章节研读
Wisdom 7 — Solomon's Prayer and the Nature of Wisdom
Solomon, equal to all mortals in origin, recounts how prayer brought him wisdom, then catalogs what that wisdom revealed and finally hymns wisdom as the divine breath, mirror, and image through which God orders all things.
经文
- 1.所罗门 我与他人一样也是凡人，和众人一样，是大地上第一人之后的子孙；在母亲的子宫里，我也是由血肉构成的，Solomon Like Other Mortals I also am mortal, like all men, a descendant of the first-formed child of earth; and in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh,
- 2.在十个月的期间，血肉构成，从男人的一滴种子和婚姻的欢愉中而来。within the period of ten months, compacted with blood, from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.
- 3.我出生时，开始呼吸着大众呼吸的空气，坠落于同类的大地，我的第一声就是哭泣，和所有人一样。And when I was born, I began to breathe the common air, and fell upon the kindred earth, and my first sound was a cry, like that of all.
- 4.我被小心地用襁褓包裹着抚养长大。I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths.
- 5.因为没有一位君王有与众不同的起源；For no king has had a different beginning of existence;
- 6.人类所有人都只有一个进入生命的入口，也只有一个共同的离开。there is for all mankind one entrance into life, and a common departure.
- 7.所罗门敬畏智慧 于是我祈祷，得到理解；我呼求神，智慧的灵就来到我。Solomon’s Respect for Wisdom Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
- 8.我宁愿选择她也不愿选择权杖和王座，我也以为财富在她面前算不了什么。I preferred her to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.
- 9.我也没有将她比作任何无价的宝石，因为在她眼中所有的金子不过是微小的沙粒，银子在她面前不过是泥土。Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem, because all gold is but a little sand in her sight, and silver will be accounted as clay before her.
- 10.我比健康和美丽更爱她，我宁愿选择她也不愿选择光明，因为她的光辉永不止息。I loved her more than health and beauty, and I chose to have her rather than light, because her radiance never ceases.
- 11.一切美好的事物都随她而来，难以计数的财富都在她的手中。All good things came to me along with her, and in her hands uncounted wealth.
- 12.我曾因他们所有人而欢喜，因为智慧引导他们，但我不知道她是他们的母亲。I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom leads them; but I did not know that she was their mother.
- 13.我无伪地学习，也无吝地传授；我不隐藏她的财富，I learned without guile and I impart without grudging; I do not hide her wealth,
- 14.因为这是为人所存的不朽财宝，得着它的人就得到了与神为友，并因所受的教训而得称赞的恩赐。for it is an unfailing treasure for men; those who get it obtain friendship with God, commended for the gifts that come from instruction.
- 15.所罗门祈求智慧 愿神使我说话有分寸，思想配得上所受的恩典，因为他是智慧的引导者，也是智者的纠正者。Solomon Prays for Wisdom May God grant that I speak with judgment and have thoughts worthy of what I have received, for he is the guide even of wisdom and the corrector of the wise.
- 16.我们和我们的言语都在他手中，所有的聪明和技艺也都在他手中。For both we and our words are in his hand, as are all understanding and skill in crafts.
- 17.因为他使我明白了万物的存在，知道世界的构造和元素的作用；For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements;
- 18.时之始终与中间，夏冬之交替与四季之更替，the beginning and end and middle of times, the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,
- 19.一年中的循环和星辰的星座，the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,
- 20.动物的天性和野兽的性情，灵的力量和人的推理，植物的种类和根的功效；the natures of animals and the tempers of wild beasts, the powers of spirits and the reasonings of men, the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;
- 21.我既知道隐秘的，也知道显明的，I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,
- 22.因为造物的智慧教导了我。她本身的性质就是有一种聪明、圣洁、独特、多样、微妙、灵活、清晰、纯洁、分明、不可侵犯、爱好美善、锐利、不可抗拒的精神。for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me. The Nature of Wisdom For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible,
- 23.仁慈的、人道的、坚定的、可靠的、无忧的、全能的、监管一切的、并且能够穿透所有聪明纯洁最微妙的灵魂。beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle.
- 24.因为智慧比任何运动都更灵活，正是由于她的纯洁，她渗透并穿透一切事物。For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.
- 25.因为她是上帝力量的一缕气息，也是全能者荣耀的纯洁流露；因此，任何不洁之物都不能进入她。For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
- 26.因为她是永恒光明的反映，是上帝工作的无瑕镜子，也是祂的良善的影像。For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.
