ γενόμενος ἔσπασα τὸν κοινὸν ἀέρα καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ὁμοιοπαθῆ κατέπεσον γῆν πρώτην φωνὴν τὴν ὁμοίαν πᾶσιν ἴσα κλαίων· 4 ἐν σπαργάνοις ἀνετράφην καὶ φροντίσιν. 5 οὐδεὶς γὰρ βασιλέων ἑτέραν ἔσχεν γενέσεως ἀρχήν, 6 μία δὲ πάντων εἴσοδος εἰς τὸν βίον ἔξοδός τε ἴση. | 1 I myself am also a mortal man, equal to all, and a descendant of the first-formed, earthborn creature. In my mother’s womb I was sculpted into flesh, 2 compacted in blood during a ten-month period from the seed of a man and the pleasure that accompanies sleep. 3 And when I was born, I drew in the common air and fell upon the earth that suffers the same vulnerabilities; my first voice, like everyone else's, was a matching cry. 4 I was nurtured in swaddling clothes and in anxieties. 5 For no king ever had a different beginning of existence; 6 there is one entry into life for all, and an equal exit. |
| 7 διὰ τοῦτο εὐξάμην, καὶ φρόνησις ἐδόθη μοι· ἐπεκαλεσάμην, καὶ ἦλθέν μοι πνεῦμα σοφίας. 8 προέκρινα αὐτὴν σκήπτρων καὶ θρόνων καὶ πλοῦτον οὐδὲν ἡγησάμην ἐν συγκρίσει αὐτῆς· 9 οὐδὲ ὡμοίωσα αὐτῇ λίθον ἀτίμητον, ὅτι ὁ πᾶς χρυσὸς ἐν ὄψει αὐτῆς ψάμμος ὀλίγη, καὶ ὡς πηλὸς λογισθήσεται ἄργυρος ἐναντίον αὐτῆς· 10 ὑπὲρ ὑγίειαν καὶ εὐμορφίαν ἠγάπησα αὐτὴν καὶ προειλόμην αὐτὴν ἀντὶ φωτὸς ἔχειν, ὅτι ἀκοίμητον τὸ ἐκ ταύτης φέγγος. 11 ἦλθεν δέ μοι τὰ ἀγαθὰ ὁμοῦ πάντα μετ' αὐτῆς καὶ ἀναρίθμητος πλοῦτος ἐν χερσὶν αὐτῆς· 12 εὐφράνθην δὲ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἡγεῖται σοφία, ἠγνόουν δὲ αὐτὴν γενέτιν εἶναι τούτων. 13 ἀδόλως τε ἔμαθον ἀφθόνως τε μεταδίδωμι, τὸν πλοῦτον αὐτῆς οὐκ ἀποκρύπτομαι· 14 ἀνεκλιπὴς γὰρ θησαυρός ἐστιν ἀνθρώποις, ὃν οἱ κτησάμενοι πρὸς θεὸν ἐστείλαντο φιλίαν διὰ τὰς ἐκ παιδείας δωρεὰς συσταθέντες. |
7 Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given to me; I called out, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. 8 I preferred her to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her. 9 Neither did I liken any priceless stone to her, because all gold in her sight is but a little sand, and silver will be accounted as clay before her.
10 I loved her more than health and physical beauty, and I chose to have her instead of light, because the radiance that comes from her never sleeps. 11 All good things came to me along with her, and innumerable riches are in her hands. 12 I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom leads them; though I did not know then that she was their mother. 13 Unstintingly I learned, and ungrudgingly I share; I do not hide her wealth away. 14 For she is an unfailing treasure for humans; those who make use of it secure friendship with God, commended by the gifts that come from instruction. |
| THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES | THE LIFE SCIENCES |
|---|---|
| Composition of the world. | Natures of living animals. |
| Behavior of elements. | Forces of winds. |
| Astronomy & constellations. | Properties of medicinal roots. |
| 15 ἐμοὶ δὲ δῴη ὁ θεὸς εἰπεῖν κατὰ γνώμην καὶ ἐνθυμηθῆναι ἀξίως τῶν δεδομένων, ὅτι αὐτὸς καὶ τῆς σοφίας ὁδηγός ἐστιν καὶ τῶν σοφῶν διορθωτής. 16 ἐν γὰρ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡμεῖς καὶ οἱ λόγοι ἡμῶν πᾶσά τε φρόνησις καὶ ἐργατειῶν ἐπιστήμη. 17 αὐτὸς γάρ μοι ἔδωκεν τῶν ὄντων γνῶσιν ἀψευδῆ εἰδέναι σύστασιν κόσμου καὶ ἐνέργειαν στοιχείων, 18 ἀρχὴν καὶ τέλος καὶ μεσότητα χρόνων, τροπῶν ἀλλαγὰς καὶ μεταβολὰς καιρῶν, 19 ἐνιαυτοῦ κύκλους καὶ ἄστρων θέσεις, 20 φύσεις ζῴων καὶ θυμοὺς θηρίων, πνευμάτων βίας καὶ διαλογισμοὺς ἀνθρώπων, διαφορὰς φυτῶν καὶ δυνάμεις ῥιζῶν, 21 ὅσα τέ ἐστιν κρυπτὰ καὶ ἐμφανῆ ἔγνων· ἡ γὰρ πάντων τεχνῖτις ἐδίδαξέν με σοφία. |
15 May God grant me to speak according to His mind, and to conceive thoughts worthy of the gifts given to me; for He is the guide even of wisdom and the director of the wise. 16 For both we and our words are in His hand, as well as all understanding and skill in crafts.
