King James Version · Under the Greeks
Wisdom of Solomon 8
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1 reacheth from one end to another mightily: and sweetly doth she order all things. 2I loved her, and sought her out from my youth, I to make her my spouse, and I was a lover of her beauty. 3In that she is conversant with , she magnifieth her nobility: yea, of all things himself loved her. 4For she is privy to the of the knowledge of , and a lover of his works. 5If riches be a possession to be in this life; what is richer than , that worketh all things? 6And if prudence work; who of all that are is a more cunning workman than she? 7And if a man love her labours are virtues: for she teacheth temperance and prudence, justice and fortitude: which are such things, as men can have nothing more profitable in their life. 8If a man much experience, she knoweth things of old, and conjectureth aright what is to come: she knoweth the subtilties of speeches, and can expound dark sentences: she foreseeth signs and wonders, and the events of seasons and times. 9Therefore I purposed to take her to me to live with me, knowing that she would be a counsellor of good things, and a comfort in cares and grief. 10For her sake I shall have estimation among , and with the , though I be young. 11I shall be found of a quick conceit in , and shall be admired in the sight of great men. 12When I hold my , they shall bide my leisure, and when I speak, they shall give good ear unto me: if I talk much, they shall lay their hands upon their . 13Moreover by the means of her I shall obtain immortality, and leave behind me an memorial to them that come after me. 14I shall set the people in order, and the nations shall be subject unto me. 15Horrible tyrants shall be afraid, when they do but hear of me; I shall be found good among , and valiant in war. 16After I am come into mine house, I will repose myself with her: for her conversation hath no bitterness; and to live with her hath no sorrow, but mirth and joy. 17Now when I considered these things in myself, and pondered them in , how that to be allied unto is immortality; 18And great pleasure it is to have her friendship; and in the works of her hands are infinite riches; and in the exercise of conference with her, prudence; and in talking with her, a good report; I went about seeking how to take her to me. 19For I was a witty child, and had a good . 20Yea rather, being good, I came into a body undefiled. 21Nevertheless, when I perceived that I could not otherwise obtain her, except gave her me; and that was a point of also to know whose gift she was; I unto , and besought him, and with my I said,
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.