King James Version · The united kingdom
Proverbs 18
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Through a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all . A fool hath no delight in , but that may discover itself. When cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy . The words of a man’s are as deep waters, and the wellspring of as a flowing brook. It is not good to accept the person of , to overthrow in . A fool’s enter into contention, and his calleth for strokes. A fool’s is his , and his are the snare of his . The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. The name of is a strong tower: runneth into it, and is safe. The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. Before of man is haughty, and before is humility. He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and unto him. of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded who can bear? of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of seeketh knowledge. A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men. He that is first in his own cause seemeth ; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him. The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his ; and with the increase of his shall he be filled. and life are in the of : and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth of . useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly. A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
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.