American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
ye also, as living stones, are built up a {Or, a spiritual house for a holy priesthood}spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without {Or, doubtfulness Or, partiality}variance, without hypocrisy.
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 fear of Jehovah is the {Or, chief part}beginning of knowledge;But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
Teach me thy way, O Jehovah;I will walk in thy truth:Unite my heart to fear thy name.
Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy.
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses:He turneth it whithersoever he will.
The lot is cast into the lap;But the whole disposing thereof is of Jehovah.
For at the window of my houseI looked forth through my lattice;
And I beheld among the simple ones,I discerned among the youths,A young man void of understanding,
Passing through the street near her corner;And he went the way to her house,
In the twilight, in the evening of the day,In the {Hebrew: pupil (of the eye).}middle of the night and in the darkness.
And, behold, there met him a womanWith the attire of a harlot, and {Or, close Hebrew: guarded.}wily of heart.
(She is {Or, turbulent}clamorous and wilful;Her feet abide not in her house:
Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places,And lieth in wait at every corner.)
So she caught him, and kissed him, {Hebrew: She hardened her face, and said.}And with an impudent face she said unto him:
Sacrifices of peace-offerings {Or, were due from me}are with me;This day have I paid my vows.
Therefore came I forth to meet thee,Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
I have spread my couch with {Or, cushion}carpets of tapestry,With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
I have {Or, sprinkled}perfumed my bedWith myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning;Let us solace ourselves with loves.
For the man is not at home;He is gone a long journey:
He hath taken a bag of money with him;He will come home at the full moon.
With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield;With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.
He goeth after her {Hebrew: suddenly.}straightway,As an ox goeth to the slaughter,Or as one in {The Hebrew is obsure.}fetters to the correction of the fool;
Till an arrow strike through his liver;As a bird hasteth to the snare,And knoweth not that it is for his life.
Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me,And attend to the words of my mouth.
that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.
The wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of Jehovah; and what manner of wisdom is in them?
Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise,And apply thy heart unto my knowledge.
These also are sayings of the wise.To have respect of persons in judgment is not good.
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, {Greek: more than.}a greater than Solomon is here.
And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
To know wisdom and instruction;To discern the words of understanding;
To receive instruction in wise dealing,In righteousness and justice and equity;
To give prudence to the simple,To the young man knowledge and discretion:
That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning;And that the man of understanding may attain unto sound counsels:
To understand a proverb, and {Or, an interpretation}a figure,The words of the wise, and their {Or, riddles}dark sayings.
The fear of Jehovah is the {Or, chief part}beginning of knowledge;But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
These also are sayings of the wise.To have respect of persons in judgment is not good.
He that saith unto the wicked,Thou art righteous,Peoples shall curse him, nations shall abhor him;
But to them that rebuke him shall be delight,And a good blessing shall come upon them.
He {Or, kisseth with the lips}kisseth the lipsWho giveth a right answer.
Prepare thy work without,And make it ready for thee in the field;And afterwards build thy house.
Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; {Hebrew: And wouldest thou deceive with thy lips?}And deceive not with thy lips.
Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me;I will render to the man according to his work.
I went by the field of the sluggard,And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns,The face thereof was covered with {Or, wild vetches}nettles,And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
Then I beheld, and considered well;I saw, and received instruction:
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,A little folding of the hands to sleep;
So shall thy poverty come as a robber,And thy want as an armed man.
The words of Agur the son of {Or, Jakeh, of Massa See Genesis 25:14.}Jakeh; the {Or, burden}oracle.The man saith {Or, as otherwise read, I have wearied myself, O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed: For I am &c.}unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
Surely I am more brutish than any man,And have not the understanding of a man;
And I have not learned wisdom, {Or, That I should have the knowledge &c.}Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?Who hath bound the waters in his garment?Who hath established all the ends of the earth?What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?
Every word of God is {Hebrew: purified.}tried:He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.
Add thou not unto his words,Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Two things have I asked of thee;Deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lies;Give me neither poverty nor riches;Feed me with {Hebrew: the bread of my portion.}the food that is needful for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is Jehovah?Or lest I be poor, and steal,And {Hebrew: handle the name.}use profanely the name of my God.
Slander not a servant unto his master,Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.
There is a generation that curse their father,And bless not their mother.
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,And yet are not washed from their filthiness.
There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes!And their eyelids are lifted up.
There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives,To devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
The {Or, vampire}horseleach hath two daughters, {Or, called}crying, Give, give.There are three things that are never satisfied,Yea, four that say not, Enough:
Sheol; and the barren womb;The earth that is not satisfied with water;And the fire that saith not, Enough.
