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 3,30 Spr 3,30
The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water:Therefore leave off contention, before there is quarrelling.
A fool's lips {Or, bring contention}enter into contention,And his mouth calleth for stripes.
Go not forth hastily to strive, {Or, Lest it be said in the end thereof, What will thou do? When &c.}Lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof,When thy neighbor hath put thee to shame.
Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself, {Or, But}And disclose not the secret of another;
An angry man stirreth up strife,And a wrathful man aboundeth in transgression.
but I say unto you, Resist not {Or, evil}him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
And whosoever shall {Greek: impress.}compel thee to go one mile, go with him two.
If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.
Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto {Or, wrath}the wrath of God: for it is written, {Deuteronomy 32:35}Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord.
But {(Proverbs 25:21 f.)}if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
but brother goeth to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?
Nay, already it is altogether {Or, a loss to you}a defect in you, that ye have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather take wrong? why not rather be defrauded?
Nay, but ye yourselves do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
And the Lord's {Greek: bondservant.}servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing,