American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great lovingkindness, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great lovingkindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
And now, O Jehovah my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in.
And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
Give thy servant therefore an {Hebrew: hearing.}understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this thy {Hebrew: heavy.}great people?
Tend the flock of God which is among you, {Some ancient authorities omit exercising the oversight.}exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, {Some ancient authorities omit according to the will of God.}according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?
For I was a son unto my father,Tender and {Hebrew: an only one.}only beloved in the sight of my mother.
And he taught me, and said unto me:Let thy heart retain my words;Keep my commandments, and live;
Get wisdom, get understanding;Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;
Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee;Love her, and she will keep thee.
{Or, The beginning of wisdom is, Get wisdom}Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom;Yea, with all {Or, thou hast gotten}thy getting get understanding.
Exalt her, and she will promote thee;She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace;A crown of {Or, glory}beauty will she deliver to thee.
{Or, Curds}Butter and honey shall he eat, {Or, that he may know Or, till he know}when he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
{Or, For}Surely there is a mine for silver,And a place for gold which they refine.
Iron is taken out of the {Or, dust}earth,And copper is molten out of the stone.
Man setteth an end to darkness,And searcheth out, to the furthest bound,The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
{Or, The flood breaketh out from where men sojourn. Even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are diminished, they are gone away from man.}He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn;They are forgotten of the foot;They hang afar from men, they {Or, flit}swing to and fro.
As for the earth, out of it cometh bread;And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, {Or, And he winneth lumps of gold}And it hath dust of gold.
That path no bird of prey knoweth,Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it:
The {Hebrew: sons of pride.}proud beasts have not trodden it,Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.
He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock;He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
He cutteth out {Or, passages}channels among the rocks;And his eye seeth every precious thing.
He bindeth the streams {Hebrew: from weeping.}that they trickle not;And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
But where shall wisdom be found?And where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof;Neither is it found in the land of the living.
The deep saith, It is not in me;And the sea saith, It is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for {Or, treasure}gold,Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,With the precious {Or, beryl}onyx, or the sapphire.
Gold and glass cannot equal it,Neither shall it be exchanged for {Or, vessels}jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal:Yea, the price of wisdom is above {Or, red coral Or, pearls}rubies.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
Whence then cometh wisdom?And where is the place of understanding?
Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,And kept close from the birds of the heavens.
{Hebrew: Abaddon.}Destruction and Death say,We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.
God understandeth the way thereof,And he knoweth the place thereof.
For he looketh to the ends of the earth,And seeth under the whole heaven;
{Or, When he maketh}To make a weight for the wind:Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.
When he made a decree for the rain,And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
Then did he see it, and {Or, recount}declare it;He established it, yea, and searched it out.
And unto man he said,Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;And to depart from evil is understanding.
And unto man he said,Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;And to depart from evil is understanding.
We speak wisdom, however, among them that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this {Or, age: and so in verse 7, 8, but not in verse 12.}world, nor of the rulers of this {Or, age: and so in verse 7, 8, but not in verse 12.}world, who are coming to nought:
But solid food is for {Or, perfect}fullgrown men, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.