A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,
And {Or, favor is better than &c.}loving favor rather than silver and gold.
The rich and the poor meet together:
Jehovah is the maker of them all.
A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself;
But the simple pass on, and {Hebrew: are mulcted.}suffer for it.
The reward of humility and the fear of Jehovah
Is riches, and honor, and life.
Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse:
He that keepeth his soul shall be far from them.
Train up a child {Hebrew: according to his way.}in the way he should go,
And even when he is old he will not depart from it.
The rich ruleth over the poor;
And the borrower is servant to the lender.
He that soweth iniquity shall reap {Or, vanity}calamity;
And the rod of his wrath shall fail.
He that hath a {Hebrew: good.}bountiful eye shall be blessed;
For he giveth of his bread to the poor.
Cast out the scoffer, and contention will go out;
Yea, strife and ignominy will cease.
He that loveth {Another reading is, the pure of heart.}pureness of heart,
{Or, Hath grace in his lips Or, That hath grace in his lips}For the grace of his lips the king will be his friend.
The eyes of Jehovah preserve him that hath knowledge;
But he overthroweth the words of the treacherous man.
The sluggard saith, There is a lion without;
I shall be slain in the streets.
The mouth of strange women is a deep pit;
He {Or, against whom Jehovah hath indignation}that is abhorred of Jehovah shall fall therein.
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his gain,
And he that giveth to the rich, shall come only to want.
Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise,
And apply thy heart unto my knowledge.
For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee,
If they be established together upon thy lips.
That thy trust may be in Jehovah,
I have made them known to thee this day, even to thee.
Have not I written unto thee {The word is doubtful. Another reading is, heretofore.}excellent things
{Or, in}Of counsels and knowledge,
To make thee know {Or, of a certainty the words &c.}the certainty of the words of truth,
That thou mayest carry back words of truth to them that send thee?
Rob not the poor, {Or, for}because he is poor;
Neither {Or, crush}oppress the afflicted in the gate:
For Jehovah will plead their cause,
And despoil of life those that despoil them.
Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger;
And with a wrathful man thou shalt not go:
Lest thou learn this ways,
And get a snare to thy soul.
Be thou not one of them that strike hands,
Or of them that are sureties for debts.
If thou hast not wherewith to pay,
Why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
Remove not the ancient landmark,
Which thy fathers have set.
Seest thou a man {Or, skilful}diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings;
He shall not stand before {Hebrew: obscure.}mean men.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 22,9 Spr 22,9
The liberal soul shall be made fat;And he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah,And his good deed will he pay him again.
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,He also shall cry, but shall not be heard.
If there be with thee a poor man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates in thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy poor brother;
but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth.
Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto Jehovah against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
For the poor will never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy brother, to thy needy, and to thy poor, in thy land.
The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
If I have withheld {Or, aught that the poor desired}the poor from their desire,Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Or have eaten my morsel alone,And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof
(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,And her have I guided from my mother's womb);
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing,Or that the needy had no covering;
If his loins have not blessed me,And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.Blessed is he that considereth {Or, the weak}the poor:Jehovah will deliver him in the day of evil.
Jehovah will preserve him, and keep him alive,And he shall be blessed {Or, in the land}upon the earth;And deliver not thou him unto the will of his enemies.
Jehovah will support him upon the couch of languishing:Thou {Hebrew: turnest, or, changest.}makest all his bed in his sickness.
He hath dispersed, he hath given to the needy;His righteousness endureth for ever:His horn shall be exalted with honor.
{Or, Send forth}Cast thy bread {Hebrew: upon the face of the waters}upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.
{Or, Divide a portion into seven, yea, even into eight}Give a portion to seven, yea, even unto eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
But the noble deviseth noble things; and in {Or, by liberal things shall he stand}noble things shall he continue.
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward.
Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am.If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;
and if thou {Or, bestow on the hungry that which thy soul desireth}draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday;
and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in {Or, drought}dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? or is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;
naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink?
And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.
covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness:
But love your enemies, and do them good, and lend, {Some ancient authorities read despairing of no man.}never despairing; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High: for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.
Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
And judge not, and ye shall not be judged: and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: release, and ye shall be released:
give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again.
In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God which hath been given in the churches of Macedonia;
how that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their {Greek: singleness. See Romans 12:8.}liberality.
But this I say, He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth {Greek: with blessings. Compare verse 5.}bountifully shall reap also {Greek: with blessings. Compare verse 5.}bountifully.
Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not {Greek: of sorrow.}grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work:
as it is written, {Psalm 112:9.}He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor;His righteousness abideth for ever.
And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness:
ye being enriched in everything unto all {Greek: singleness. Compare chapter 8:2.}liberality, which worketh through us thanksgiving to God.
that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, {Or, ready to sympathize}willing to communicate;
laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on the life which is life indeed.
for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which ye showed toward his name, in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister.
But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
using hospitality one to another without murmuring: