World English Bible · The united kingdom
Proverbs 22
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A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving is better than silver and gold. The rich and have this in common: is the maker of them all. A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it. The result of humility and the is wealth, , and life. and snares are in of ; whoever guards his stays far from them. Train up a child in he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. The rich . The borrower is servant to the lender. He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the of his fury will be destroyed. He who has a generous eye will be , for he shares his food with . Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop. He who loves purity of and speaks gracefully is the king's friend. eyes watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the . The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!" The of an is a deep pit. He who is under will fall into it. Folly is bound up in of a child; the of drives it far from him. Whoever oppresses for his own increase and whoever gives to the rich, both come to . Turn your ear, and listen to the words of . Apply to my teaching. For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your . I teach you today, even you, so that your may be in . Haven't I written to you thirty excellent things of and knowledge, To teach you truth, reliable words, to give sound answers to the ones who sent you? Don't exploit because he is ; and don't crush in court; for will plead their case, and plunder the life of those who plunder them. Don't befriend a hot-tempered man. Don't associate with one who harbors , lest you learn his ways and ensnare your . Don't you be one of those who strike hands, of those who are collateral for debts. If you don't have means to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you? Don't move the ancient boundary stone which your fathers have set up. Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will kings. He won't obscure men.
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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.