O God of the fathers, and Lord who keepest thy mercy,

2 And by thy wisdom thou formedst man,

3 And rule the world in holiness and righteousness,

4 Give me wisdom, her that sitteth by thee on thy throne;

5 Because I am thy bondman and the son of thy handmaid,

6 For even if a man be perfect among the sons of men,

7 Thou didst choose me before my brethren to be king of thy people,

8 Thou gavest command to build a sanctuary in thy holy mountain,

9 And with thee is wisdom, which knoweth thy works,

10 Send her forth out of the holy heavens,

11 For she knoweth all things and hath understanding thereof,

12 And so shall my works be acceptable,

13 For what man shall know the counsel of God?

14 For the thoughts of mortals are timorous,

15 For a corruptible body weigheth down the soul,

16 And hardly do we divine the things that are on earth,

17 And who ever gained knowledge of thy counsel, except thou gavest wisdom,

18 And it was thus that the ways of them who are on earth were corrected,