章节研读

Wisdom 14 — The Folly of Idolatry and the Providence of God

Chapter 14 of Wisdom contrasts divine providence with the origin and effects of idolatry, condemning hand-made gods as the root cause of every evil.

经文

  1. 1.航海者再次对偶像的愚蠢祈祷，又有一人准备扬帆起航，正要横渡汹涌的波浪，他呼唤一块比载着他的船还要脆弱的木头。Folly of a Navigator Praying to an Idol Again, one preparing to sail and about to voyage over raging waves calls upon a piece of wood more fragile than the ship which carries him.
  2. 2.因为是贪利的欲望设计了那艘船，智慧是建造它的工匠；For it was desire for gain that planned that vessel, and wisdom was the craftsman who built it;
  3. 3.然而，正是你的安排，天父，引导着它的航程，因为你为它在海中开辟了一条道路，并在波浪中为它铺设了一条安全的途径but it is thy providence, O Father, that steers its course, because thou hast given it a path in the sea, and a safe way through the waves,
  4. 4.表明你能使人免于一切危险，这样即使一个人缺乏技巧，也可以出海。showing that thou canst save from every danger, so that even if a man lacks skill, he may put to sea.
  5. 5.因为你愿你的智慧的作为不致无效，所以人将生命托付于最小的木头上，乘着木筏渡过波浪，安全地到达陆地。It is thy will that works of thy wisdom should not be without effect; therefore men trust their lives even to the smallest piece of wood, and passing through the billows on a raft they come safely to land.
  6. 6.因为在最初的时候，当骄傲的巨人灭亡之时，世界的希望躲在一只方舟里，并在你的引导下，将新一代的种子留给了世界。For even in the beginning, when arrogant giants were perishing, the hope of the world took refuge on a raft, and guided by thy hand left to the world the seed of a new generation.
  7. 7.因那带来公义的木头是有福的For blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes.
  8. 8.但人手所造的偶像是被咒诅的，造它的人也是被咒诅的，因为他做了这事，并且把会腐朽的东西称为神。But the idol made with hands is accursed, and so is he who made it; because he did the work, and the perishable thing was named a god.
  9. 9.因为在神看来，恶人和恶行是同样可憎的，For equally hateful to God are the ungodly man and his ungodliness,
  10. 10.所做的事必与做事的人一同受罚。for what was done will be punished together with him who did it.
  11. 11.因此，异教的偶像也必受到审判，因为它们虽然是神所创造的，但却成了可憎之物，成了陷害人灵魂的网罗和愚昧人脚下的绊脚石。Therefore there will be a visitation also upon the heathen idols, because, though part of what God created, they became an abomination, and became traps for the souls of men and a snare to the feet of the foolish.
  12. 12.偶像崇拜的起源和邪恶 偶像的观念是奸淫的起头，它们的制作是生命的腐败，The Origin and Evils of Idolatry For the idea of making idols was the beginning of fornication, and the invention of them was the corruption of life,
  13. 13.因为它们既不是从起初就存在，也不会永远存在。for neither have they existed from the beginning nor will they exist for ever.
  14. 14.因为他们是通过人的虚荣进入世界的，因此他们的速朽也已经被安排好了。For through the vanity of men they entered the world, and therefore their speedy end has been planned.
  15. 15.一个父亲因过早失去孩子而被悲痛所笼罩，他制作了孩子的雕像，他的孩子突然被夺走了；他现在把曾经死去的人当作神来崇敬，并将秘密仪式和入会仪式传给他的依赖者。For a father, consumed with grief at an untimely bereavement, made an image of his child, who had been suddenly taken from him; and he now honored as a god what was once a dead human being, and handed on to his dependents secret rites and initiations.
  16. 16.于是，不敬的风俗随着时间的推移变得根深蒂固，成为了法律，君主们命令百姓崇拜雕刻的偶像。Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law, and at the command of monarchs graven images were worshiped.
  17. 17.当人们不能在君主面前表示敬意，因为他们住得很远，他们就想象着君主的样子，并制作出他们尊敬的君主的可见形象，这样他们就可以通过自己的热情来讨好那些不在场的君主，就像他们在场一样。When men could not honor monarchs in their presence, since they lived at a distance, they imagined their appearance far away, and made a visible image of the king whom they honored, so that by their zeal they might flatter the absent one as though present.
  18. 18.然后，工匠的野心甚至驱使那些不认识国王的人加强他们的敬拜。Then the ambition of the craftsman impelled even those who did not know the king to intensify their worship.
  19. 19.因为他也许想讨好他的君王，巧妙地使这座雕像变得更加美丽，For he, perhaps wishing to please his ruler, skilfully forced the likeness to take more beautiful form,
  20. 20.众人被他的工作所吸引，如今把曾经尊敬为人的他视为崇拜的对象。and the multitude, attracted by the charm of his work, now regarded as an object of worship the one whom shortly before they had honored as a man.
  21. 21.这成为人类的一种隐蔽陷阱，因为人们被不幸或王权束缚，竟将不应与他物同享的名号赐予石头或木头的物体。And this became a hidden trap for mankind, because men, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority, bestowed on objects of stone or wood the name that ought not to be shared.
  22. 22.他们不仅仅是对神的认识发生了错误，而且他们因无知而生活在大的冲突中，并且把这样的重大邪恶称为和平。Afterward it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God, but they live in great strife due to ignorance, and they call such great evils peace.
  23. 23.无论他们在入会仪式中杀死儿童，还是庆祝秘密神秘仪式，抑或是按照奇怪的风俗举行狂热的宴会，For whether they kill children in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries, or hold frenzied revels with strange customs,
  24. 24.他们不再保持生命和婚姻的纯洁，反而要么互相残杀，要么通过通奸使对方陷入痛苦之中they no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure, but they either treacherously kill one another, or grieve one another by adultery,
  25. 25.一切都变成了一场血腥和谋杀、盗窃和欺骗、腐败、背信、混乱、伪证的狂暴骚乱and all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury,
  26. 26.对美好事物的混淆，忘恩负义，灵魂的污染，性行为的歪曲，婚姻的混乱，通奸和淫荡。confusion over what is good, forgetfulness of favors, pollution of souls, sex perversion, disorder in marriage, adultery, and debauchery.
  27. 27.拜偶像不被提及是每一种邪恶的开始、原因和结局。For the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.
  28. 28.他们的信徒或者是在狂喜中胡言乱语，或者是预言虚假的事，或者是过着不公义的生活，或者是轻易地违背誓言；For their worshipers either rave in exultation, or prophesy lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury;
  29. 29.因为他们信靠无生命的偶像，所以他们发恶毒的誓言，并且期望不受任何伤害。for because they trust in lifeless idols they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm.
  30. 30.但公正的刑罚将从两方面追上他们：因为他们对神抱有恶意，专心侍奉偶像，而且他们在欺骗中违背誓言，是因为他们轻视圣洁。But just penalties will overtake them on two counts: because they thought wickedly of God in devoting themselves to idols, and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness.
  31. 31.因为不是人们所起誓的东西的力量，而是为那些犯罪的人所应得的公义惩罚，总是追讨不义之人的过犯。For it is not the power of the things by which men swear, but the just penalty for those who sin, that always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous.