- 27.她虽然独一，却能成就一切，在不改变自己的情况下，她使万物更新，在各世各代，她进入圣洁的灵魂，使他们成为上帝的朋友和先知；Though she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets;
- 28.因为上帝最爱那些用智慧生活的人。for God loves nothing so much as the man who lives with wisdom.
- 29.因为她比太阳更美丽，胜过所有星辰的光辉，与光相比，她被发现更为优秀，For she is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
- 30.因为黑夜接续于白天，但邪恶不能战胜智慧。for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail.
这段经文的意思
The chapter opens with Solomon claiming full solidarity with the human race: he was molded in flesh, compacted with blood over ten months, nursed in swaddling cloths, breathed the common air, and cried like all (vv. 1–4). The point is rhetorical leveling — even a king has the same entrance into life and the same common departure as anyone else (vv. 5–6). This prepares the reader to hear his testimony as that of a representative suppliant, not a privileged insider.
From that leveling he turns to the actual gift. Wisdom came because he prayed and called upon God (v. 7); he then ranks her above scepters, thrones, wealth, gems, health, beauty, and light, because gold and silver are like sand and clay compared with her, and her radiance never ceases (vv. 8–11). The goods of life are real and good, yet wisdom leads them — she is 'their mother,' a status Solomon only recognized in retrospect (v. 12). The treasure is unfailing; those who obtain it gain 'friendship with God' and are commended for the gifts of instruction (vv. 13–14).
The second half shifts to a sustained meditation on wisdom's nature. After asking God for fitting speech (v. 15), Solomon credits God as the source of all understanding and craftsmanship (v. 16) and lists the scope of what wisdom disclosed: the structure of the world, the activity of the elements, the cycles of times and seasons, animals, spirits, plants, and roots, both the secret and the manifest (vv. 17–21). Wisdom herself is then portrayed as intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, and penetrating — a breath of God's power, a pure emanation of his glory, a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of his working, and an image of his goodness (vv. 22–26). Though one, she does all things; remaining in herself she renews all things, entering holy souls and making them friends of God and prophets (v. 27). She is more beautiful than the sun, and against wisdom evil does not prevail (vv. 29–30).
背景
The curated note indicates this chapter was backfilled from material outside the designated P0/P1 set of Wisdom, so it stands on its own within the book. No cross references were supplied and no original-language lexical entries were provided, so the page restricts itself to describing what the chapter itself says. The verses present a self-contained literary unit in three movements: Solomon's common origin (vv. 1–6), his personal reception of wisdom through prayer (vv. 7–14), and a doxological description of wisdom's nature and activity (vv. 15–30). The recurring phrase structure — Solomon lists, then reflects on what he has listed — gives the chapter its didactic, testimony-driven shape.
Because no external context material was provided, nothing is asserted about authorship, dating, the book's canonicity history, its relationship to Hellenistic philosophy, or whether 'Solomon' here is a historical voice or a literary persona. The English text supplied is treated as the working translation; no alternate renderings are introduced.
常见问题
Why does Solomon begin by stressing his ordinary, mortal origin?
Verses 1–6 deliberately place the king on the same biological footing as everyone else: flesh, blood, ten months in the womb, swaddling cloths, a first cry. The rhetorical effect is to make his testimony about wisdom credible and representative rather than exceptional, so that when he says wisdom came through prayer, his readers can identify with him as a fellow suppliant.
What does the phrase 'friendship with God' mean in verse 14?
In context, the unfailing treasure of wisdom yields a relational outcome: those who obtain it 'obtain friendship with God' and are commended for the gifts that come from instruction. Within the chapter this friendship is concrete — wisdom enters holy souls and makes them 'friends of God, and prophets' in verse 27. The idea is that wisdom is not merely information but a relationship with the divine that issues in a prophetic vocation.
How are wisdom's titles in verses 25–26 — 'breath,' 'emanation,' 'reflection,' 'mirror,' 'image' — related to one another?
The text layers images rather than equating them. Wisdom is called a 'breath of the power of God,' suggesting dynamic origin from God's energy; a 'pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty,' suggesting radiance that streams from God's majesty; a 'reflection of eternal light,' suggesting that something preexistent in God becomes visible in her; a 'spotless mirror of the working of God,' suggesting undistorted reception; and an 'image of his goodness,' suggesting that she visibly expresses God's character. Read together, the passage depicts wisdom as the medium through which God's power, glory, light, activity, and goodness become present and communicable without being identical to God himself.