American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore.
And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the nations round about.
And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five.
And he spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; he spake also of beasts, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, she came to prove him with hard questions.
And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not.
And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the {Hebrew: standing.}attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and {Or, his burnt-offering which he offered in &c.}his ascent by which he went up unto the house of Jehovah; there was no more spirit in her.
And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine {Or, sayings}acts, and of thy wisdom.
Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me; {Hebrw: thou hast added wisdom and goodness to the fame.}thy wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard.
Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, that stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.
Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because Jehovah loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do justice and righteousness.
And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of {In 2 Chronicles 2:8, 9:10, algum-trees. Perhaps, sandel-wood.}almug-trees and precious stones.
And the king made of the almug-trees {Or,a railing Hebrew: a prop.}pillars for the house of Jehovah, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for the singers: there came no such almug-trees, nor were seen, unto this day.
And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides that {Hebrew: which he gave her according to the hand of king Solomon.}which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants.
Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,
besides that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of {In 2 Chronicles 9:14, Arabia.}the mingled people, and of the governors of the country.
And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler.
And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three {Hebrew: manch.}pounds of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold.
There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were {Or, arms Hebrew: hands.}stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays.
And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.
And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
And they brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore-trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.
And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; and the king's merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price.
And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out {Hebrew: in their hand.}by their means.
though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh: if any other man {Or, seemeth}thinketh to have confidence in the flesh, I yet more:
circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
as touching zeal, persecuting the church; as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.
and I advanced in the Jews' religion beyond many of mine own age {Greek: in my race. Compare 2 Corinthians 11:26.}among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards;
I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit;
I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared;
I bought men-servants and maid-servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem;
I gathered me also silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I gat me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, {Or, concubines very many The meaning of the Hebrew is very uncertain.}musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom {Or, stood by me}remained with me.
And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor; and this was my portion from all my labor.
Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ,
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft.
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep;
in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my {Greek: race. Compare Acts 7:19.}countrymen, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
{Or, Besides the things which I omit Or, Besides the things that come out of course}Besides those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches.
And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor; and this was my portion from all my labor.
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe.
Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision:
for we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh:
though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh: if any other man {Or, seemeth}thinketh to have confidence in the flesh, I yet more:
circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
as touching zeal, persecuting the church; as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.
Howbeit what things were {Greek: gains.}gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ.
Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ,
and be found in him, {Or, not having as my righteousness that which is of the law}not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God {Greek: upon.}by faith:
that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death;
if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may {Or, lay hold, seeing that also I was laid hold on}lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I count not myself {Many ancient authorities omit yet.}yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before.
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the {Or, upward}high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Let us therefore, as many as are {Or, full-grown 1 Corinthians 2:6.}perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye are otherwise minded, this also shall God reveal unto you:
only, whereunto we have attained, by that same rule let us walk.
Brethren, be ye imitators together of me, and mark them that so walk even as ye have us for an ensample.
For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
whose end is perdition, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.
For our {Or, commonwealth}citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself.
I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth; {Or, and thou shall enjoy}therefore enjoy {Or, good}pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity.
I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it?
I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet {Or, holding its course}guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven {Hebrew: the number of days of their life.}all the days of their life.
I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards;
I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit;
I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared;
I bought men-servants and maid-servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem;
I gathered me also silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I gat me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, {Or, concubines very many The meaning of the Hebrew is very uncertain.}musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom {Or, stood by me}remained with me.
And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor; and this was my portion from all my labor.
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh {Or, after the king, even him whom they made king long ago? Or, after the king in those things which have been already done?}after the king? even that which hath been done long ago.
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
The wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happeneth to them all.
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then said I in my heart, that this also is vanity.
For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. And how doth the wise man die even as the fool!
So I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun was grievous unto me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
And I hated all my labor wherein I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
And who knoweth whether he will be a wise man or a fool? yet will he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.
Therefore I turned about to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor wherein I had labored under the sun.
For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with {Or, success}skilfulness; yet to a man that hath not labored therein shall he {Hebrew: give.}leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
For what hath a man of all his labor, and of the {Or, vexation}striving of his heart, wherein he laboreth under the sun?
For all his days are but sorrows, and his travail is grief; yea, even in the night his heart taketh no rest. This also is vanity.
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.
For who can eat, or who can {Or, hasten thereto}have enjoyment, {According to Septuagint Version and Syraic. apart from him.}more than I?
For to the man that pleaseth him God giveth wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that pleaseth God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead.
Be thou watchful, and establish the things that remain, which were ready to die: for I have {Many ancient authorities read not found thy works.}found no works of thine perfected before my God.
Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
But thou hast a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments: and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy.
He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth:
I know thy works (behold, I have {Greek: given}set before thee a door opened, which none can shut), that thou hast a little power, and didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name.
Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and {The Greek word denotes an act of reverence, whether paid to a creature, or to the Creator.}worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Because thou didst keep the word of my {Or, stedfastness}patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of {Or, temptation}trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole {Greek: inhabited earth.}world, to {Or, tempt}try them that dwell upon the earth.
I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown.
He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the {Or, sanctuary}temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I reprove and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
But many shall be last that are first; and first that are last.