这段经文的意思

The chapter opens with a pointed contrast: a sailor entrusts his life to a piece of wood more fragile than his ship, yet that same wood, steered by divine providence, brings him safely to land (verses 1–5). The wood itself is not the source of safety; rather, God's willingness to save underwrites even the frailest means. Verse 7 caps this section with a beatitude: 'blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes,' a striking line that reframes the wood not as an object of worship but as an instrument through which God acts.

Verses 8–11 pivot sharply from providence to condemnation. The hand-made idol is cursed, along with its maker, because a perishable thing has been named a god. Idolatry is not a neutral mistake but a moral offense that provokes divine visitation. The idols, though part of God's creation, become 'a snare to the feet of the foolish' (verse 11). The argument links the worthlessness of the object to the guilt of the worshipper, holding both the deed and the doer accountable.

Verses 12–31 trace a narrative arc: idolatry begins in personal grief (a father honoring a dead child, verse 15), hardens into law under royal command (verse 16), flattery of distant rulers (verse 17), and artistic embellishment (verses 18–20). From this origin flow concrete evils: child sacrifice, secret mysteries, broken marriages, murder, perjury, and sexual disorder (verses 23–26). Verse 27 states the thesis bluntly: 'the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.' The chapter closes by warning that just penalties pursue both the wrongful thoughts about God and the deceitful oaths sworn before lifeless idols (verses 30–31).

背景

The provided chapter stands alone in the supplied material, with no preceding or following text, no cross-references, and no original-language word entries. The chapter itself divides into two movements: verses 1–11 on the sea voyage, the wood, and the curse upon idols and idol-makers, and verses 12–31 on the origin narrative of idolatry and its cascade of social evils. A chapter note in the source indicates that Wisdom 14 was backfilled outside a primary selection tier, meaning no prior editorial notes accompany the text.

Within the chapter's own words, the only interpretive anchor connecting the two halves is verse 11's statement that idols, though part of creation, became 'an abomination' and a trap. The author presents a single continuous argument rather than two unrelated sections. Because no cross-references or original-language data were supplied, deeper philological or intertextual claims cannot be drawn from the provided material.

常见问题

Why does the chapter bless the wood in verse 7 and curse idols elsewhere?

The 'wood' in verse 7 refers to the vessel governed by divine providence, not an object of worship. Idols, by contrast, are hand-made objects given a name that 'ought not to be shared' (verse 21). The chapter distinguishes an instrument of God's saving will from a manufactured god.

Does the chapter claim idols have real power?

No. The text calls idols 'lifeless' (verse 29), 'perishable things' named as gods (verse 8), and denies that their power is what binds oaths (verse 31). The penalty falls on those who sin, not on any force in the idols themselves.

What does verse 27 mean by calling idolatry the beginning, cause, and end of every evil?

The verse summarizes the chapter's argument: idolatry originates in misdirected reverence (verses 15–16), produces a catalogue of evils from child sacrifice to perjury (verses 23–26), and ultimately brings down the just penalty described in verses 30–31. The phrase is rhetorical compression rather than a strict logical claim that every specific evil begins only with idols.

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