THE BOOK OF PROVERBS
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
29:11. A fool uttereth all his mind: a wise man deferreth, and keepeth it till afterwards.
29:12. A prince that gladly heareth lying words, hath all his servants wicked.
29:13. The poor man and the creditor have met one another: the Lord is the enlightener of them both.
29:14. The king that judgeth the poor in truth, his throne shall be established for ever.
29:15. The rod and reproof give wisdom: but the child that is left to his own will, bringeth his mother to shame.
29:16. When the wicked are multiplied, crimes shall be multiplied: but the just shall see their downfall.
29:17. Instruct thy son and he shall refresh thee, and shall give delight to thy soul.
29:18. When prophecy shall fail, the people shall be scattered abroad: but he that keepeth the law, is blessed.
29:19. A slave will not be corrected by words: because he understandeth what thou sayest, and will not answer.
29:20. Hast thou seen a man hasty to speak? folly is rather to be looked for, than his amendment.
29:21. He that nourisheth his servant delicately from his childhood, afterwards shall find him stubborn.
29:22. A passionate man provoketh quarrels: and he that is easily stirred up to wrath, shall be more prone to sin.
29:23. Humiliation followeth the proud: and glory shall uphold the humble of spirit.
29:24. He that is partaker with a thief, hateth his own soul: he heareth one putting him to his oath, and discovereth not.
29:25. He that feareth man shall quickly fall: he that trusteth in the Lord, shall be set on high.
29:26. Many seek the face of the prince: but the judgment of every one cometh forth from the Lord.
29:27. The just abhor a wicked man: and the wicked loathe them that are in the right way. The son that keepeth the word, shall be free from destruction.
Proverbs Chapter 30
The wise man thinketh humbly of himself. His prayer and sentiments upon certain virtues and vices.
30:1. The words of Gatherer the son of Vomiter. The vision which the man spoke, with whom God is, and who being strengthened by God, abiding with him, said:
Gatherer, etc... Or, as it is in the Latin, Congregans the son of Vomens. The Latin interpreter has given us in this place the signification of the Hebrew names, instead of the names themselves, which are in the Hebrew, Agur the son of Jakeh. But whether this Agur be the same person as Solomon, as many think, or a different person, whose doctrine was adopted by Solomon, and inserted among his parables or proverbs, is uncertain.
30:2. I am the most foolish of men, and the wisdom of men is not with me.
30:3. I have not learned wisdom, and have not known the science of saints.
30:4. Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? who hath held the wind in his hands? who hath bound up the waters together as in a garment? who hath raised up all the borders of the earth? what is his name, and what is the name of his son, if thou knowest?
30:5. Every word of God is fire tried: he is a buckler to them that hope in him.
Is fire tried... That is, most pure, like gold purified by fire.
30:6. Add not any thing to his words, lest thou be reproved and found a liar:
30:7. Two things I have asked of thee, deny them not to me before I die.
30:8. Remove far from me vanity, and lying words. Give me neither beggary, nor riches: give me only the necessaries of life:
30:9. Lest perhaps being filled, I should be tempted to deny, and say: Who is the Lord? or being compelled by poverty, I should steal, and forswear the name of my God.
30:10. Accuse not a servant to his master, lest he curse thee, and thou fall.
30:11. There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
30:12. A generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness.
30:13. A generation, whose eyes are lofty, and their eyelids lifted up on high.
30:14. A generation that for teeth hath swords, and grindeth with their jaw teeth, to devour the needy from off the earth, and the poor from among men.
30:15. The horseleech hath two daughters that say: Bring, bring. There are three things that never are satisfied, and the fourth never saith: It is enough.
The horseleech... Concupiscence, which hath two daughters that are never satisfied, viz., lust and avarice.
30:16. Hell and the mouth of the womb, and the earth which is not satisfied with water: and the fire never saith: It is enough.
30:17. The eye that mocketh at his father, and that despiseth the labour of his mother in bearing him, let the ravens of the brooks pick it out, and the young eagles eat it.
30:18. Three things are hard to me, and the fourth I am utterly ignorant of.