The eye that mocketh at his father,And despiseth to obey his mother,The ravens of {Or, the brook}the valley shall pick it out,And the {Or, vultures}young eagles shall eat it.
There are three things which are too wonderful for me,Yea, four which I know not:
The way of an eagle in the air;The way of a serpent upon a rock;The way of a ship in the midst of the sea;And the way of a man with a maiden.
So is the way of an adulterous woman;She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,And saith, I have done no wickedness.
{Hebrew: Under.}For three things the earth doth tremble,And for four, which it cannot bear:
For a servant when he is king;And a fool when he is filled with food;
For an odious woman when she is married;And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
There are four things which are little upon the earth,But they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong,Yet they provide their food in the summer;
The conies are but a feeble folk,Yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king,Yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The lizard {Or, thou canst seize with thy hands}taketh hold with her hands,Yet is she in kings' palaces.
There are three things which are stately in their march,Yea, four which are stately in going:
The lion, which is mightiest among beasts,And turneth not away for any;
The {Or, war-horse Hebrew: well girt (or, well knit) in the loins.}greyhound; the he-goat also;And the king {Or, when his army is with him}against whom there is no rising up.
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,Or if thou hast thought evil,Lay thy hand upon thy mouth.
For the {Hebrew: pressing.}churning of milk bringeth forth butter,And the {Hebrew: pressing.}wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood;So the {Hebrew: pressing.}forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
{Or, The words of Lemuel king of Massa, which &c. See chapter 30:1 margin.}The words of king Lemuel; the {Or, burden}oracle which his mother taught him.
What, my son? and what, O son of my womb?And what, O son of my vows?
Give not thy strength unto women,Nor thy ways to {Or, as otherwise read, them that destroy}that which destroyeth kings.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine;Nor for princes {Another reading is, to desire strong drink.}to say, Where is strong drink?
Lest they drink, and forget {Hebrew: that which is decreed.}the law,And pervert the justice due to {Hebrew: all the sons of the affliction.}any that is afflicted.
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,And wine unto the bitter in soul:
Let him drink, and forget his poverty,And remember his misery no more.
Open thy mouth for the dumb,In the cause of all such as are {Or, ready to pass away Hebrew; the sons of passing away.}left desolate.
Open thy mouth, judge righteously,And minister justice to the poor and needy.
A worthy woman who can find?For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband trusteth in her,And he shall have no lack of {Hebrew: spoil.}gain.
She doeth him good and not evilAll the days of her life.
She seeketh wool and flax,And worketh {Or, at the business of}willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchant-ships;She bringeth her bread from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night,And giveth food to her household,And their {Or, portion}task to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it;With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength,And maketh strong her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable;Her lamp goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the distaff,And her {Hebrew: palms.}hands hold the spindle.
She stretcheth out her {Hebrew: palm.}hand to the poor;Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household;For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh for herself {Or, cushions}carpets of tapestry;Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh linen garments and selleth them,And delivereth girdles unto the {Hebrew: Canaanites.}merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing;And she laugheth at the time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;And the {Or, teaching}law of kindness is on her tongue.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,And eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up, and call her blessed;Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying:
Many daughters have done worthily,But thou excellest them all.
Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain;But a woman that feareth Jehovah, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;And let her works praise her in the gates.
Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
I will open my mouth in a parable;I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,And our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,Telling to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah,And his strength, and his wondrous works that he hath done.
For he established a testimony in Jacob,And appointed a law in Israel,Which he commanded our fathers,That they should make them known to their children;
That the generation to come might know them, even the children that should be born;Who should arise and tell them to their children,
I will open my mouth in a parable;I will utter dark sayings of old,
but unto {Greek: the called themselves.}them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
The words of Agur the son of {Or, Jakeh, of Massa See Genesis 25:14.}Jakeh; the {Or, burden}oracle.The man saith {Or, as otherwise read, I have wearied myself, O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed: For I am &c.}unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
Surely I am more brutish than any man,And have not the understanding of a man;
And I have not learned wisdom, {Or, That I should have the knowledge &c.}Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?Who hath bound the waters in his garment?Who hath established all the ends of the earth?What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?
Every word of God is {Hebrew: purified.}tried:He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.
Add thou not unto his words,Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Two things have I asked of thee;Deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lies;Give me neither poverty nor riches;Feed me with {Hebrew: the bread of my portion.}the food that is needful for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is Jehovah?Or lest I be poor, and steal,And {Hebrew: handle the name.}use profanely the name of my God.
Slander not a servant unto his master,Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.
There is a generation that curse their father,And bless not their mother.