17 For He Himself gave me unerring knowledge of the things that exist: to know the structure of the universe and the operation of the elements; 18 the beginning, the end, and the midpoint of times; the alterations of the solstices and the changes of seasons; 19 the cycles of years and the positions of stars; 20 the natures of animals and the tempers of wild beasts; the forces of winds and the reasonings of humans; the diversities of plants and the virtues of roots. 21 I learned both what is secret and what is manifest; for wisdom, the artisan of all things, taught me. |
| 22 ἔστιν γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ πνεῦμα νοερόν, ἅγιον, μονογενές, πολυμερές, λεπτόν, εὐκίνητον, τρανόν, ἀμόλυντον, σαφές, ἀπήμαντον, φιλάγαθον, ὀξύ, 23 ἀκώλυτον, εὐεργετικόν, φιλάνθρωπον, βέβαιον, ἀσφαλές, ἀμέριμνον, παντοδύναμον, πανεπίσκοπον καὶ διὰ πάντων χωροῦν πνευμάτων νοερῶν καθαρῶν λεπτοτάτων. |
22 For there is in her a spirit that is: Intelligent (noeron) Holy (hagion) Unique (monogenes) Manifold (polymeres) Subtle (lepton) Mobile (eukinēton) Clear (tranon) Unpolluted (amolynton) Distinct (saphes) Inviolable (apēmanton) Loving the good (philagathon) Sharp (oxy) Irresistible (akōlyton) Beneficent (eyergetikon)
23 Philanthropic / Loving humanity (philanthrōpon) Steadfast (bebaion) Secure (asphales) Free from anxiety (amerimnon) All-powerful (pantodynamon) All-surveying (panepiskopon) And penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent, pure, and most subtle. |
| 24 πάσης γὰρ κινήσεως κινητικώτερον σοφία, διήκει δὲ καὶ χωρεῖ διὰ πάντων διὰ τὴν καθαρότητα· 25 ἀτμὶς γάρ ἐστιν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμεως καὶ ἀπόρροια τῆς τοῦ παντοκράτορος δόξης εἰλικρινής· διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲν μεμιαμμένον εἰς αὐτὴν παρεμπίπτει. 26 ἀπαύγασμα γάρ ἐστιν φωτὸς ἀϊδίου καὶ ἔσοπτρον ἀκηλίδωτον τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐνεργείας καὶ εἰκὼν τῆς ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ. 27 μία δὲ οὖσα πάντα δύναται καὶ μένουσα ἐν αὑτῇ τὰ πάντα καινίζει καὶ κατὰ γενεὰς εἰς ψυχὰς ὁσίας μεταβαίνουσα φίλους θεοῦ καὶ προφήτας κατασκευάζει· 28 οὐθὲν γὰρ ἀγαπᾷ ὁ θεὸς εἰ μὴ τὸν σοφίᾳ συνοικοῦντα. 29 ἔστιν γὰρ αὕτη εὐπρεπεστέρα ἡλίου καὶ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἄστρων θέσιν. φωτὶ συγκρινομένη εὑρίσκεται προτέρα· 30 τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ διαδέχεται νύξ, σοφίας δὲ οὐ κατισχύει κακία. |
24 For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; she pervades and penetrates through all things by reason of her purity. 25 For she is a breath (atmis) of the power of God, and a pure emanation (aporroia) of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
26 For she is a reflection (apaugasma) of eternal light, and a spotless mirror (esoptron akēlidōton) of the working of God, and an image of His goodness. 27 Though she is but one, she can do all things; and while remaining in herself, she renews all things. Generation after generation, passing into holy souls, she makes them friends of God and prophets; 28 for God loves nothing so much as the person who cohabits with wisdom (sophia synoikounta). 29 For she is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of stars. Compared with the light of day, she is found to be superior; 30 for daylight is succeeded by night, but wickedness cannot overpower wisdom. |
1. The Radical Equalization of Human Embryology (v. 1–6)
The speaker (traditionally understood as King Solomon, though unnamed) begins his grand discourse on sovereignty by violently stripping away royal mystique. Instead of claiming a semi-divine lineage common among Hellenistic pharaohs and emperors, he asserts an absolute, raw biological equality with the lowest peasant.
