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 21,18 Spr 21,18
The righteous is delivered out of trouble,And the wicked cometh in his stead.
For I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I have given Egypt as thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in thy stead.
Since thou hast been precious in my sight, {Or, thou hast been honorable &c.}and honorable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give men in thy stead, and peoples instead of thy life.
Surely he hath borne our {Hebrew: sicknesses.}griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Because Christ also {Many ancient authorities read died.}suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;