Wisdom 15:16
For man made them: and he that borroweth his own breath, fashioned them. For no man can make a god like to himself.
Open Wisdom 15:16 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Homo enim fecit illos ; et qui spiritum mutuatus est, is finxit illos. Nemo enim sibi similem homo poterit deum fingere.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἄνθρωπος γὰρ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα δεδανισμένος ἔπλασεν αὐτούς· οὐδεὶς γὰρ αὐτῷ ὅμοιον ἄνθρωπος ἰσχύει πλάσαι θεόν·
The Fathers on this verse
St Cyprian Treatise XI, Chapter I
In the cxiiith Psalm it is shown that “the idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have a mouth, and speak not; eyes have they, and see not. They have ears, and hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouth. Let those that make them be made like unto them.” Also in the Wisdom of Solomon: “They counted all the idols of the nations to be gods, which neither have the use of eyes to see, nor noses to draw breath, nor ears to hear, nor fingers on their hands to handle; and as for their feet, they are slow to go. For man made them, and he that borrowed his own spirit fashioned them; but no man can make a god like unto himself. …
St Cyprian Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews, Testimony LIX
In the Wisdom of Solomon: “All the idols of the nations they counted gods, which neither have the use of their eyes for seeing, nor their nostrils to receive breath, nor their ears for hearing, nor the fingers on their hands for handling; but their feet also are slow to walk. For man made them; and he who has borrowed his breath, he fashioned them. But no man will be able to fashion a god like to himself. For since he is mortal, he fashioneth a dead thing with wicked hands. …