World English Bible · The united kingdom
Proverbs 14
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Every woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands. He who walks in his uprightness fears , but he who is perverse in his ways despises him. The fool's talk brings a to his back, but of protect them. Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox. A truthful will not lie, but a false pours out lies. A scoffer seeks , and doesn't find it, but knowledge comes easily to a discerning person. Stay away from a foolish man, for you won't find knowledge on his . The of the prudent is to think about his way, but the folly of fools is deceit. Fools mock at making atonement for , but among the upright there is good will. knows its own bitterness and joy; he will not share these with a . The house of will be overthrown, but the tent of the upright will flourish. There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to . Even in laughter may be sorrowful, and mirth may end in heaviness. The will be repaid for his own ways; likewise a good man will be rewarded for his ways. A simple man believes everything, but the prudent man carefully considers his ways. A man fears and shuns evil, but the fool is hot headed and reckless. He who is quick to become angry will commit folly, and a crafty man is hated. The simple folly, but the prudent are with knowledge. The evil before the good, and at the of . person is shunned even by his own neighbor, but the rich person has many friends. He who despises his neighbor , but he who has on is . Don't they go astray who plot evil? But love and belong to those who plan good. In all hard work there is profit, but the talk of leads only to . The of is their riches, but the folly of fools them with folly. A truthful saves , but a false is deceitful. In the is a secure , and he will be a refuge for his children. The is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of . In of people is the king's , but in the lack of people is the of the prince. He who is has great , but he who has a quick temper displays folly. The life of the body is a at peace, but envy rots the bones. He who oppresses shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to honors him. is brought down in his calamity, but in , has a refuge. rests in of one who has , and is even in the inward part of fools. exalts a nation, but is a to any people. The king's is toward a servant who deals wisely, but his is toward one who causes .
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The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.