1 Then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made no account of his labours.

1 Tunc stabunt justi in magna constantia
adversus eos qui se angustiaverunt,
et qui abstulerunt labores eorum.

2 When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for.

2 Videntes turbabuntur timore horribili,
et mirabuntur in subitatione insperatæ salutis;

3 And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves, This was he, whom we had sometimes in derision, and a proverb of reproach:

3 dicentes intra se, pœnitentiam agentes,
et præ angustia spiritus gementes:
Hi sunt quos habuimus aliquando in derisum,
et in similitudinem improperii.

4 We fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be without honour:

4 Nos insensati, vitam illorum æstimabamus insaniam,
et finem illorum sine honore;

5 How is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints!

5 ecce quomodo computati sunt inter filios Dei,
et inter sanctos sors illorum est.

6 Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us.

6 Ergo erravimus a via veritatis,
et justitiæ lumen non luxit nobis,
et sol intelligentiæ non est ortus nobis.

7 We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction: yea, we have gone through deserts, where there lay no way: but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it.

7 Lassati sumus in via iniquitatis et perditionis,
et ambulavimus vias difficiles:
viam autem Domini ignoravimus.

8 What hath pride profited us? or what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us?

8 Quid nobis profuit superbia?
aut divitiarum jactantia quid contulit nobis?

9 All those things are passed away like a shadow, and as a post that hasted by;

9 Transierunt omnia illa tamquam umbra,
et tamquam nuntius percurrens,

10 And as a ship that passeth over the waves of the water, which when it is gone by, the trace thereof cannot be found, neither the pathway of the keel in the waves;

10 et tamquam navis quæ pertransit fluctuantem aquam,
cujus cum præterierit non est vestigium invenire,
neque semitam carinæ illius in fluctibus;

11 Or as when a bird hath flown through the air, there is no token of her way to be found, but the light air being beaten with the stroke of her wings, and parted with the violent noise and motion of them, is passed through, and therein afterwards no sign where she went is to be found;

11 aut tamquam avis quæ transvolat in aëre,
cujus nullum invenitur argumentum itineris,
sed tantum sonitus alarum verberans levem ventum,
et scindens per vim itineris aërem:
commotis alis transvolavit,
et post hoc nullum signum invenitur itineris illius;

12 Or like as when an arrow is shot at a mark, it parteth the air, which immediately cometh together again, so that a man cannot know where it went through:

12 aut tamquam sagitta emissa in locum destinatum,
divisus aër continuo in se reclusus est,
ut ignoretur transitus illius:

13 Even so we in like manner, as soon as we were born, began to draw to our end, and had no sign of virtue to shew; but were consumed in our own wickedness.

13 sic et nos nati continuo desivimus esse;
et virtutis quidem nullum signum valuimus ostendere,
in malignitate autem nostra consumpti sumus.

14 For the hope of the ungodly is like dust that is blown away with the wind; like a thin froth that is driven away with the storm; like as the smoke which is dispersed here and there with a tempest, and passeth away as the remembrance of a guest that tarrieth but a day.

14 Talia dixerunt in inferno hi qui peccaverunt:

15 But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High.

15 quoniam spes impii tamquam lanugo est quæ a vento tollitur,
et tamquam spuma gracilis quæ a procella dispergitur,
et tamquam fumus qui a vento diffusus est,
et tamquam memoria hospitis unius diei prætereuntis.

16 Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the Lord's hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them.

16 Justi autem in perpetuum vivent,
et apud Dominum est merces eorum,
et cogitatio illorum apud Altissimum.

17 He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armour, and make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies.

17 Ideo accipient regnum decoris,
et diadema speciei de manu Domini:
quoniam dextera sua teget eos,
et brachio sancto suo defendet illos.

18 He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and true judgment instead of an helmet.

18 Accipiet armaturam zelus illius,
et armabit creaturam ad ultionem inimicorum.

19 He shall take holiness for an invincible shield.

19 Induet pro thorace justitiam,
et accipiet pro galea judicium certum;

20 His severe wrath shall he sharpen for a sword, and the world shall fight with him against the unwise.

20 sumet scutum inexpugnabile æquitatem.

21 Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad; and from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark.

21 Acuet autem duram iram in lanceam,
et pugnabit cum illo orbis terrarum contra insensatos.

22 And hailstones full of wrath shall be cast as out of a stone bow, and the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the floods shall cruelly drown them.

22 Ibunt directe emissiones fulgurum,
et tamquam a bene curvato arcu nubium exterminabuntur,
et ad certum locum insilient.

23 Yea, a mighty wind shall stand up against them, and like a storm shall blow them away: thus iniquity shall lay waste the whole earth, and ill dealing shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.

23 Et a petrosa ira plenæ mittentur grandines;
excandescet in illos aqua maris,
et flumina concurrent duriter.

24 Contra illos stabit spiritus virtutis,
et tamquam turbo venti dividet illos;
et ad eremum perducet omnem terram iniquitas illorum,
et malignitas evertet sedes potentium.