Wisdom
Verse 1. O how. Septuagint “for incorruptible is thy Spirit;” which S. Athanasius (ad Serap.) adduces as a proof of the Holy Ghost’s divinity. Calmet.—God loves the soul of man. Grot.
EXPLANATIONS
Wisdom 12
Historical chapter commentary
Wisdom
Verse 5. Consecration. Lit. sacrament, or land. That is, the land sacred to thee, in which thy temple was to be established, and man’s redemption to be wrought. Challoner.
Wisdom
Verse 8. Wasps. These were the auxiliaries of the Hebrews. Deuteronomy 7:20. Saint James saved Nisibis from the Persian army, by praying for gnats to descend. Theod. Philot. i.—The inhabitants of Belgrade incensed bees, by fire and smoke, to attack the troops of Amurath. Bonf. iv. dec. 3.
Wisdom
Verse 10. Natural. We are all by nature children of wrath. Ephesians 2:3. Bible.—But the Chanaanites were accursed by Noe, (Genesis 9:25) and were brought up in wickedness (Psalms 57:4) by their parents. Saint Augustine de Bapt. ii. 8.—Changed. Because they would not employ well the time allowed them. Calmet.—By custom, malice became as it were natural, after nature was corrupted. Worthington.
Wisdom
Verse 11. Pardon. Or impunity. Calmet.—“Thou art angry, and yet are tranquil. Saint Augustine Conf. i. 4.
Wisdom
Verse 12. Done? Shall the clay say to the potter, why hast thou made me thus? Isaiah 45:9 and 64:8. We know, that under a just God, no one is miserable, unless he deserve it. verse 15.
Wisdom
Verse 15. Punished. Saint Augustine ep. 106. Some have read incorrectly: “Thou condemnest him who ought not to be punished, and deemest him a stranger to thy virtue,” which Saint Gregory (Mor. iii. 11.) explains of Jesus Christ, the victim of sinners; other, of people born in sin, (Lyran.) while some would hence prove the decree of reprobation. Duran.—But it is needless to explain a text which the Greek shews to be inaccurate. Calmet.
Wisdom
Verse 19. Hope. Under a God of such clemency, none should despair.
Wisdom
Verse 27. God. Who destroyed their idols: yet they did not serve him, ( Worthington.) which was true of all the pagans. Romans 1:21. Calmet.
Wisdom
Or, children
Wisdom
Or, wasps
Wisdom
Or, children
Wisdom
Greek living creatures: and so elsewhere in this book.