Süleyman’ın Bilgeliği 5

¹O zaman doğru kişi, kendisini ezmiş olanların ve emeklerini hiçe sayanların karşısında büyük bir açık sözlülük ve cesaretle duracaktır.

²Bunu gördüklerinde dehşetli bir korkuyla sarsılacaklar ve onun bu beklenmedik kurtuluşunun akıl almazlığı karşısında şoka gireceklerdir.

³Kendi aralarında zihinsel bir dönüşüm içinde şöyle diyecekler ve ruhlarının daralmasından ötürü inleyerek konuşacaklar:

⁴"Biz akılsızlar! Bir zamanlar alay konusu ettiğimiz ve aşağılama meseli haline getirdiğimiz kişi buydu işte. Onun yaşamını delilik, ölümünü ise onursuzluk saymıştık.

⁵Nasıl oldu da Tanrı'nın oğulları arasında sayıldı ve payı göksel kutsal varlıklarla bir oldu?

⁶Demek ki hakikat yolundan sapmışız; doğruluğun ışığı üzerimize parlamamış ve güneş bizim için doğmamış.

⁷Yasa tanımazlığın ve yıkımın patikalarında tükendik, geçit vermez çöllerde yürüdük ama Rab'bin yolunu bilmedik.

⁸Kibirlenmemiz bize ne yarar sağladı? Böbürlenmeyle birleşen zenginlik bize ne kazandırdı?

⁹Bütün bunlar bir gölge gibi, hızla koşup geçen bir ulağın haberi gibi geçip gitti.

¹⁰Dalgalı sulardan geçen bir gemi gibi; geçip gittiğinde ne bir izi bulunur ne de dalgalar arasında omurgasının bıraktığı geçici yol görünür.

¹¹Ya da havada uçan bir kuş gibi; gidişine dair hiçbir kanıt bulunmaz, kanat uçlarının vuruşuyla dövülen hafif hava, hareket eden kanatların hışırtısıyla yarılarak geçilir ve bundan sonra orada kuşun basış noktasından eser kalmaz.

¹²Veya hedefe atılan bir ok gibi; yarılan hava hemen kendi içine geri çözülür, öyle ki okun nereden geçtiği bile bilinmez.

¹³Bizler de böylece, doğar doğmaz yok olup gittik; erdemden yana gösterecek hiçbir işaretimiz olmadı, kendi kötülüğümüzün içinde tamamen tükendik."

¹⁴Çünkü tanrısızın umudu, rüzgarın savurduğu ince bir toz gibidir; fırtınanın sürüklediği ince bir kırağı gibidir, rüzgarla dağılan duman gibidir ve bir günlük konuğun anısı gibi geçip gider.

¹⁵Doğrular ise sonsuza dek yaşarlar; ödülleri Rab'dedir ve onlara dair derin düşünce Yüceler Yücesi'nin yanındadır.

¹⁶Bu yüzden Rab'bin elinden görkemli krallığı ve güzellik tacını alacaklar; çünkü O, sağ eliyle onları örtecek ve güçlü koluyla onlara kalkan olacaktır.

¹⁷O, ilahi kıskançlığını tam bir zırh gibi kuşanacak ve yaratılışı düşmanlarından öç almak için bir silah haline getirecektir.

¹⁸Doğruluğu göğüslük gibi kuşanacak, hilesiz ve tarafsız adaleti miğfer gibi başına takacaktır.

¹⁹Yenilmez bir kalkan olarak kutsallığı kuşanacaktır.

²⁰Amansız öfkesini keskin bir kılıç gibi bileyecektir; düzenli evren de akılsızlara karşı Onunla birlikte savaşacaktır.

²¹Şimşeklerin tam isabet eden okları fırlayacak ve bulutların mükemmel kavisli yayından hedefe doğru uçacaktır.

²²Taş fırlatan gazap mancınığından dolu taneleri yağacak; denizin suları onlara karşı öfkeyle kabaracak ve nehirler onları amansızca yutacaktır.

²³Güçlü bir rüzgar onlara karşı duracak ve bir kasırga gibi onları savuracaktır. Böylece yasa tanımazlık tüm yeryüzünü viran edecek ve kötü eylemler egemenlerin tahtlarını altüst edecektir.

¹ΤΟΤΕ στήσεται ἐν παρρησίᾳ πολλῇ ὁ δίκαιος κατὰ πρόσωπον τῶν θλιψάντων αὐτὸν καὶ τῶν ἀθετούντων τοὺς πόνους αὐτοῦ.

²ἰδόντες ταραχθήσονται φόβῳ δεινῷ καὶ ἐκστήσονται ἐπὶ τῷ παραδόξῳ τῆς σωτηρίας.

³ἐροῦσιν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς μετανοοῦντες καὶ διὰ στενοχωρίαν πνεύματος στενάξονται καὶ ἐροῦσιν·

⁴οὗτος ἦν ὃν ἔσχομέν ποτε εἰς γέλωτα καὶ εἰς παραβολὴν ὀνειδισμοῦ οἱ ἄφρονες· τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ ἐλογισάμεθα μανίαν καὶ τὴν τελευτὴν αὐτοῦ ἄτιμον.

