Wisdom 15:10–19

¹⁰His heart is ashes. His hope is of less value than earth. His life is of less honor than clay,↗

¹¹because he was ignorant of him who molded him, and of him that inspired into him an active soul, and breathed into him a vital spirit.↗

¹²But he accounted our life to be a game, and our lifetime a festival for profit; for, he says, one must get gain however one can, even if it is by evil.↗

¹³For this man, beyond all others, knows that he sins, out of earthy matter making brittle vessels and engraved images.↗

¹⁴But most foolish and more miserable than a baby, are the enemies of your people, who oppressed them;↗

¹⁵because they even considered all the idols of the nations to be gods, which have neither the use of eyes for seeing, nor nostrils for drawing breath, nor ears to hear, nor fingers for handling, and their feet are helpless for walking.↗

¹⁶For a man made them, and one whose own spirit is borrowed molded them; for no one has power as a man to mold a god like himself.↗

¹⁷But, being mortal, he makes a dead thing by the work of lawless hands; for he is better than the objects of his worship, since he indeed had life, but they never did.↗

¹⁸Yes, and they worship the creatures that are most hateful, for, being compared as to lack of sense, these are worse than all others;↗

¹⁹Neither, as seen beside other creatures, are they beautiful, so that one should desire them, but they have escaped both the praise of God and his blessing.↗