American Standard Version of 1901
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Jehovah {Or, formed}possessed me {Or, as}in the beginning of his way, {Or, The first of}Before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning,Before the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth,When there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled,Before the hills was I brought forth;
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields,Nor the {Or, sum}beginning of the dust of the world.
When he {Or, prepared}established the heavens, I was there:When he set a circle upon the face of the deep,
When he made firm the skies above,When the fountains of the deep became strong,
When he gave to the sea {Or, his decree}its bound,That the waters should not transgress his commandment,When he {Or, appointed}marked out the foundations of the earth;
Then I was by him, as a master workman;And I {Or, had delight continually}was daily his delight, {Or, Sporting}Rejoicing always before him,
{Or, Sporting}Rejoicing in his habitable earth;And my delight was with the sons of men.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Now shalt thou gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us; they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
All things were made through him; and without him {Or, was not anything made. That which hath been made was life in him; and the life &c.}was not anything made that hath been made.
for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him;
and he is before all things, and in him all things {That is, hold together.}consist.
hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in {Greek: a Son.}his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the {Greek: ages. Compare 1 Timothy 1:17}worlds;
who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of the times for your sake,
Before the mountains were brought forth,Or ever thou {Hebrew: gavest birth to.}hadst formed the earth and the world,Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him.
Doth not wisdom cry,And understanding put forth her voice?
On the top of high places by the way,Where the paths meet, she standeth;
Beside the gates, at the entry of the city,At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud:
Unto you, O men, I call;And my voice is to the sons of men.
O ye simple, understand prudence;And, ye fools, be of an understanding heart.
Hear, for I will speak excellent things;And the opening of my lips shall be right things.
For my mouth shall utter truth;And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth {Or, are righteousness}are in righteousness;There is nothing crooked or perverse in them.
They are all plain to him that understandeth,And right to them that find knowledge.
Receive my instruction, and not silver;And knowledge rather than choice gold.
For wisdom is better than rubies;And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto it.
I wisdom have made prudence my dwelling,And find out {Or, knowledge of witty inventions}knowledge and discretion.
The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil:Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way,And the perverse mouth, do I hate.
Counsel is mine, and {Or, effectual working}sound knowledge:I am understanding; I have might.
By me kings reign,And princes decree justice.
By me {Or, rulers}princes rule,And nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
I love them that love me;And those that seek me {Or, early}diligently shall find me.
Riches and honor are with me;Yea, {Or, ancient}durable wealth and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold;And my {Or, increase}revenue than choice silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,In the midst of the paths of justice;
That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance,And that I may fill their treasuries.
Jehovah {Or, formed}possessed me {Or, as}in the beginning of his way, {Or, The first of}Before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning,Before the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth,When there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled,Before the hills was I brought forth;
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields,Nor the {Or, sum}beginning of the dust of the world.
When he {Or, prepared}established the heavens, I was there:When he set a circle upon the face of the deep,
When he made firm the skies above,When the fountains of the deep became strong,
When he gave to the sea {Or, his decree}its bound,That the waters should not transgress his commandment,When he {Or, appointed}marked out the foundations of the earth;
Then I was by him, as a master workman;And I {Or, had delight continually}was daily his delight, {Or, Sporting}Rejoicing always before him,
{Or, Sporting}Rejoicing in his habitable earth;And my delight was with the sons of men.
Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me;For blessed are they that keep my ways.
Hear instruction, and be wise,And refuse it not.
Blessed is the man that heareth me,Watching daily at my gates,Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoso findeth me findeth life,And shall {Hebrew: draw forth.}obtain favor of Jehovah.
But he that {Or, misseth me}sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul:All they that hate me love death.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him; and without him {Or, was not anything made. That which hath been made was life in him; and the life &c.}was not anything made that hath been made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness {Or, overcame See chapter 12:35 (Greek).}apprehended it not.
There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.
He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.
{Or, the true light, which lighteth every man, was coming}There was the true light, even the light which lighteth {Or, every man as he cometh}every man, coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not.
He came unto {Greek: his own things}his own, and they that were his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name:
who were {Greek: begotten}born, not of {Greek: bloods}blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh, and {Greek: tabernacled}dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of {Or, an only begotten from a father Compare Hebrews 11:17}the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.
John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, {Some ancient authorities read (this was he that said).}This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was {Greek: first in regard of me.}before me.
For of his fulness we all received, and {Or, grace upon grace.}grace for grace.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time; {Many very ancient authorities read God only begotten.}the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou?
And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ.
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No.
They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as {Isaiah 40:3.}said Isaiah the prophet.
{Or, And certain had been sent from among the Pharisees.}And they had been sent from the Pharisees.
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet?
John answered them, saying, I baptize {Or, with}in water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not,
even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose.
These things were done in {Many ancient authorities read Bethabarah, some Betharabah. Compare Joshua 15:6, 61; 18:22.}Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that {Or, beareth the sin}taketh away the sin of the world!
