Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

THE

Proverbs of Solomon.

CHAPTER I.

1 THE Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel,

2 Respecting the knowledge of wisdom and instruction;

Respecting the understanding of the words of prudence;

/3 Respecting the attainment of instruction in wisdom,

In righteousness, and judgment, and equity; 4 Respecting the giving to the simple prudence, To the young man knowledge and discretion, 5 The wise will hear, and will increase in learning, And the prudent will attain unto wise counsels, 6 By understanding a proverb, and the interpretation, The words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

7 The fear of Jehovah is the principal part of knowledge,

But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

B

8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father,

And forsake not the precepts of thy mother; 9 For they will be a graceful wreath to thy head, And chains about thy neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 11 If they say, "Come with us, let us lay wait for blood,

[ocr errors]

Let us lay snares for the innocent in vain; 12"Let us swallow them up as Hades does the

[ocr errors]

living,

And whole as those who go down into the pit. 13" We shall find all kinds of valuable treasure, "We shall fill our houses with spoil:

14" Cast in thy lot among us;

"Let us all have one purse."

15 My son, walk not thou in their way; Refrain thy foot from their path;

16 For their feet run to evil,

And make haste to shed blood.

17 Surely in vain the net is spread

In the sight of any bird;

18 But they lay wait for their own blood,

They lay secret snares for their own lives:

19 Such are the ways of all who desire unjust

[ocr errors][merged small]

It taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

20 Wisdom crieth without,

She uttereth her voice in the streets :

21 She proclaimeth in the chief place of concourse, In the entrance of the gates,

In the city she uttereth her words, saying,

22 "How long, ye simple, will ye love simplicity? "And, ye scorners, delight in scorning?

[ocr errors]

And, ye fools, hate knowledge?

23 "Turn ye at my reproof:,

[ocr errors]

Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you, "I will make known my words unto you.

24 "

Because I called, and ye refused,

"I stretched out my hand, and no man regarded, 25" Because ye rejected all my counsel, "And have not liked my reproof;

26" I also will laugh at your calamity;

"I will mock when your fear cometh; 27" When your fear cometh as desolation,

66

"And your calamity approacheth as a tempest; When distress and anguish come upon you. 28" Then shall they call upon me, but I will not

answer;

"They shall seek me diligently, but shall not

find me.

29" Because they hated knowledge,

"And did not choose the fear of Jehovah ;

30" They liked not my counsel,

[ocr errors]

They despised all my reproof:

31" Therefore shall they eat the fruit of their own

way,

"And shall be sated with their own devices. 32" For the backsliding of the simple will slay them,

"And the carelessness of fools will destroy them; 33 But he that hearkeneth unto me shall dwell

"

safely,

' And shall be quiet from the fear of evil."

CHAPTER II.

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And lay up my commandments with thee; 2 If, by inclining thine ear unto wisdom,

Thou wilt incline thine heart unto understanding;

3 Yea, if thou wilt cry unto understanding, And lift up thy voice unto prudence ;

4 If thou wilt seek her as silver,

And wilt search for her as for hid treasure; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, And shalt find the knowledge of God.

6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom;

Out of his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly,

8 By keeping the paths of rectitude:

And he preserveth the way of his saints.

9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment,

And equity, yea, every good path.

10 When wisdom entereth thine heart, And knowledge is pleasant to thy soul, 11 Discretion shall watch over thee,

Understanding shall preserve thee;

12 To deliver thee from the way of the wicked,

From every one that speaketh perverse things;

13 Who desert the paths of righteousness,

To walk in the ways of darkness;

14 Who rejoice to do evil,

And delight in the perverseness of the wicked; 15 Who are perverse in their ways,

And froward in their paths:

16 To deliver thee from the wanton,

From the harlot who flattereth with her words, 17 Who forsaketh the guide of her youth, And forgetteth the covenant of her God: 18 For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead.

19 None that go unto her return again, Neither do they attain the paths of life. 20 Therefore walk in the way of the good, And keep the paths of the righteous: 21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it;

22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, And transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

CHAPTER III.

1 My son, forget not my doctrine,

And let thy heart observe my precepts; 2 For length of days, even years of life, And peace shall they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; Bind them about thy neck;

Write them upon the table of thine heart; 4 And thou shalt find favour and kindness, Both in the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in Jehovah with all thine heart,

And confide not in thine own understanding.

« AnteriorContinuar »