My son, if thou wilt receive my words,
And lay up my commandments with thee;
So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom,
And apply thy heart to understanding;
Yea, if thou cry after discernment,
And lift up thy voice for understanding;
If thou seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hid treasures:
Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah,
And find the knowledge of God.
For Jehovah giveth wisdom;
Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding:
He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright;
{Or, And a shield for &c.}He is a shield to them that walk in integrity;
{Or, That they may keep}That he may guard the paths of justice,
{Or, Yea he preserveth}And preserve the way of his saints.
Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice,
And equity, yea, every good path.
For wisdom shall enter into thy heart,
And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;
Discretion shall watch over thee;
Understanding shall keep thee:
To deliver thee from the way of {Or, the evil man}evil,
From the men that speak perverse things;
Who forsake the paths of uprightness,
To walk in the ways of darkness;
Who rejoice to do evil,
And delight in the perverseness of {Or, the evil man}evil;
Who are crooked in their ways,
And wayward in their paths:
To deliver thee from the strange woman,
Even from the foreigner that {Hebrew: maketh smooth her words.}flattereth with her words;
That forsaketh the {Or, guide}friend of her youth,
And forgetteth the covenant of her God:
For {Or, she sinketh down unto death, which is her house}her house inclineth unto death,
And her paths unto {Or, the shades Hebrew: Rephaim.}the dead;
None that go unto her return again,
Neither do they attain unto the paths of life:
That thou mayest walk in the way of good men,
And keep the paths of the righteous.
For the upright shall dwell in the {Or, earth}land,
And the perfect shall remain in it.
But the wicked shall be cut off from the {Or, earth}land,
And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 2,4 Spr 2,4
For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver,And the profit thereof than fine gold.
But where shall wisdom be found?And where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof;Neither is it found in the land of the living.
The deep saith, It is not in me;And the sea saith, It is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for {Or, treasure}gold,Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,With the precious {Or, beryl}onyx, or the sapphire.
Gold and glass cannot equal it,Neither shall it be exchanged for {Or, vessels}jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal:Yea, the price of wisdom is above {Or, red coral Or, pearls}rubies.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
Whence then cometh wisdom?And where is the place of understanding?
She is more precious than rubies:And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.
There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches. For whom then, saith he, do I labor, and deprive my soul of good? This also is vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
Riches and honor are with me;Yea, {Or, ancient}durable wealth and righteousness.
And his lord commended {Greek: the stewart of unrightousness.}the unrighteous steward because he had done wisely: for the sons of this {Or, age}world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold;And my {Or, increase}revenue than choice silver.
How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!Yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver.
Buy the truth, and sell it not;Yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold;Sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb.
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,As much as in all riches.
The law of thy mouth is better unto meThan thousands of gold and silver.
Therefore I love thy commandmentsAbove gold, yea, above fine gold.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves {Greek: dig through.}break through and steal:
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not {Greek: dig through.}break through nor steal:
for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and {Or, for joy thereof}in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Jesus said unto him, If thou wouldest be perfect, go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
But when the young man heard the saying, he went away sorrowful; for he was one that had great possessions.
And every one that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, {Many ancient authorities add or wife: as in Luke 18:29.}or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive {Some ancient authorities read manifold.}a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life.