He is a descendant of the prōtoplastou—the "first-formed, earthborn" Adam.
His gestation is explicitly mammalian: dekamēniaiō chronō (a ten-month period, calculating by lunar months), clotted in blood (pageis en haimati) from normal human reproduction.
He hits the ground onto the homoiopathē gēn—the earth that treats everyone with the exact same harsh physics—and his first sound is a common human sob. By deconstructing the royal body down to fluid, tissue, and swaddling clothes, the author argues that political supremacy is entirely artificial. True aristocracy is entirely post-natal, achieved solely through the moral acquisition of Wisdom.
2. The Ancient Encyclopedic Curriculum (v. 17–21)
This passage is one of our most important historical snapshots of what a highly educated Jewish thinker in Alexandria considered the peak of scientific literacy. Solomon claims that Wisdom gave him an apsyudē gnōsin ("unerring, non-false knowledge") of the physical cosmos. This curriculum closely mimics the classical Hellenistic sciences:
Physics & Cosmology: The interaction of elements (energeian stoicheiōn).
Astronomy: The cycles of the year, tracking solstices, and cosmic mapping (asterōn theseis).
Zoology & Psychology: The behavior of wild animals and the internal mechanics of human psychology (dialogismous anthrōpōn).
Pharmacology & Botany: The medicinal hidden properties of roots (dynameis rizōn).
The text insists that true theology does not run away from natural science. Instead, tracking the layout of the physical universe is viewed as a natural expression of discovering God's design. Wisdom is labeled the pantōn technitis—the master artisan, engineer, or head architect of reality.
3. The 21 Attributes: A Numerological Masterpiece (v. 22–23)
The list of descriptors for the spirit within Wisdom contains exactly twenty-one attributes. In ancient Jewish numerology, twenty-one is a highly structured, perfect number: a combination of 3×7 (representing double completeness or divine perfection).
The vocabulary is a beautiful blend of Greek philosophical terms (especially Stoic physics, which viewed the cosmic spirit as an ultra-subtle, rational material that flows through the universe) and traditional Jewish theology.
Attributes like lepton ("subtle" or "ultra-fine") and eukinēton ("highly mobile") show that the author conceives Wisdom as an energetic force field capable of passing through solid matter to reach and alter human minds without violating the rules of the physical universe.
4. The Optical Physics of God (v. 25–26)
To describe how an invisible, transcendent God interacts with a physical creation, the author turns to the science of optics, deploying three stunning metaphors:
THE ESOPTRON AKELIDOTON (MIRROR)───► The spotless, flawless mirror that perfectly reflects the invisible divine movement.
THE EIKON (IMAGE)───► The exact physical expression of an otherwise unapproachable goodness.
Wisdom is described as the atmis (steam, breath, or vapor) and the aporroia (a pure radiant efflux or emanation) flowing out of the divine core. This language serves as the exact semantic and conceptual scaffolding later borrowed by New Testament writers to describe Christ (e.g., Hebrews 1:3: "He is the reflection [apaugasma] of God’s glory and the exact imprint of His God's being").
5. Domesticating the Divine: Cohabiting with Wisdom (v. 28)
The chapter closes with a striking domestic metaphor: sophia synoikounta—the person who cohabits, rooms, or lives under the same roof with Wisdom.
The word synoikeō refers specifically to a shared domestic life or a marriage contract.
God's love is not distributed via generic favoritism; it is intimately tied to this intellectual and moral marriage.
While physical light must always surrender to nyx (night), the moral light of Wisdom is entirely immune to dark cycles; kakia (wickedness) possesses zero thermodynamic power to extinguish or override her radiance.