⁵πῶς κατελογίσθη ἐν υἱοῖς Θεοῦ καὶ ἐν ἁγίοις ὁ κλῆρος αὐτοῦ ἐστιν;

⁶ἄρα ἐπλανήθημεν ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ ἀληθείας, καὶ τὸ τῆς δικαιοσύνης φῶς οὐκ ἔλαμψεν ἡμῖν, καὶ ὁ ἥλιος οὐκ ἀνέτειλεν ἡμῖν·

⁷ἀνομίας ἐνεπλήσθημεν τρίβοις καὶ ἀπωλείας καὶ διωδεύσαμεν ἐρήμους ἀβάτους, τὴν δὲ ὁδὸν Κυρίου οὐκ ἔγνωμεν.

⁸τί ὠφέλησεν ἡμᾶς ἡ ὑπερηφανία; καὶ τί πλοῦτος μετὰ ἀλαζονίας συμβέβληται ἡμῖν;

⁹παρῆλθεν ἐκεῖναι πάντα ὡς σκιὰ καὶ ὡς ἀγγελία παρατρέχουσα·

¹⁰ὡς ναῦς διερχομένη κυμαινόμενον ὕδωρ, ἧς διαβάσης οὐκ ἔστιν ἴχνος εὑρεῖν, οὐδὲ ἀτραπὸν τρόπιος αὐτῆς ἐν κύμασιν·

¹¹ἢ ὡς ὀρνέου διαπτάντος ἀέρα οὐθὲν εὑρίσκεται τεκμήριον πορείας, πληγῇ δὲ ταρσῶν μαστιζόμενον πνεῦμα κοῦφον καὶ σχιζόμενον βίᾳ ῥοίζου, κινουμένων πτερύγων διωδεύθη, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο οὐχ εὑρέθη σημεῖον ἐπιβάσεως ἐν αὐτῷ·

¹²ἢ ὡς βέλους βληθέντος ἐπὶ σκοπόν, τμηθεὶς ὁ ἀὴρ εὐθέως εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀνελύθη ὡς ἀγνοῆσαι τὴν δίοδον αὐτοῦ.

¹³οὕτως καὶ ἡμεῖς γεννηθέντες ἐξελίπομεν καὶ ἀρετῆς μὲν σημεῖον οὐδὲν ἔσχομεν δεῖξαι, ἐν δὲ τῇ κακίᾳ ἡμῶν κατεδαπανήθημεν.

¹⁴ὅτι ἐλπὶς ἀσεβοῦς ὡς φερόμενος χνοῦς ὑπὸ ἀνέμου καὶ ὡς πάχνη ὑπὸ λαίλαπος διωχθεῖσα λεπτὴ καὶ ὡς καπνὸς ὑπό ἀνέμου διεχύθη καὶ ὡς μνεία καταλύτου μονοημέρου παρώδευσε.

¹⁵Δίκαιοι δὲ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ζῶσι, καὶ ἐν Κυρίῳ ὁ μισθὸς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἡ φροντὶς αὐτῶν παρὰ ῾Υψίστῳ.

¹⁶διὰ τοῦτο λήψονται τὸ βασίλειον τῆς εὐπρεπείας καὶ τὸ διάδημα τοῦ κάλλους ἐκ χειρὸς Κυρίου, ὅτι τῇ δεξιᾷ σκεπάσει αὐτοὺς καὶ τῷ βραχίονι ὑπερασπιεῖ αὐτῶν.

¹⁷λήψεται πανοπλίαν τὸν ζῆλον αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁπλοποιήσει τὴν κτίσιν εἰς ἄμυναν ἐχθρῶν·

¹⁸ἐνδύσεται θώρακα δικαιοσύνην καὶ περιθήσεται κόρυθα κρίσιν ἀνυπόκριτον·

¹⁹λήψεται ἀσπίδα ἀκαταμάχητον ὁσιότητα,

²⁰ὀξυνεῖ δὲ ἀπότομον ὀργὴν εἰς ρομφαίαν, συνεκπολεμήσει δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ κόσμος ἐπὶ τοὺς παράφρονας.

²¹πορεύσονται εὔστοχοι βολίδες ἀστραπῶν καὶ ὡς ἀπὸ εὐκύκλου τόξου τῶν νεφῶν ἐπί σκοπὸν ἁλοῦνται,

²²καὶ ἐκ πετροβόλου θυμοῦ πλήρεις ριφήσονται χάλαζαι. ἀγανακτήσει κατ᾿ αὐτῶν ὕδωρ θαλάσσης, ποταμοὶ δὲ συγκλύσουσιν ἀποτόμως.

²³ἀντιστήσεται αὐτοῖς πνεῦμα δυνάμεως καὶ ὡς λαῖλαψ ἐκλικμήσει αὐτούς. καὶ ἐρημώσει πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἀνομία, καὶ ἡ κακοπραγία περιτρέψει θρόνους δυναστῶν.

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

²When 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.

³And 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:

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

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

⁶Therefore 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.

⁷We 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.

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

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

¹⁰And 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;

¹¹Or 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;

¹²Or 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:

¹³Even 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.

¹⁴For 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.

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

¹⁶Therefore 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.

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

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

¹⁹He shall take holiness for an invincible shield.

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

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

²²And 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.

²³Yea, 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.