Foreign Woman
Beware of a man who is a stranger,
One not known in her town;
Don’t’ stare at her when she goes by,
Do not know her carnally.
A deep water whose course is unknown,
Such a woman away from her husband.
“I am pretty,” she tells you daily,
When she has no witnesses;
She is ready to ensnare you,
A great deadly crime when it is heard.
One not known in her town;
Don’t’ stare at her when she goes by,
Do not know her carnally.
A deep water whose course is unknown,
Such a woman away from her husband.
“I am pretty,” she tells you daily,
When she has no witnesses;
She is ready to ensnare you,
A great deadly crime when it is heard.
Instruction
of Anii
You will be saved from the loose [strange]
woman,
from the adventuress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the shades;
none who go to her come back
nor do they regain the paths of life.
from the adventuress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the shades;
none who go to her come back
nor do they regain the paths of life.
Prov. 2:16
(cf. 5:20; 6:24; 7:5)
Good Deeds
Do a good deed and throw it in the water;
when it dries you will find it.
Ankhshehonqy 19:10
when it dries you will find it.
Ankhshehonqy 19:10
Cast your bread upon the waters,
for you will find it after many days.
for you will find it after many days.
Eccles 11:1
The Shame of Begging
Better is the short time of him who is old
than the long life of him who begs (or has begged).
than the long life of him who begs (or has begged).
P. Insinger
17:19
My son, do not lead the life of a beggar;
it is better to die than to beg.
it is better to die than to beg.
Sir. 40:28
Human Plans and Divine Action
God is ever in his perfection,
Man is ever in his failure.
The words men say are on thing,
The deeds of the god are another.
Man is ever in his failure.
The words men say are on thing,
The deeds of the god are another.
Amenemope
19:14-17
The plans of the god are one thing, the
thoughts of [men] are another.
thoughts of [men] are another.
Ankhshehonqy
26:24
The plans of the mind belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
Prov. 16:1
Many are the plans of the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will
be established.
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will
be established.
Prov. 19:21
On Disciplining One’s Son
Withhold not thy son from the rod, else thou
wilt not be able to save [him from
wickedness]. If I smite thee, my son, thou
wilt not die, but if I leave thee to thine
own heart [thou wilt not live].
wilt not be able to save [him from
wickedness]. If I smite thee, my son, thou
wilt not die, but if I leave thee to thine
own heart [thou wilt not live].
Ahiqar,
Saying 4
He who loves his son will whip him often,
in order that he may rejoice at the way he
turns out.
in order that he may rejoice at the way he
turns out.
Sir. 30:1
He who spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is diligent to
discipline him.
but he who loves him is diligent to
discipline him.
Prov. 13:24
You beat my back; your teachings entered my ear.
P. Lansing
Old Age
O king, my Lord!
Age is here, old age arrived,
Feebleness came, weakness grows,
Childlike one sleeps all day.
Eyes are dim, ears deaf,
Strength is waning through weariness,
The mouth, silenced, speaks not,
The heart, void, recalls not the past,
The bones ache throughout.
Good has become evil, all taste is gone,
What age does to people is evil in everything,
The nose, clogged, breathes not,
Painful are standing and sitting.
Age is here, old age arrived,
Feebleness came, weakness grows,
Childlike one sleeps all day.
Eyes are dim, ears deaf,
Strength is waning through weariness,
The mouth, silenced, speaks not,
The heart, void, recalls not the past,
The bones ache throughout.
Good has become evil, all taste is gone,
What age does to people is evil in everything,
The nose, clogged, breathes not,
Painful are standing and sitting.
Ptahhotep
Remember also your creator in the days of
your youth, before the evil days come, and
the years draw night, when you will say, “I
have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are
darkened and the clouds return after the
rain; in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent,
and the grinders cease because they are
few . . .the almond tree blossoms, the
grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails . . .
your youth, before the evil days come, and
the years draw night, when you will say, “I
have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are
darkened and the clouds return after the
rain; in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent,
and the grinders cease because they are
few . . .the almond tree blossoms, the
grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails . . .
Eccles.
12:1-17
[I was] a youth, [but now] my luck, my
strength, my personal god and your youthful
vigour have left my loins like an exhausted
ass. My black mountain has produced white
gypsum . . . my mongoose which used to eat strong
smelling things does not stretch its neck
towards beer and butter. My teeth which used
to chew strong things can no more chew strong
things . . .
strength, my personal god and your youthful
vigour have left my loins like an exhausted
ass. My black mountain has produced white
gypsum . . . my mongoose which used to eat strong
smelling things does not stretch its neck
towards beer and butter. My teeth which used
to chew strong things can no more chew strong
things . . .
Sumerian The
Old Man and the Young Girl
(James L. Crenshaw, Education in Ancient Israel: Across the Deadening Silence [New
York: Doubleday, 1998], 78-83)
