Proverbs of Solomon - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 788
The Psalms, Solomon and Sacred Writers
7~— 1 ·
PROVERBS.
8——16
16 18 20 2I 22 26IO II I2 16
To-day I have paid what I vowed; And so I have come out to meet you, To seek for your face, and have found l I have spread pretty rugs on my couch, Of Egypt the bright—coloured chintz. I have charmingly scented my chamber, With cinnamon, sandal, and myrrh !··~· ‘Come in I let us riot with loves! And delight with the darlings till dawn; For the master is not in my home, He has gone on a journey afar I He took with him a bag full of cash; I—Ie comes home on the day of new moon. She seduced him by pratteling much ; She deludes by her pattering lips! ` He went,like an ox to be slain; Went and leaped like a stag to a net, Till his liver is pierced by her dart; As a bird he makes haste to the trap, And knows not, it is for his life! But you, my son, listen to me; And attend to the words of my mouth, Incline not your heart to her path, Nor turn yourself to her arcade. For many fall wounded by her, And her murdered would make a great host; Her house is the path to the grave; It leads down to the Chambers of Death I myc inhiiaiiim nf Wiziium. ‘And then does not Wisdom invite? And Intellect utter her voice? From the top of the mounds by the roads,-··· She stands at the junction of streets. At the gates; at the front of the walls, When the entrances open, she shouts; ‘ Men ! it is to you that I call! And to Adam’s sons utter my voice l You foolish,——refiect and have sense; You stupid,—reilect in your heart I Hear, for I speak with manifest sense, And with honesty open my lips; And my palate articulates truth, And my lips are abhorring the false. All the words of my mouth are for right, None in them are bent, or perverse; To intellect, they are all straight, And plain to the seeker of fact, Seize my instructions,-——n0t money ! And knowledge before refined gold! For Wisdom is fairer than pearls, And all pleasures equal not hers I ‘ I, Wisdom, am dwellin with skill, And know the discoveries of thougit. Fear the LORD, and dislike wicked pride, For pride, bad ways, and libel I hate; But Counsel and Safety are mine; And mine are Reflection and power; Kings reign, and the Princes do right, And the Governors govern by me, With all judges controlling the land; 788
