“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin, but he who spareth his words acts wisely” (x. 19).
“A soft answer turneth back wrath, but a harsh word raiseth anger” (xv. 1).
“Also a fool when silent is considered wise; he who closeth his lips is prudent” (xvii. 28). [[103]]
“He who keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from troubles” (xxi. 23).
“By long-suffering the prince is persuaded; and a soft tongue breaketh a bone” (xxv. 15).
“Answer not a fool like his folly, lest thou be equal to him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his eyes” (xxvi. 4, 5).
The principal virtues recommended to man are righteousness (צדקה), honesty (אמונה), truthfulness (אמת), meekness (ענוה), industry, thrift, temperance, contentment, and moderation:—
“Treasures of wickedness are of no profit, but righteousness delivereth from death” (x. 2).
“Better a little in the fear of the Lord than a large treasure, and confusion therewith” (xv. 16).
“The righteousness of the upright maketh his way straight, but the wicked falleth by his wickedness” (xi. 5).
“The remembrance of the righteous is for blessing; but the name of the wicked will rot” (x. 7).
“Guilt is the interpreter of fools, but favour that of the straightforward” (xiv. 9).
“To do justice is joy to the righteous, and a terror to evil-doers” (xxi. 15).
“Like a fountain made turbid and a well that is corrupted, is the righteous that yieldeth in the presence of the wicked” (xxv. 26).
“Where a man of honesty is, there is multitude of blessings; but he who hasteneth to become rich will not be guiltless” (xxviii. 20).
“The lip of truth will be established for ever, but the tongue of falsehood for a moment” (xii. 19).
“A witness of faithfulness is he who does not lie, [[104]]but he who uttereth falsehood is a false witness” (xiv. 5).[7]
“A lip of excellency becometh not a low man; how much less doth a lip of falsehood a noble man!” (xvii. 7).
“Pride came, and shame came; but with the meek is wisdom” (xi. 2).
“Meekness cometh before honour” (xv. 33). “Pride cometh before the fall, and haughtiness of spirit before the stumbling” (xvi. 18). “Let another praise thee, and not thy mouth; a stranger, and not thy lips” (xxvii. 2).
“He is poor who worketh with a slack hand, but the hand of the industrious maketh rich” (x. 4).
“Better is he who thinketh little of himself, and is a slave to himself, than he who thinketh much of himself and lacketh bread” (xii. 9).
“The hand of the industrious shall rule, but the slack hand shall be tributary” (xii. 24).
“In all labour there is profit; but when there is only a word of lips it leads but to want” (xiv. 23).
“Also he who is lazy in his work is a brother to the man that destroyeth” (xviii. 9).
“I passed by the field of a slothful man, and the vineyard of a man wanting heart; and behold, thorns have come up over the whole of it; its surface is covered with thistles, and its stone-fence is pulled down. And I beheld, I turned my heart, I saw, I took instruction: a little of sleep, a little of slumber, a little of joining the hands to lie down; then thy poverty cometh like a traveller, and thy want like an armed man” (xxiv. 30–34). [[105]]
“The righteous eateth to the fulness of his soul, but the belly of the wicked shall want” (xiii. 25).
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink roareth, and every one that erreth therein will not be wise” (xx. 1).
“Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? Those who tarry long at the wine; those who come to search mixed drink. Do not look upon the wine though it be red, though it send forth its colour through the cup, though it flow smoothly; in the end it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an asp; thine eyes shall see strange things, and thy heart shall speak perverse things; and thou shalt be like one that lieth in the midst of the sea, and like one that lieth on the top of the mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick. They have beaten me; I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again” (xxiii. 29–35).
“He who is greedy after gain troubleth his house, but he who hateth gifts shall live” (xv. 27).
“He whose desire is wide stirreth up strife, but he who trusteth in the Lord shall be fattened” (xxviii. 25).
“There are who spend liberally, and there is an increase; and there are who withhold more than is right, and yet it leads to want” (xi. 24).
“Know well the state of thy flock; set thy heart to the droves; for treasure is not for ever, nor a crown for generation and generation. When hay is gone, and grass is spoilt, and the herbs of the field are gathered in, there are lambs for thy clothing, and he-goats are the price of a field: and there will be goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy house, and maintenance for thy maidens’ (xxvii. 23–27). [[106]]
“Lust overcome is sweet to the soul; but to depart from evil is the abomination of fools” (xiii. 19).
“Better is he who is long-suffering than a hero; and he who ruleth his spirit is better than he who conquereth a city” (xvi. 32).
“Like an open town without a wall is the man whose spirit is without restraint” (xxv. 28).
