Wisdom 14:15-17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
15 [a]For a father, afflicted with untimely mourning,
made an image of the child so quickly taken from him,
And now honored as a god what once was dead
and handed down to his household mysteries and sacrifices.
16 Then, in the course of time, the impious practice gained strength and was observed as law,
and graven things were worshiped by royal decrees.(A)
17 People who lived so far away that they could not honor him in his presence
copied the appearance of the distant king
And made a public image of him they wished to honor,
out of zeal to flatter the absent one as though present.
Footnotes
- 14:15–21 The author develops two examples of idolatry: cult of the dead, and cult of the king.
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