The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses:
He turneth it whithersoever he will.
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes;
But Jehovah weighteth the hearts.
To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.
A high look, and a proud heart,
{Or, And the tillage}Even the lamp of the wicked, is sin.
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness;
But every one that is hasty hasteth only to want.
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
Is a vapor driven to and fro by them that seek death.
The violence of the wicked shall sweep them away,
Because they refuse to do justice.
The way of him that is laden with guilt is exceeding crooked;
But as for the pure, his work is {Or, straight}right.
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop,
Than with a contentious woman in {Or, a house in common Hebrew: a house of society.}a wide house.
The soul of the wicked desireth evil:
His neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes.
When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;
And {Or, when one considereth the wise}when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
{Or, One that is righteous…he overthroweth the wicked &c.}The righteous man considereth the house of the wicked,
How the wicked are overthrown to their ruin.
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,
He also shall cry, but shall not be heard.
A gift in secret {Hebrew: bendeth.}pacifieth anger;
And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.
It is joy to the righteous to do justice;
{Or, But destruction shall be to &c.}But it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding
Shall rest in the assembly of {Or, the shades Hebrew: Rephaim.}the dead.
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man:
He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
The wicked is a ransom for the righteous;
And the treacherous cometh in the stead of the upright.
It is better to dwell in a desert land,
Than with {Or, a contentious woman and vexation}a contentious and fretful woman.
There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise;
But a foolish man swalloweth it up.
He that followeth after righteousness and kindness
Findeth life, righteousness, and honor.
A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty,
And bringeth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue
Keepeth his soul from troubles.
The proud and haughty man, scoffer is his name;
He worketh in the arrogance of pride.
The desire of the sluggard killeth him;
For his hands refuse to labor.
There is that coveteth greedily all the day long;
But the righteous giveth and withholdeth not.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination:
How much more, when he bringeth it {Or, to atone for wickedness}with a wicked mind!
A false witness shall perish;
But the man that heareth shall speak so as to endure.
A wicked man hardeneth his face;
But as for the upright, {Another reading is, he considereth his way.}he establisheth his ways.
There is no wisdom nor understanding
Nor counsel against Jehovah.
The horse is prepared against the day of battle;
But {Or, deliverance}victory is of Jehovah.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 21,3 Spr 21,3
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah;But the prayer of the upright is his delight.
And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; {Or, Not for thy burnt-offerings, which are &c.}And thy burnt-offerings are continually before me.
What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I have had enough of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.
When ye come {Or, as otherwisw read, to see my face}to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample my courts?
Bring no more {Hebrew: an oblation of vanity.}vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies, — {Or, I cannot away with, it is iniquity, even me solemn meeting}I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a {Or, cumbrance}trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them.
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
learn to do well; seek justice, {Or, set right the oppressor}relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat ye flesh.
For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices:
but this thing I commanded them, saying, Hearken unto my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.
For I desire {Or, kindness}goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.
Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old?
will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?
and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.