World English Bible · The united kingdom
Proverbs 15
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A gentle answer turns away , but a harsh word stirs up . of commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools gush out folly. eyes are everywhere, keeping watch on the evil and the good. A gentle is a , but deceit in it crushes . A fool despises his , but he who heeds shows prudence. In the house of is much , but the income of brings trouble. of spread knowledge; not so with of fools. The made by is an to , but the of the upright is his delight. of is an to , but he loves him who follows after . There is stern for one who forsakes . Whoever hates shall . and are before — how much more then the of the children of men! A scoffer doesn't love to be reproved; he will not go to . A glad makes a cheerful , but an aching breaks . of one who has seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. All the days of are wretched, but one who has a cheerful enjoys a continual feast. Better is little, with the , than great with trouble. Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a fattened calf with hatred. A wrathful man stirs up contention, but one who is appeases strife. of the sluggard is like a patch, but of the upright is a highway. A son makes a glad, but a foolish man despises his mother. Folly is joy to one who is void of , but a man of keeps his way straight. Where there is no , plans fail; but in a multitude of they are established. Joy comes to a man with the reply of his . How good is a word at the right time! of life leads upward for , to keep him from going downward to . will uproot the house of the proud, but he will keep the borders intact. detests the of , but the of the pure are pleasing. He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live. of weighs answers, but the of gushes out evil. is far from , but he hears the of . of the eyes rejoices . gives health to the bones. The ear that listens to lives, and will be at home among . He who refuses despises his own , but he who listens to gets . The teaches . Before is humility.
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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.