Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler;
And whosoever {Or, reeleth}erreth thereby is not wise.
The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion:
He that {Or, angereth himself against him}provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own {Hebrew: soul.}life.
It is an honor for a man to {Or, cease}keep aloof from strife;
But every fool will be quarrelling.
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;
{Or, Therefore when he seeketh in harvest, there shall be nothing}Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water;
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
Most men will proclaim every one his own kindness;
But a faithful man who can find?
A righteous man that walketh in his integrity,
Blessed are his children after him.
A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment
{Or, Winnoweth}Scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
Who can say, I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin?
{Hebrew: A stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah.}Diverse weights, and diverse measures,
Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah.
Even a child maketh himself known by his doings,
Whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
Jehovah hath made even both of them.
Love not sleep, let thou come to poverty;
Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
It is bad, it is bad, saith the buyer;
But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
There is gold, and abundance of rubies;
But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger;
And {Or, take a pledge of him}hold him in pledge that is surety for {Another reading is, a foreign woman.}foreigners.
Bread of falsehood is sweet to a man;
But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
Every purpose is established by counsel;
And by wise guidance make thou war.
He that goeth about as a tale-bearer revealeth secrets;
Therefore company not with him that openeth wide his lips.
Whoso curseth his father or his mother,
His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning;
But the end thereof shall not be blessed.
Say not thou, I will recompense evil:
Wait for Jehovah, and he will save thee.
Diverse weights are an abomination to Jehovah;
And {Hebrew: a balance of deceit.}a false balance is not good.
A man's goings are of Jehovah;
How then can man understand his way?
It is a snare to a man {Or, rashly to utter holy words Or, to devour that which is holy}rashly to say, It is holy,
And after vows to make inquiry.
A wise king winnoweth the wicked,
And bringeth the threshing- wheel over them.
The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah,
Searching all his innermost parts.
Kindness and truth preserve the king;
And {Or, he upholdeth his throne}his throne is upholden by kindness.
The glory of young men is their strength;
And the beauty of old men is the hoary head.
Stripes that wound cleanse away evil;
And strokes reach the innermost parts.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 20,4 Spr 20,4
He becometh poor that worketh with a slack hand;But the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,A little folding of the hands to {Hebrew: lie down.}sleep:
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep;And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.
So shall thy poverty come as a {Or, rover}robber,And thy want as {Hebrew: a man with a shield.}an armed man.
The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish,And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep;And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.
The sluggard saith, There is a lion in the way;A lion is in the streets.
As the door turneth upon its hinges,So doth the sluggard upon his bed.
The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish;It wearieth him to bring it again to his mouth.
The sluggard is wiser in {Hebrew: his own eyes.}his own conceitThan seven men that can {Or, answer discreetly}render a reason.
So shall thy poverty come as a robber,And thy want as an armed man.
For the foolish, when they took their {Or, torches}lamps, took no oil with them:
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their {Or, torches}lamps.
Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their {Or, torches}lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our {Or, torches}lamps are going out.
But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut.
And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter;
and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own.
But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful {Greek: bondservant.}servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter;
thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest.
Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents.
Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in your virtue knowledge;
and in your knowledge self-control; and in your self-control {Or, stedfastness}patience; and in your {Or, stedfastness}patience godliness;
and in your godliness {Greek: love of the brethren.}brotherly kindness; and in your {Greek: love of the brethren.}brotherly kindness love.
For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For he that lacketh these things is blind, {Or, closing his eyes}seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins.
Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble:
for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.