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 1,33 Spr 1,33
Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me;For blessed are they that keep my ways.
Hear instruction, and be wise,And refuse it not.
Blessed is the man that heareth me,Watching daily at my gates,Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoso findeth me findeth life,And shall {Hebrew: draw forth.}obtain favor of Jehovah.
My son, let them not depart from thine eyes;Keep sound wisdom and discretion:
So shall they be life unto thy soul,And grace to thy neck.
Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely,And {Hebrew: thou shall not dash thy foot.}thy foot shall not stumble.
When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid:Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
Be not afraid of sudden fear,Neither of the {Or, storm}desolation of the wicked, when it cometh:
For Jehovah will be thy confidence,And will keep thy foot from being taken.
For by me thy days shall be multiplied,And the years of thy life shall be increased.
In the fear of Jehovah is strong confidence;And {Or, the children of him that hath it}his children shall have a place of refuge.
What man is he that feareth Jehovah?Him shall he instruct in the way that he shall choose.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings:His heart is fixed, trusting in Jehovah.
His soul shall dwell at ease;And his seed shall inherit the land.
{Or, A stedfast mind thou keepest in perfect peace, because it &c.}Thou wilt keep him {Hebrew: peace, peace.}in perfect peace, whose {Or, imagination}mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.
Oh that my people would hearken unto me,That Israel would walk in my ways!
And when ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified: for these things must needs come to pass first; but the end is not immediately.
{Or, Oh that thou wouldest hearken…then would thy peace be &c.}Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
In your {Or, stedfastness}patience ye shall win your {Or, lives}souls.
Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Who shall separate us from the love {Some ancient authorities read of God.}of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Even as it is written, {Psalms 44:22}For thy sake we are killed all the day long;We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other {Or, creation}creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.
{Some ancient authorities read That which my Father hath given unto me}My Father, who hath given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch {Or, aught}them out of the Father's hand.
who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.