The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
To know wisdom and instruction;
To discern the words of understanding;
To receive instruction in wise dealing,
In righteousness and justice and equity;
To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion:
That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning;
And that the man of understanding may attain unto sound counsels:
To understand a proverb, and {Or, an interpretation}a figure,
The words of the wise, and their {Or, riddles}dark sayings.
The fear of Jehovah is the {Or, chief part}beginning of knowledge;
But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
My son, hear the instruction of thy father,
And forsake not the {Or, teaching}law of thy mother:
For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head,
And chains about thy neck.
My son, if sinners entice thee,
Consent thou not.
If they say, Come with us,
Let us lay wait for blood;
Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause;
Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol,
{Or, Even the perfect}And whole, as those that go down into the pit;
We shall find all precious substance;
We shall fill our houses with spoil;
{Or, Cast in thy lot}Thou shalt cast thy lot among us;
We will all have one purse:
My son, walk not thou in the way with them;
Refrain thy foot from their path:
For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
For in vain is the net spread
In the sight of any bird:
And these lay wait for their own blood;
They lurk privily for their own lives.
So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain;
It taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
Wisdom crieth aloud in the street;
She uttereth her voice in the broad places;
She crieth {Hebrew: at the head of the noisy streets.}in the chief place of concourse;
At the entrance of the gates,
In the city, she uttereth her words:
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?
And scoffers delight them in scoffing,
And fools hate knowledge?
Turn you at my reproof:
Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you;
I will make known my words unto you.
Because I have called, and ye have refused;
I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded;
But ye have set at nought all my counsel,
And would none of my reproof:
I also will laugh in the day of your calamity;
I will mock when your fear cometh;
When your fear cometh as a {Or, desolation}storm,
And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind;
When distress and anguish come upon you.
Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me {Or, early}diligently, but they shall not find me:
For that they hated knowledge,
And did not choose the fear of Jehovah:
They would none of my counsel;
They despised all my reproof.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way,
And be filled with their own devices.
For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them,
And the careless ease of fools shall destroy them.
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely,
And shall be quiet without fear of evil.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 1,28 Spr 1,28
And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not {Or, rule in According to Septuagint Version, Vulgate and Syriac abide in.}strive with man for ever, {Or, in their going astray they are flesh}for that he also is flesh: {Or, therefore}yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.
When he slew them, then they inquired after him;And they returned and sought God earnestly.
And they remembered that God was their rock,And the Most High God their redeemer.
But they flattered him with their mouth,And lied unto him with their tongue.
Will God hear his cry,When trouble cometh upon him?
I will go and return to my place, till they {Or, have borne their guilt}acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me {Or, earnestly, saying}earnestly.
There they cry, {Or, but he answereth not}but none giveth answer,Because of the pride of evil men.
Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him.
And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.
O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your {Or, kindness}goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth early away.
They cried, but there was none to save;Even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not.
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and they shall cry unto me, but I will not hearken unto them.
When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt-offering and meal-offering, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Therefore will I also deal in wrath; mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
Then shall they cry unto Jehovah, but he will not answer them; yea, he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings.
And it is come to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear, so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts;
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many {Greek: powers.}mighty works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are;
then shall ye begin to say, We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets;
and he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and yourselves cast forth without.
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures.