The Foolishness of Egypt
Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 1. But unmerciful anger came upon the ungodly to the end, For God knew of them and their future beforehand, Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 2. That they would allow Your people to depart And eagerly send them forth, But then change their minds and pursue them. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 3. For while they were yet mourning And lamenting at the graves of their dead, They made another foolish decision And pursued as fugitives Those whom they had begged and had sent away. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 4. For a deserved destiny drew them to this end And made them forget what had happened, So they might fill up the punishment Which was lacking in their torments, Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 5. And that Your people might attempt an incredible journey, But that they themselves might come upon a strange death.
Creation Serves Its God
Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 6. For the whole creation in its kind was fashioned again from above To serve Your commands, That Your servants might be kept unharmed. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 7. The cloud was seen overshadowing the camp And the emerging of dry land out of the water previously present, An unhindered way out of the Red Sea And a grassy plain out of the violence of rough water, Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 8. Through which those sheltered by Your hand Passed with the whole nation After observing marvelous wonders. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 9. For they grazed like horses And leaped about like lambs, Praising You, O Lord, who saved them. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 10. For they still remembered their sojourn in a foreign land, How instead of the birth of animals the land brought forth small flies, And instead of things living in water The river vomited forth a multitude of frogs. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 11. Afterwards they also saw a new kind of birds, When led by their passion they requested meats for self-indulgence; Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 12. For their relief, quails came up from the sea.
The Punishment of Egypt
Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 13. The punishments did not come upon the sinners Without previous signs in the violence of thunder, And they suffered justly because of their own evils; For they practiced a very bitter hatred of strangers. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 14. Others did not welcome those unknown to them when they arrived, But these enslaved foreign benefactors. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 15. And not only this, but there shall be a certain visitation Because they received foreigners hatefully; Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 16. For after receiving them with festivals, They mistreated with terrible sufferings Those who had already shared the same rights. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 17. They were also stricken with blindness Like those at the doors of the righteous man, When, clothed in darkness, each sought the way through his own doors.
God Dwells with His People
Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 18. For the elements combined among themselves in different ways, Which can be accurately conjectured from the sight of what took place, As on a harp the sounds of the rhythm differ in expression While always remaining the same in sound. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 19. For land animals were changed into water creatures, And creatures that swim crossed over to the land. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 20. In water, fire prevailed with its own power, And water forgot its quenching properties. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 21. Flames, on the contrary, did not consume The flesh of perishable animals that walked among them, Nor was the species of immortal food capable of being melted Like easily melted ice. Wisdom of Solomon 19, verse 22. For in everything, O Lord, You have exalted and glorified Your people, And have not neglected to be present with them in every time and place.