A soft answer turneth away wrath;
But a grievous word stirreth up anger.
The tongue of the wise uttereth knowledge aright;
But the mouth of fools poureth out folly.
The eyes of Jehovah are in every place,
Keeping watch upon the evil and the good.
{Hebrew: The healing of the tongue.}A gentle tongue is a tree of life;
But perverseness therein is a breaking of the spirit.
A fool despiseth his father's {Or, instruction}correction;
But he that regardeth reproof {Or, dealeth prundently}getteth prudence.
In the house of the righteous is much treasure;
But in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.
The lips of the wise disperse knowledge;
But the heart of the foolish {Or, is not stedfast (or, right)}doeth not so.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah;
But the prayer of the upright is his delight.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah;
But he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
There is grievous correction for him that forsaketh the way;
And he that hateth reproof shall die.
Sheol and {Or, Destruction}Abaddon are before Jehovah:
How much more then the hearts of the children of men!
A scoffer loveth not to be reproved;
He will not go unto the wise.
A glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance;
But by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.
The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge;
But the mouth of fools feedeth on folly.
All the days of the afflicted are evil;
But he that is of a cheerful heart hath a continual feast.
Better is little, with the fear of Jehovah,
Than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Better is a {Or, portion}dinner of herbs, where love is,
Than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
A wrathful man stirreth up contention;
But he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns;
But the path of the upright is made a highway.
A wise son maketh a glad father;
But a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Folly is joy to him that is void of {Hebrew: heart.}wisdom;
But a man of understanding maketh straight his going.
Where there is no counsel, purposes are disappointed;
But in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
A man hath joy in the answer of his mouth;
And a word in due season, how good is it!
To the wise the way of life goeth upward,
That he may depart from Sheol beneath.
Jehovah will root up the house of the proud;
But he will establish the border of the widow.
Evil devices are an abomination to Jehovah;
But {Or, the pure speak pleasant words}pleasant words are pure.
He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house;
But he that hateth bribes shall live.
The heart of the righteous studieth to answer;
But the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
Jehovah is far from the wicked;
But he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart;
And good tidings make the bones fat.
The ear that hearkeneth to the reproof of life
Shall abide among the wise.
He that refuseth {Or, instruction}correction despiseth his own soul;
But he that hearkeneth to reproof getteth {Hebrew: heart.}understanding.
The fear of Jehovah is the instruction of wisdom;
And before honor goeth humility.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 15,1 Spr 15,1
By long forbearing is a {Or, judge}ruler persuaded,And a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they did chide with him sharply.
And he said unto them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
God hath delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their {Hebrew: spirit.}anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.
Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good.
God do so {The Syriac and some editions of Septuagint version have, unto David.}unto the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light so much as one man-child.
And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and alighted from her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.
And she fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy handmaid.
Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; {That is, Fool.}Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
Now therefore, my lord, as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing Jehovah hath withholden thee {Hebrew: from coming into blood.}from bloodguiltiness, and from {Hebrew: thine own hand saving thee.}avenging thyself with thine own hand, now therefore let thine enemies, and them that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
And now this {Hebrew; blessing.}present which thy servant hath brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the young men that follow my lord.
Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of Jehovah; and evil shall not be found in thee all thy days.
And though men be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of {Or, the living}life with Jehovah thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.
And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee prince over Israel,
that this shall be no {Hebrew: cause of staggering.}grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, {Or, so that thou shouldest shed &c.}either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.
And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me:
and blessed be thy discretion, and blessed be thou, that hast kept me this day from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.
Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two {Or, skins}bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
And one of the same place answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?
and she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.
And when I saw that ye saved me not, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?
Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye are fugitives of Ephraim, ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Manasseh.
And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan {Or, towards Ephraim}against the Ephraimites. And it was so, that, when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth; for he could not frame to pronounce it right: then they laid hold on him, and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of Ephraim forty and two thousand.
And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master.
Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my {Hebrew: slaughter.}flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are?
Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good.
God do so {The Syriac and some editions of Septuagint version have, unto David.}unto the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light so much as one man-child.
And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, {Or, and were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?}that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him,
and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
So the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was a thing brought about of Jehovah, that he might establish his word, which Jehovah spake by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.