The following proverbs refer to the relation between husband and wife, and between man and his neighbour as friend or enemy, father and child, rich and poor, king and people:—
“He who hath found a wife hath found a good thing, and obtained favour of the Lord” (xviii. 22).
“A virtuous wife is the crown of her husband, but a wicked woman is like rottenness in his bones” (xii. 4).
“House and wealth are the inheritance of fathers, but a wise wife is from the Lord” (xix. 14; chap. xxxi. 10 to end).
“He who revealeth a secret is a slanderer, but he who is faithful in spirit covereth a thing” (xi. 13).
“Hatred stirreth up strifes, but love covereth all sins” (x. 12).
“Better is a meal of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith” (xv. 17).
“He who covereth transgression seeketh love, but he who repeateth a matter separateth a friend” (xvii. 9).
“Open rebuke is better than secret love” (xxvii. 5).
“He who saith to the wicked, Thou art righteous, him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him; but to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them” (xxiv. 24, 25).
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are like smoke” (xxvii. 6). [[107]]
“When there is no wood the fire goeth out; so when there is no tale-bearer strife ceaseth” (xxvi. 20).
“A kind man doth good to his soul, and a cruel man troubleth his flesh” (xi. 17).
“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth, lest the Lord see it and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him” (xxiv. 17, 18).
“The righteous knoweth the feelings of his cattle, but the heart of the wicked is cruel” (xii. 10).
“He who curseth his father and his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness” (xx. 20).
“Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children are their fathers” (xvii. 6).
“The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it” (xxx. 17).
“Where there is the instruction of the father, there is a wise son; but a mocker will he be who heard no rebuke” (xiii. 1).
“He who spareth his rod hateth his son, and he who loveth him chastiseth him early” (xiii. 24).
“Chastise thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul turn to his crying” (xix. 18).
“Train the lad in his way, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (xxii. 6).
“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him” (xxii. 15).
“Withhold not correction from the child; for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from death” (xxiii. 13, 14).
“The benevolent shall be blessed, for he hath given of his bread to the poor” (xxii. 9). [[108]]
“The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that stilleth the thirst of others shall also have his thirst stilled” (xi. 25).
“He who despiseth his neighbour sinneth, but whoso is gracious to the poor is happy” (xiv. 24).
“In the multitude of people is the glory of the king; but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince” (xiv. 28).
“The king’s wrath is like messengers of death; but a wise man will pacify it” (xvi. 14).
“The heart of a king is in the hand of the Lord like brooks of water; He turneth it whithersoever He liketh” (xxi. 1).
On miscellaneous subjects:—
“There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing; there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches” (xiii. 7).
“The heart knoweth its own bitterness, and a stranger doth not intermeddle with its joy” (xiv. 10).
“If care is in the heart of man, let him still it; if a good thing, let him brighten it up” (xii. 25).
“He is a guide to life who keepeth instruction, but he that refuseth reproof misleadeth” (x. 17).
“Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (xxvii. 1).
“All the ways of man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits” (xvi. 2).
Job, איוב—The Book of Job consists of the following three parts:—
(a.) Introduction (i. and ii.).—God is figuratively represented as presiding over a council of ministers (בני האלהים “sons of God”), amongst whom also the accuser (השטן “the hinderer,” one who is hostile to the [[109]]word of God) appears. While God praised the piety of Job, the accuser doubted the purity of his heart, and suggested that if any adversity were to befall Job he would no longer be pious; Job, exposed to hard trials, remained firm in his faith in God. “Naked came I forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken: let the name of the Lord be praised” (i. 21). “Skin for skin,” said the accuser, “and everything that man hath, he giveth for his soul; but stretch now forth thy hand and touch his bone and his flesh: surely he will take leave of thee in thy presence” (ii. 5). The trial was granted. And when Job’s wife was surprised that Job was still holding to his integrity, adding “Take leave of God and die,” he replied, “Thou speakest like the speaking of one of the wicked women. Are we to accept of God the good, and shall we not accept the evil?”—“In all this did Job not sin with his lips, and did not find fault with God” (i. 22). His friends came to see him, but felt so distressed that they sat with him for seven days without uttering a word.
(b.) Discussion between Job and his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu; Job asserting his innocence, and consequent inability to see the justice of his afflictions; his friends contending that he has sinned, and has been justly punished; Elihu attempts to justify Job’s sufferings, on the plea that they are merely a reminder sent by God that Job has sinned, and must seek reconciliation with God, who is All-wise, All-good, and All-powerful; God addresses Job, and shows him man’s inability to comprehend the [[110]]Divine power and wisdom in the creation and in the ruling of the universe; whereupon Job repents.