But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,

2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died;

3 And their journeying away from us to be their ruin:

4 For even if in the sight of men they be punished,

5 And having borne a little chastening, they shall receive great good;

6 As gold in the furnace he proved them,

7 And in the time of their visitation they shall shine forth,

8 They shall judge nations, and have dominion over peoples;

9 They that trust on him shall understand truth,

10 But the ungodly shall be requited even as they reasoned,

11 (For he that setteth at nought wisdom and discipline is miserable;)

12 Their wives are foolish, and wicked are their children;

13 Accursed is their begetting.

14 And happy is the eunuch who hath wrought no lawless deed with his hands,

15 For good labors have fruit of great renown;

16 But children of adulterers shall not come to maturity,

17 For if they live long, they shall be held in no account,

18 And if they die quickly, they shall have no hope,

19 For the end of an unrighteous generation is always grievous.