Wisdom of Solomon

King James Version + Apocrypha

Wisdom of Solomon has 19 chapters. Read Wisdom of Solomon in the King James Version + Apocrypha, chapter by chapter, free and without an account.

Wisdom of Solomon urges its readers to seek righteousness and divine wisdom. It contrasts the apparent success of the wicked with the lasting hope of the righteous, praises wisdom as God’s gift, and offers a prayer for wise rule. Its later chapters reflect on Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, God’s mercy, and the folly of idolatry.

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In Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, Wisdom of Solomon is among the Wisdom Books of the Old Testament, one of the deuterocanonical books. Protestant Bibles place it in the Apocrypha or leave it out, and it is not part of the Jewish Tanakh. See it on the shelf.

A community stands where an open path toward light divides from a shadowed path of whispered intrigue
Wisdom of Solomon 1

Wisdom 1 calls rulers to righteousness, warns against deceit, and teaches that God made creation for life rather than death.

A calm righteous figure stands in warm light as revelers abandon a fading feast and conspirators gather nearby
Wisdom of Solomon 2

Wisdom 2 exposes the reasoning of the ungodly, their persecution of the righteous, and their blindness to humanity's divine purpose.

Mourners gather near an extinguished lamp while peaceful figures stand beyond them in a luminous dawn
Wisdom of Solomon 3

Wisdom 3 contrasts the peaceful hope and lasting reward of the righteous with the barren outcome of faithlessness.

A deeply rooted olive tree bears fruit beside a crowded grove of shallow saplings bending and withering in wind
Wisdom of Solomon 4

Wisdom 4 teaches that virtue outweighs lineage or longevity and that wisdom, not age alone, marks a mature life.

Faithful people stand in radiant calm while astonished rulers watch fleeting tracks disappear across water and sky
Wisdom of Solomon 5

Wisdom 5 portrays the vindication of the righteous and the remorse of the proud when wealth and arrogance prove fleeting.

Rulers lay down their staffs and crowns as they approach a luminous seat of wisdom in the early dawn
Wisdom of Solomon 6

Wisdom 6 warns rulers of divine accountability and urges them to seek the wisdom that enables just and enduring government.

A humble ruler reaches toward sacred light as a scepter, gold, and jewels rest unused beside him
Wisdom of Solomon 7

Wisdom 7 presents Solomon's prayer for wisdom and his praise of her surpassing worth, purity, and knowledge of creation.

A young ruler studies beside a restrained luminous personification of Wisdom with a council chamber in the distance
Wisdom of Solomon 8

Wisdom 8 celebrates Wisdom as companion, counselor, teacher of virtue, and divine gift essential to worthy leadership.

Solomon kneels beside temple plans and an empty judgment seat beneath a gentle shaft of heavenly light
Wisdom of Solomon 9

Wisdom 9 records Solomon's prayer for heavenly wisdom to govern justly and discern God's will amid human limitation.

A luminous path connects a garden, an ark on floodwaters, a fleeing family, a traveler, and a prisoner rising to honor
Wisdom of Solomon 10

Wisdom 10 traces divine Wisdom through Adam, Noah, Abraham's era, Jacob, Joseph, and the preservation of the righteous.

Travelers gather gratefully at a desert spring while a distant river and troubled city lie beneath harsh light
Wisdom of Solomon 11

Wisdom 11 contrasts Israel's water in the wilderness with Egypt's judgment and praises God's measured, merciful correction.

A patient gardener clears poisonous growth from a field while families wait in safety beyond the cultivated boundary
Wisdom of Solomon 12

Wisdom 12 reflects on gradual judgment, opportunity for repentance, and the lesson that God's people should judge with mercy.

People admire the sun, stars, wind, and sea as one seeker looks beyond their beauty toward a greater unseen source
Wisdom of Solomon 13

Wisdom 13 argues that the beauty and power of creation should lead human reason beyond nature to its Creator.

Sailors guide a wooden ship through rough water while a carved figure tied to the mast remains powerless
Wisdom of Solomon 14

Wisdom 14 contrasts useful human craft with idolatry and traces how false worship spreads deception and moral disorder.

A potter shapes useful vessels as lifeless clay figurines sit aside and a family gathers prayerfully in open light
Wisdom of Solomon 15

Wisdom 15 praises knowledge of the living God and exposes the folly of potters and nations that worship lifeless things.

Travelers receive healing as they look toward a bronze serpent and gather manna beneath a softly glowing sky
Wisdom of Solomon 16

Wisdom 16 contrasts Egypt's plagues with Israel's healing and manna, emphasizing that God's word sustains and saves.

Armed captors huddle fearfully behind barred doors as oppressive darkness and imagined threats surround them
Wisdom of Solomon 17

Wisdom 17 depicts Egypt's oppressive darkness as an inward terror intensified by guilt, fear, and a troubled conscience.

Israelite families share a sacred meal in warm light while a priest with incense intercedes beyond the camp
Wisdom of Solomon 18

Wisdom 18 joins Israel's Passover light and deliverance with Egypt's midnight judgment and Aaron's saving intercession.

Families cross a dry path through parted waters toward sunrise while musicians prepare a song on the far shore
Wisdom of Solomon 19

Wisdom 19 recalls the exodus as creation reordered for deliverance, judgment, provision, and the people's final praise.