Wisdom 14 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Folly of a Navigator Praying to an Idol

14 Again, one preparing to sail and about to voyage over raging waves
calls upon a piece of wood more fragile than the ship that carries him.
2 For it was desire for gain that planned that vessel,
and wisdom was the artisan who built it;
3 but it is your providence, O Father, that steers its course,
because you have given it a path in the sea,
and a safe way through the waves,
4 showing that you can save from every danger,
so that even a person who lacks skill may put to sea.
5 It is your will that works of your wisdom should not be without effect;
therefore people trust their lives even to the smallest piece of wood,
and passing through the billows on a raft they come safely to land.
6 For even in the beginning, when arrogant giants were perishing,
the hope of the world took refuge on a raft,
and guided by your hand left to the world the seed of a new generation.
7 For blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes.

8 But the idol made with hands is accursed, and so is the one who made it—
he for having made it, and the perishable thing because it was named a god.
9 For equally hateful to God are the ungodly and their ungodliness;
10 for what was done will be punished together with the one who did it.
11 Therefore there will be a visitation also upon the heathen idols,
because, though part of what God created, they became an abomination,
snares for human souls
and a trap for the feet of the foolish.

The Origin and Evils of Idolatry

12 For the idea of making idols was the beginning of fornication,
and the invention of them was the corruption of life;
13 for they did not exist from the beginning,
nor will they last for ever.
14 For through human vanity they entered the world,
and therefore their speedy end has been planned.

15 For a father, consumed with grief at an untimely bereavement,
made an image of his child, who had been suddenly taken from him;
he now honoured as a god what was once a dead human being,
and handed on to his dependants secret rites and initiations.
16 Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law,
and at the command of monarchs carved images were worshipped.
17 When people could not honour monarchs[a] in their presence, since they lived at a distance,
they imagined their appearance far away,
and made a visible image of the king whom they honoured,
so that by their zeal they might flatter the absent one as though present.

18 Then the ambition of the artisan impelled
even those who did not know the king to intensify their worship.
19 For he, perhaps wishing to please his ruler,
skilfully forced the likeness to take more beautiful form,
20 and the multitude, attracted by the charm of his work,
now regarded as an object of worship the one whom shortly before they had honoured as a human being.
21 And this became a hidden trap for humankind,
because people, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority,
bestowed on objects of stone or wood the name that ought not to be shared.

22 Then it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God,
but though living in great strife due to ignorance,
they call such great evils peace.
23 For whether they kill children in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries,
or hold frenzied revels with strange customs,
24 they no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure,
but they either treacherously kill one another, or grieve one another by adultery,
25 and all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury,
26 confusion over what is good, forgetfulness of favours,
defiling of souls, sexual perversion,
disorder in marriages, adultery, and debauchery.
27 For the worship of idols not to be named
is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.
28 For their worshippers[b] either rave in exultation,
or prophesy lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury;
29 for because they trust in lifeless idols
they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm.
30 But just penalties will overtake them on two counts:
because they thought wrongly about God in devoting themselves to idols,
and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness.
31 For it is not the power of the things by which people swear,[c]
but the just penalty for those who sin,
that always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous.

Footnotes

  1. Wisdom 14:17 Gk them
  2. Wisdom 14:28 Gk they
  3. Wisdom 14:31 Or of the oaths people swear

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Wisdom 14 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

14 Again another man thinking to sail in a ship [or Again another thinking to sail], and beginning to make journey through fierce waves, inwardly calleth (upon) a tree (or a piece of wood) more frail than the tree (or the piece of wood) that beareth him. 2 For why covetousness to get money found (or...
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Wisdom 14 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Folly of a Navigator Praying to an Idol14 Again, one preparing to sail and about to voyage over raging wavescalls upon a piece of wood more fragile than the ship which carries him.2 For it was desire for gain that planned that vessel,and wisdom was the craftsman who built it;3 but it is thy providen...
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Wisdom 14 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Folly of a Navigator Praying to an Idol14 Again, one preparing to sail and about to voyage over raging wavescalls upon a piece of wood more fragile than the ship which carries him.2 For it was desire for gain that planned that vessel,and wisdom was the craftsman who built it;3 but it is thy providen...
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Wisdom 14 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Folly of a Navigator Praying to an Idol14 Again, one preparing to sail and about to voyage over raging wavescalls upon a piece of wood more fragile than the ship that carries him.2 For it was desire for gain that planned that vessel,and wisdom was the artisan who built it;3 but it is your providence...
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Wisdom 14 - New Catholic Bible (NCB)

Chapter 141 Again, someone preparing to embark on a voyage through turbulent waves invokes a piece of wood more frail than the ship that carries him.2 It was desire for profit that devised that vessel, and Wisdom was the shipwright that built it.[a]3 However, O Father, your providence[b] guides it, ...
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Wisdom 14 - New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Chapter 141 Again, one preparing for a voyage and about to traverse the wild waves cries out to wood more unsound than the boat that bears him.(A)2 For the urge for profits devised this latter, and Wisdom the artisan produced it. 3 [a]But your providence, O Father! guides it, for you have furnished ...
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Wisdom 14 - Good News Translation (GNT)

Wooden Idols Compared with Noah's Wooden Boat14 In the same way, a man getting ready to sail on the raging sea will call for help from a piece of wood that is not as strong as the ship he is about to board. 2 Someone designed the ship out of a desire for profit, and a craftsman built it with skill. ...
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Wisdom 14 - Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

14 Again, another designing to sail, and beginning to make his voyage through the raging waves, calleth upon a piece of wood more frail than the wood that carrieth him. 2 For this the desire of gain devised, and the workman built it by his skill. 3 But thy providence, O Father, governeth it: for tho...
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Wisdom 14 - Common English Bible (CEB)

14 Or imagine this: A man is preparing for a trip. He’s about to board a ship that must sail through rough waves. So the man cries out for protection to a little piece of wood that is even more flimsy than the boat that will carry him. 2 Desire for profit led to the ship’s planning, and wisdom was t...
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