1. The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,and no torment shall touch them.
2. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;and their passing away was thought an affliction
3. and their going forth from us, utter destruction.But they are in peace.
4. For if to others, indeed, they seem punished,yet is their hope full of immortality;
5. Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,because God tried themand found them worthy of himself.
6. As gold in the furnace, he proved them,and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.