| 1 Better to have no children and to be virtuous. People like this are highly considered by God and by mortals. The memory of their life will never end. | |
| 2 When virtue is present we imitate it; when it is absent we long for it; it is crowned in eternity for having triumphed in the blameless struggle. | |
| 3 The numerous progeny of the wicked will be of no use. Offspring of doubtful plants, they will not have deep roots or lay solid foundations. | |
| 4 For a time they may produce, but their weak branches shaken by the wind will be uprooted by the storm. | |
| 5 Their twigs will be broken off before grown, their fruit useless, unripe for eating and good for nothing. | |
| 6 Children born of unlawful intercourse witness, when God examines them, to the wrongdoing of their parents. | |
| 7 The upright, even if he dies before his time, will be at rest. | |
| 8 Honorable age does not depend on length of days, nor is the number of years a true measure of life. | |
| 9 A man’s gray hair is understanding, and a spotless life is ripe old age. | |
| 10 The upright was pleasing to God, who loved him, and since he was living among sinners, he was taken up. | |
| 11 God removed him lest evil impair his understanding and treachery seduce his soul. | |
| 12 For the fascination of evil obscures true values and restless desire undermines a simple heart. | |
| 13 Though his life soon ended, he traveled far. | |
| 14 Because his soul was precious to the Lord, he was quickly removed from the wickedness around him. | |
| 15 People saw but did not understand, and it did not occur to them that God’s grace and mercy are with his chosen ones, his protection is for the holy. | |
| 16 The righteous who dies will condemn the ungodly who survives. A life fulfilled early in youth condemns the endless days of the wicked. | |
| 17 They may see the death of the wise, but they will not understand God’s design for him and why he has taken him to safety. | |
| 18 They may see and sneer at him, but the Lord will also laugh at them | |
| 19 when they have become a useless corpse, a loathsome and dead thing forever. The Lord will dash them to the ground, voiceless, shaking them from their foundations; they will wither and suffer anguish; even their memory will fade. | |
| 20 They will come trembling for the reckoning of their sins and they will be confounded when confronted with their wickedness. | |