This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was {Greek: first in regard of me.}before me.
And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing {Or, with}in water.
And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him.
And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize {Or, with}in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth {Or, with}in the Holy Spirit.
And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.
Again on the morrow John was standing, and two of his disciples;
and he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God!
And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? And they said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), where abidest thou?
He saith unto them, Come, and ye shall see. They came therefore and saw where he abode; and they abode with him that day: it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two that heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
He findeth first his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah (which is, being interpreted, {That is, Anointed. Compare Psalm 2:2.}Christ).
He brought him unto Jesus. Jesus looked upon him, and said, Thou art Simon the son of {Greek: Joanes: called in Matthew 16:17, Jonah.}John: thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation, {That is, Rock or Stone.}Peter).
On the morrow he was minded to go forth into Galilee, and he findeth Philip: and Jesus saith unto him, Follow me.
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee underneath the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him; and without him {Or, was not anything made. That which hath been made was life in him; and the life &c.}was not anything made that hath been made.
And, {Psalm 102:25 ff.}Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth,And the heavens are the works of thy hands:
It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as {Or, gauze}a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
He incloseth the face of his throne,And spreadeth his cloud upon it.
He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters,Unto the confines of light and darkness.
He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds;And the cloud is not rent under them.
Yea, he ladeth the thick cloud with moisture;He spreadeth abroad the cloud of his {Hebrew: light.}lightning:
Fear ye not me? saith Jehovah: will ye not tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, {Or, an everlasting ordinance which it cannot pass}by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it? and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it.
And {Hebrew: brake.}marked out for it my bound,And set bars and doors,
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
{Hebrew: He founded the earth upon its bases.}Who laid the foundations of the earth,That it should not be moved for ever.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
Father, {Greek: that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, that &c.}I desire that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Whereupon were the {Hebrew: sockets.}foundations thereof {Hebrew: made to sink.}fastened?Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
When the morning stars sang together,And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Glory to God in the highest,And on earth {Many ancient authorities read peace, good pleasure among men.}peace among {Greek: men of good pleasure.}men in whom he is well pleased.
God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners,
hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in {Greek: a Son.}his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the {Greek: ages. Compare 1 Timothy 1:17}worlds;
who being the effulgence of his glory, and {Or, the impress of his substance}the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.
For unto which of the angels said he at any time, {Psalm 2:7}Thou art my Son,This day have I begotten thee?and again, {2 Samuel 7:14}I will be to him a Father,And he shall be to me a Son?
{Or, And again, when he bringeth in}And when he again {Or, shall have brought in}bringeth in the firstborn into {Greek: the inhabited earth.}the world he saith, {Deuteronomy 32:43 Septuagint Version; compare Psalm 97:7}And let all the angels of God worship him.
And of the angels he saith, {Psalm 104:4}Who maketh his angels winds,And his ministers a flame of fire:
but of the Son he saith, {Psalm 14:6 f} { Or, Thy throne is God for &c.}Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever;And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of {The two oldest Greek manuscripts read his.}thy kingdom.
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed theeWith the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
And, {Psalm 102:25 ff.}Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth,And the heavens are the works of thy hands:
They shall perish; but thou continuest:And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up,As a garment, and they shall be changed:But thou art the same,And thy years shall not fail.
But of which of the angels hath he said at any time, {Psalm 110:1}Sit thou on my right hand,Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet?
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?
hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in {Greek: a Son.}his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the {Greek: ages. Compare 1 Timothy 1:17}worlds;
who being the effulgence of his glory, and {Or, the impress of his substance}the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Wisdom hath builded her house;She hath hewn out her seven pillars:
She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine;She hath also furnished her table:
She hath sent forth her maidens;She crieth upon the highest places of the city:
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither:As for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him,
Come, eat ye of my bread,And drink of the wine which I have mingled.
{Or, Forsake the simple}Leave off, ye simple ones, and live;And walk in the way of understanding.
He that correcteth a scoffer getteth to himself reviling;And he that reproveth a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
Reprove not a scoffer, lest he hate thee:Reprove a wise man, and he will love thee.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser:Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom;And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
For by me thy days shall be multiplied,And the years of thy life shall be increased.
If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself;And if thou scoffest, thou alone shalt bear it.
{Or, Folly}The foolish woman is clamorous;She is {Hebrew: simplicity.}simple, and knoweth nothing.
And she sitteth at the door of her house,On a seat in the high places of the city,
To call to them that pass by,Who go right on their ways:
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither;And as for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him,
Stolen waters are sweet,And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
But he knoweth not that {Or, the shades Hebrew: Rephaim.}the dead are there;That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
{Greek: For verily not of angels doth he take hold, but he taketh hold of &c. Compare Isaiah 41:9; Ecclus 4:11; chapter 8, 9 (in the Greek).}For verily not to angels doth he give help, but he giveth help to the seed of Abraham.