OLD TESTAMENT READING (First Reading)

3.        Wisdom 3:1-9 (long version)

A Reading from the Book of Wisdom

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
      and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
      and their passing away was thought an affliction
      and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed they be punished,
      yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
      because God tried them
      and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
      and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
      and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
      and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
      and the faithful shall abide with him in love;
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
      and his care is with his elect.

The word of the Lord