King James Version · Under the Greeks
Wisdom of Solomon 15
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1But thou, O , art and true, , and in mercy ordering all things, 2For if we , we are thine, knowing thy : but we will not , knowing that we are counted thine. 3For to know thee is perfect : yea, to know thy is the root of immortality. 4For neither did the mischievous invention of men deceive us, nor an spotted with divers colours, the painter’s fruitless labour; 5The sight whereof enticeth fools to after it, and so they the form of a , that hath no breath. 6Both they that make them, they that them, and they that them, are lovers of evil things, and are worthy to have such things to upon. 7For the , tempering soft earth, fashioneth every with much labour for our : yea, of the same he maketh both the vessels that for clean uses, and likewise also all such as to the contrary: but what is the use of either sort, the himself is the judge. 8And employing his labours lewdly, he maketh a of the same , even he which a little before was made of earth himself, and within a little while after returneth to the same, out when his life which was lent him shall be demanded. 9Notwithstanding his care is, not that he shall have much labour, nor that his life is short: but striveth to excel goldsmiths and silversmiths, and endeavoureth to do like the workers in brass, and counteth it his to make counterfeit things. 10 is , his is more vile than earth, and his life of less value than : 11Forasmuch as he knew not his Maker, and him that inspired into him an active , and breathed in a living . 12But they counted our life a pastime, and our time here a market for gain: for, say they, we must be getting every way, though it be by evil means. 13For this man, that of earthly matter maketh brittle vessels and graven , knoweth himself to offend above all others. 14And all the of thy people, that hold them in subjection, are most foolish, and are more miserable than very babes. 15For they counted all the idols of the heathen to be gods: which neither have the use of eyes to see, nor noses to draw breath, nor ears to hear, nor fingers of hands to handle; and as for their feet, they are slow to go. 16For man made them, and he that borrowed his own fashioned them: but no man can make a like unto himself. 17For being mortal, he worketh a thing with hands: for he himself is better than the things which he worshippeth: whereas he lived once, but they never. 18Yea, they those also that are most hateful: for being compared together, some are worse than others. 19Neither are they beautiful, so much as to be in respect of : but they went without the of and his .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under the Greeks, 332 BC to 63 BC ›
Alexander's conquest and the kingdoms of his successors. Greek language and custom press in everywhere, and the crisis under Antiochus IV provokes the Maccabean revolt.
- The successors
- Alexander dies at thirty-two and his generals carve up the empire. Judea sits on the border between the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria, and is fought over by both for a century and a half, which is the ordinary condition of the corridor.
- Hellenism
- Not just conquest but a culture: the gymnasium, the theatre, Greek names, Greek dress, Greek as the language of anyone with ambitions. Some Jews embraced it, some resisted it, and the argument between them is the real subject of the Maccabean books. In Alexandria the Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek, producing the Septuagint, which is the Bible most New Testament writers quote.
- The crisis
- Antiochus IV bans the practice of Judaism, plunders the temple, and sets up a pagan altar in it in 167 BC. The revolt under the Maccabees wins, the temple is rededicated in 164 BC, which is the origin of Hanukkah, and Judea has about eighty years of independence under the Hasmoneans before Rome arrives.
- Further afield
- Rome fights Carthage three times and ends up master of the Mediterranean. Euclid writes the Elements and Archimedes does his work at Syracuse. In China the Qin unify the country in 221 BC and the Han follow, opening what becomes the Silk Road.