But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them.

Justorum autem animæ in manu Dei sunt, et non tanget illos tormentum mortis.

But the souls of the just are in God’s hands, and no torment, in death itself, has power to reach them.

In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure was taken for misery:

Visi sunt oculis insipientium mori, et æstimata est afflictio exitus illorum,

Dead? Fools think so; think their end loss,

And their going away from us, for utter destruction: but they are in peace.

et quod a nobis est iter exterminium; illi autem sunt in pace:

their leaving us, annihilation; but all is well with them.

And though in the sight of men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality.

etsi coram hominibus tormenta passi sunt, spes illorum immortalitate plena est.

The world sees nothing but the pains they endure; they themselves have eyes only for what is immortal;

Afflicted in few things, in many they shall be well rewarded: because God hath tried them, and found them worthy of himself.

In paucis vexati sunt, in multis bene disponentur, quoniam Deus tentavit eos, et invenit illos dignos se.

so light their suffering, so great the gain they win! God, all the while, did but test them, and testing them found them worthy of him.

As gold in the furnace he hath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust he hath received them, and in time there shall be respect had to them.

Tamquam aurum in fornace probavit illos, et quasi holocausti hostiam accepit illos, et in tempore erit respectus illorum.

His gold, tried in the crucible, his burnt-sacrifice, graciously accepted, they do but wait for the time of their deliverance;

The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds.

Fulgebunt justi et tamquam scintillæ in arundineto discurrent.

then they will shine out, these just souls, unconquerable as the sparks that break out, now here, now there, among the stubble.

They shall judge nations, and rule over people, and their Lord shall reign for ever.

Judicabunt nationes, et dominabuntur populis, et regnabit Dominus illorum in perpetuum.

Theirs to sit in judgement on nations, to subdue whole peoples, under a Lord whose reign shall last for ever.

They that trust in him, shall understand the truth: and they that are faithful in love shall rest in him: for grace and peace is to his elect.

Qui confidunt in illo intelligent veritatem, et fideles in dilectione acquiescent illi, quoniam donum et pax est electis ejus.

Trust him if thou wilt, true thou shalt find him; faith waits for him calmly and lovingly; who claims his gift, who shall attain peace, if not they, his chosen servants?

But the wicked shall be punished according to their own devices: who have neglected the just, and have revolted from the Lord.

Impii autem secundum quæ cogitaverunt correptionem habebunt: qui neglexerunt justum, et a Domino recesserunt.

But dearly shall the wicked pay for their error, for the claims of right forgotten, for the Lord’s will defied.

For he that rejecteth wisdom, and discipline, is unhappy: and their hope is vain, and their labours without fruit, and their works unprofitable.

Sapientiam enim et disciplinam qui abjicit infelix est: et vacua est spes illorum, et labores sine fructu, et inutilia opera eorum.

Their case is pitiable indeed, who make light of true wisdom and of ordered living; vain their hope, profitless their toil, barren their achievement.

Their wives are foolish, and their children wicked.

Mulieres eorum insensatæ sunt, et nequissimi filii eorum.

Light women are the wives they wed, worthless is their brood;

Their offspring is cursed: for happy is the barren: and the undefiled, that hath not known bed in sin: she shall have fruit in the visitation of holy souls.

Maledicta creatura eorum, quoniam felix est sterilis; et incoinquinata, quæ nescivit thorum in delicto, habebit fructum in respectione animarum sanctarum;

a curse lies on their begetting. Blessed, rather, her lot, that childless is, yet chaste, that never knew the bed of shame; offspring she will not lack, when holy souls have their reward.

And the eunuch, that hath not wrought iniquity with his hands, nor thought wicked things against God: for the precious gift of faith shall be given to him, and a most acceptable lot in the temple of God.

et spado qui non operatus est per manus suas iniquitatem, nec cogitavit adversus Deum nequissima: dabitur enim illi fidei donum electum, et sors in templo Dei acceptissima.

Nay, let there be some eunuch that has kept his hands clear of wrong, has never harboured treasonable thought against the Lord; he too with rare gifts shall be faithfully rewarded, shall have the portion that most contents him in God’s holy place.

For the fruit of good labours is glorious, and the root of wisdom never faileth.

Bonorum enim laborum gloriosus est fructus, et quæ non concidat radix sapientiæ.

A noble harvest good men reap from their labours; wisdom is a root which never yet cast its crop.

But the children of adulterers shall not come to perfection, and the seed of the unlawful bed shall be rooted out.

Filii autem adulterorum in inconsummatione erunt, et ab iniquo thoro semen exterminabitur.

Not so the adulterers; never look for children of theirs to thrive; the offspring of the unhallowed wedlock will vanish away.

And if they live long, they shall be nothing regarded, and their last old age shall be without honour.

Et si quidem longæ vitæ erunt, in nihilum computabuntur, et sine honore erit novissima senectus illorum:

Live they long, they shall be held in no regard, in their late age unhonoured;

And if they die quickly, they shall have no hope, nor speech of comfort in the day of trial.

et si celerius defuncti fuerint, non habebunt spem, nec in die agnitionis allocutionem.

die they soon, they shall die without hope, no comfort to sustain them in the day when all comes to light.

For dreadful are the ends of a wicked race.

Nationis enim iniquæ diræ sunt consummationes.

Bitterly they shall rue it hereafter, the race of the evil-doers.