My son, forget not my {Or, teaching}law;
But let thy heart keep my commandments:
For length of days, and years of life,
And peace, will they add to thee.
Let not kindness and truth forsake thee:
Bind them about thy neck;
Write them upon the tablet of thy heart:
So shalt thou find favor and {Or, good repute}good understanding
In the sight of God and man.
Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart,
And lean not upon thine own understanding:
In all thy ways acknowledge him,
And he will {Or, make straight (or, plain)}direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes;
Fear Jehovah, and depart from evil:
It will be health to thy navel,
And {Or, refreshing Hebrew: moistening.}marrow to thy bones.
Honor Jehovah with thy substance,
And with the first-fruits of all thine increase:
So shall thy barns be filled with plenty,
And thy vats shall overflow with new wine.
My son, despise not the {Or, instruction}chastening of Jehovah;
Neither be weary of his reproof:
For whom Jehovah loveth he reproveth;
Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,
And the man that {Hebrew: draweth forth.}getteth understanding.
For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver,
And the profit thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies:
And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand;
In her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:
And happy is every one that retaineth her.
Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth;
By understanding he established the heavens.
By his knowledge the depths were broken up,
And the skies drop down the dew.
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.
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,
When it is in the power of thy hand to do it.
Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again,
And to-morrow I will give;
When thou hast it by thee.
Devise not evil against thy neighbor,
Seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
Strive not with a man without cause,
If he have done thee no harm.
Envy thou not the man of violence,
And choose none of his ways.
For the perverse is an abomination to Jehovah;
But his {Or, counsel}friendship is with the upright.
The curse of Jehovah is in the house of the wicked;
But he blesseth the habitation of the righteous.
{Or, Though}Surely he scoffeth at the scoffers;
{Or, Yet}But he giveth grace unto the lowly.
The wise shall inherit glory;
But {Or, foots carry away shame}shame shall be the promotion of fools.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 3,10 Spr 3,10
There is that scattereth, and increaseth yet more;And there is that withholdeth {Or, what is justly due}more than is meet, but it tendeth only to want.
The liberal soul shall be made fat;And he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah,And his good deed will he pay him again.
He that hath a {Hebrew: good.}bountiful eye shall be blessed;For he giveth of his bread to the poor.
Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am Jehovah.
If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
then I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time; and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
Jehovah will command the blessing upon thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and he will bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
{Or, Send forth}Cast thy bread {Hebrew: upon the face of the waters}upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.
{Or, Divide a portion into seven, yea, even into eight}Give a portion to seven, yea, even unto eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree have not brought forth; from this day will I bless you.
Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith Jehovah of hosts.
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward.
But this I say, He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth {Greek: with blessings. Compare verse 5.}bountifully shall reap also {Greek: with blessings. Compare verse 5.}bountifully.
Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not {Greek: of sorrow.}grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work:
as it is written, {Psalm 112:9.}He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor;His righteousness abideth for ever.
And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness:
ye being enriched in everything unto all {Greek: singleness. Compare chapter 8:2.}liberality, which worketh through us thanksgiving to God.