World English Bible · The united kingdom
Proverbs 17
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Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife. A servant who deals wisely will a son who causes , and shall have a part in the among the brothers. The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but tests the . An evildoer heeds . A liar gives ear to a mischievous . Whoever mocks reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished. Children's children are the of old men; the of children is their parents. Excellent speech isn't fitting for a fool, much less do fit a prince. A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns, he prospers. He who covers an offense promotes love; but he who repeats a matter separates best friends. A rebuke enters deeper into one who has than a hundred lashes into a fool. An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel shall be sent against him. Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out. He who , and he who condemns , both of them alike are an to . Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy , since he has no ? A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity. A man void of strikes hands, and becomes collateral in the of his neighbor. He who loves loves strife. One who builds a high seeks . One who has a perverse doesn't find prosperity, and one who has a deceitful falls into trouble. He who becomes of a fool grieves. of a fool has no joy. A cheerful makes good medicine, but a crushed dries up the bones. A man receives a bribe in secret, to pervert the ways of justice. is before the of one who has , but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth. A foolish son brings grief to his , and bitterness to her who bore him. Also to punish is not good, nor to flog officials for their integrity. He who spares his words has knowledge. He who is even tempered is a man of . Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted . When he shuts his , he is thought to be discerning.
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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.