King James Version · The united kingdom
Proverbs 14
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Every woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. He that walketh in his uprightness feareth : but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him. In the of the foolish is a of pride: but of shall preserve them. Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. A will not lie: but a false will utter lies. A scorner seeketh , and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth. Go from the of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him of knowledge. The of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit. Fools make a mock at : but among there is . knoweth his own bitterness; and a doth not intermeddle with his joy. The house of shall be overthrown: but the of the upright shall flourish. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of . Even in laughter is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness. The backslider in shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself. The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going. A man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident. He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of devices is hated. The simple folly: but the prudent are with knowledge. The evil bow before the good; and at the of . is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends. He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on , happy is he. Do they not err that devise evil? but shall be to them that devise good. In all labour there is profit: but the talk of tendeth only to penury. The of is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly. A true delivereth : but a deceitful speaketh lies. In the is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. The is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of . In of people is the king’s : but in the want of people is the of the prince. He that is slow to is of great : but he that is hasty of exalteth folly. A sound is the life of : but envy the rottenness of the bones. He that oppresseth reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on . is driven away in his wickedness: but hath in his . resteth in of him that hath : but that which is in the midst of fools is . exalteth a nation: but is a to any people. The king’s is toward a servant: but his is against him that causeth .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
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.