World English Bible · The united kingdom
Proverbs 30
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The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the : the man says to , to and Ucal: "Surely I am the most ignorant man, and don't have a man's . I have not learned , neither do I have the knowledge of the One. Who has ascended up into , and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if you know? "Every word of is flawless. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Don't you add to his words, lest he reprove you, and you be found a liar. "Two things I have asked of you. Don't deny me before I . Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full, deny you, and say, 'Who is ?' or lest I be , and steal, and so dishonor the name of my . "Don't slander a servant to his master, lest he you, and you be held guilty. There is a generation that their , and doesn't their mother. There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, yet are not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! Their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are like , and their jaws like knives, to devour from the earth, and from among men. "The leech has two daughters: 'Give, give.' "There are three things that are never satisfied; four that don't say, 'Enough!': , the , the earth that is not satisfied with water, and the that doesn't say, 'Enough!' "The eye that mocks at his , and scorns to his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, the young eagles shall eat it. "There are three things which are too amazing for me, four which I don't understand: 19 of an eagle in the air, of a on a , of a ship in the middle of the sea, and of a man with a maiden. "So is of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her , and says, 'I have done nothing wrong.' 21"For three things the earth trembles, and under four, it can't bear up: For a servant when he is king, a fool when he is filled with food, for an unloved woman when she is married, and a servant who is to her mistress. "There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly : The ants are not a strong people, yet they provide their food in the summer. The hyraxes are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks. The have no king, yet they advance in ranks. 28You can catch a lizard with your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces. 29"There are three things which are stately in their march, four which are stately in going: The lion, which is mightiest among animals, and doesn't turn away for any; the greyhound; the male goat; and the king against whom there is no rising up. "If you have done foolishly in lifting up yourself, or if you have thought evil, put your hand over your . For as the churning of milk produces butter, and the wringing of the nose produces , so the forcing of produces strife."
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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.