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,And yet are not washed from their filthiness.
There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes!And their eyelids are lifted up.
There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives,To devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
The {Or, vampire}horseleach hath two daughters, {Or, called}crying, Give, give.There are three things that are never satisfied,Yea, four that say not, Enough:
Sheol; and the barren womb;The earth that is not satisfied with water;And the fire that saith not, Enough.
The eye that mocketh at his father,And despiseth to obey his mother,The ravens of {Or, the brook}the valley shall pick it out,And the {Or, vultures}young eagles shall eat it.
There are three things which are too wonderful for me,Yea, four which I know not:
The way of an eagle in the air;The way of a serpent upon a rock;The way of a ship in the midst of the sea;And the way of a man with a maiden.
So is the way of an adulterous woman;She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,And saith, I have done no wickedness.
{Hebrew: Under.}For three things the earth doth tremble,And for four, which it cannot bear:
For a servant when he is king;And a fool when he is filled with food;
For an odious woman when she is married;And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
There are four things which are little upon the earth,But they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong,Yet they provide their food in the summer;
The conies are but a feeble folk,Yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king,Yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The lizard {Or, thou canst seize with thy hands}taketh hold with her hands,Yet is she in kings' palaces.
There are three things which are stately in their march,Yea, four which are stately in going:
The lion, which is mightiest among beasts,And turneth not away for any;
The {Or, war-horse Hebrew: well girt (or, well knit) in the loins.}greyhound; the he-goat also;And the king {Or, when his army is with him}against whom there is no rising up.
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,Or if thou hast thought evil,Lay thy hand upon thy mouth.
For the {Hebrew: pressing.}churning of milk bringeth forth butter,And the {Hebrew: pressing.}wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood;So the {Hebrew: pressing.}forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
{Or, The words of Lemuel king of Massa, which &c. See chapter 30:1 margin.}The words of king Lemuel; the {Or, burden}oracle which his mother taught him.
What, my son? and what, O son of my womb?And what, O son of my vows?
Give not thy strength unto women,Nor thy ways to {Or, as otherwise read, them that destroy}that which destroyeth kings.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine;Nor for princes {Another reading is, to desire strong drink.}to say, Where is strong drink?
Lest they drink, and forget {Hebrew: that which is decreed.}the law,And pervert the justice due to {Hebrew: all the sons of the affliction.}any that is afflicted.
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,And wine unto the bitter in soul:
Let him drink, and forget his poverty,And remember his misery no more.
Open thy mouth for the dumb,In the cause of all such as are {Or, ready to pass away Hebrew; the sons of passing away.}left desolate.
Open thy mouth, judge righteously,And minister justice to the poor and needy.
A worthy woman who can find?For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband trusteth in her,And he shall have no lack of {Hebrew: spoil.}gain.
She doeth him good and not evilAll the days of her life.
She seeketh wool and flax,And worketh {Or, at the business of}willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchant-ships;She bringeth her bread from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night,And giveth food to her household,And their {Or, portion}task to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it;With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength,And maketh strong her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable;Her lamp goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the distaff,And her {Hebrew: palms.}hands hold the spindle.
She stretcheth out her {Hebrew: palm.}hand to the poor;Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household;For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh for herself {Or, cushions}carpets of tapestry;Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh linen garments and selleth them,And delivereth girdles unto the {Hebrew: Canaanites.}merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing;And she laugheth at the time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;And the {Or, teaching}law of kindness is on her tongue.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,And eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up, and call her blessed;Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying:
Many daughters have done worthily,But thou excellest them all.
Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain;But a woman that feareth Jehovah, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;And let her works praise her in the gates.
The words of Agur the son of {Or, Jakeh, of Massa See Genesis 25:14.}Jakeh; the {Or, burden}oracle.The man saith {Or, as otherwise read, I have wearied myself, O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed: For I am &c.}unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
{Or, The words of Lemuel king of Massa, which &c. See chapter 30:1 margin.}The words of king Lemuel; the {Or, burden}oracle which his mother taught him.
And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five.
And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and {Another reading is, she called.}he called his name Solomon. And Jehovah loved him;
and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name {That is, Beloved of Jehovah.}Jedidiah, for Jehovah's sake.
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.
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, {Greek: more than.}a greater than Solomon is here.
but unto {Greek: the called themselves.}them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, {Or, both rightousness and sanctification and redemption}and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the {Or, fulness}full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, {The ancient authorities vary much in the text of this passage.}even Christ,
in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden.
Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city:
Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send unto them prophets and apostles; and some of them they shall kill and persecute;
God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners,