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3:1  But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment can overtake them.
3:2  From the viewpoint of the foolish, they seemed to be dead, and their passing away was reckoned as a misfortune,
3:3  and their departure from us as their ruin. But they are at peace.
3:4  Although in the eyes of others they were chastised, their hope is full of immortality.
3:5  Having endured a slight chastisement, they will receive great blessings, because God tested them and found them worthy to be with him.
3:6  He put them to the proof like gold in a furnace, and he accepted them as a sacrificial burnt offering.
3:7  In the time of their visitation they will shine brightly and spread like sparks among the stubble.
3:8  They will judge nations and have dominion over peoples, and the Lord will be their King forever.
3:9  Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will dwell with him in love, because grace and mercy are reserved for his holy ones, and he shows concern for his elect.
3:10  However, the godless will receive a punishment in accord with their reasoning, for they had no concern for the righteous and rebelled against the Lord.
3:11  Those who despise wisdom and discipline are wretched: vain is their hope, unprofitable are their labors, and worthless are their achievements.
3:12  Their wives are foolish and their children depraved; their lineage is accursed.
3:13  Blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled, who has not experienced a sinful union; she will bear fruit at the visitation of souls.
3:14  Blessed also is the eunuch whose hands have committed no iniquity and who has never harbored any wicked thoughts against the Lord; he shall receive a special grace for his faithfulness and a more illustrious share in the temple of the Lord.
3:15  For the fruit of good works is glorious, and the root of understanding is ever fruitful.
3:16  But the children of adulterers will never see maturity, and the offspring of an unlawful union will disappear.
3:17  Even should they achieve a long life, they will be regarded as of no account, and in the end their old age will be without honor.
3:18  But if they die young, they will have no hope, nor any consolation on the day of judgment,
3:19  for the fate of a wicked generation is harsh.