The Sceptics of the Old Testament: Job - Koheleth - Agur Part 32

_(b) As Renunciation of Reputation for Perfect Justice and Wisdom_

VII. 15. All things have I witnessed in my vain days; there are just men who perish through their righteousness, and there are wicked men who prolong their lives by means of their iniquity.[279] 16. Be not righteous overmuch, neither make thyself overwise; why wouldst thou ruin thyself?

17. Do not allow thyself too much liberty, and be not a fool: why wouldst thou die before thy time? 18. It is well that thou shouldst hold fast to the one and also not withdraw thy hand from the other, for he who feareth G.o.d compa.s.seth all this.

19. Wisdom is a stronger guard for the wise man than ten mighty men who are in the city.

11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance, Yea, better yet, to them that see the sun;[280]

12. For wisdom and wealth afford shade, And wisdom, besides, keeps its possessors alive.

_(c) As Renunciation of One's Claims to the Respect and Consideration of Others_

VII. 21. Likewise, take not all the gossip of people to heart, lest thou hear that thy friend hath reviled thee! 22. For thy heart is conscious that thou thyself hast often-times made little of others. 20. For:

There is no just man upon the earth Who worketh good and never faileth.

_(d) Of One's Claims to Act Independently of their Counsel and Aid_

IV. 9. Two are better off than one; 10. for should one of them fall, the other lifts him up again. Woe to him that is alone, if he fall, and there be not another to raise him up. 11. Likewise, if two lie down together, they become warm; but how can one grow warm alone? 12. Moreover, if a man would overpower the single one, two can keep him at bay, and a threefold cord will not easily give way.

13. Better is the youth, needy and wise, than the king old and foolish, who can no longer take a warning to heart. 14. For the former went forth from prison to govern, though born poor in the realm of the king. 15. I saw all the living who walk under the sun, in attendance on the youth who was to take his place. 16. There was no end to the mult.i.tude....[281] who were before them; nor did those who lived afterwards glory in him. For this likewise is vanity and a grasping of wind.

RECOMMENDATION OF WISDOM AS RATIONAL PIETY[282]

_A Warning: (a) Against Outward and Sacrificial Worship_

V. 1. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of G.o.d! And to draw near him, in order to obey, is better than the offering of sacrifices by fools: for they know not....[283] to work evil.

_(b) Against Mechanical Prayer_

V. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, nor let thy heart be hasty to utter words before G.o.d! For G.o.d is in heaven, and thou art upon earth; therefore let thy words be few! 3. For

Dreams proceed from much brooding, And the prattle of fools from a mult.i.tude of words.

_(c) Against Rash Vows_

V. 4. If thou makest a vow unto G.o.d, fail not to fulfil it, for fools are displeasing. Carry out that which thou hast promised. 5. It is better thou shouldst not vow at all than vow and not perform. 6. Suffer not thy mouth to render thy body punishable, neither utter thou the plea before the messenger:[284] "it was rashness." Why cause G.o.d to be wroth at thy voice and destroy the work of thy hands?

_(d) Against Arbitrary Religious Speculations_

V. 7....[285] For in the mult.i.tude of fancies and prattle there likewise lurketh much vanity. Rather fear thou G.o.d!

RECOMMENDATION OF WISDOM AS ACTIVITY

_(a) In Public Life_

V. 8. When thou witnessest oppression of the poor and the swerving from right and equity in the land, marvel not thereat. For a higher one watcheth over the high, and still higher ones over both.[286] 9. But a gain to the country is only a king--for tilled land.

X.16. Wo, land, to thee whose king is a child, And whose princes feast in the early morning!

17. Hail to thee, land, whose king is n.o.ble, And whose princes eat in due season!

18. Through sloth the rafters give way; Through idleness the roof lets in the rain.

19. They misuse food and drink for feasting: And gold putteth all things in their grasp.

20. Even in thy privacy curse not the king, Nor in thy bed-chamber the wealthy; The birds of heaven might divulge it, And the feathered ones might report the word.

_(b) In Private Life_

XI. 1. Send forth thy bread over the surface of the waters, for after many days thou shall find it again. 2. Divide thy possessions into seven, yea, into eight portions! For thou knowest not what evil may befall the land. 3. If the clouds fill themselves with rain, they discharge it upon the earth; and whether the tree falleth towards the south or towards the north, in the place where it falleth, there shall it abide.

6. In the morning sow thy seed, And until evening let not thy hand repose.[287]

For thou knowest not which one shall thrive, this or that, or whether they shall both prosper alike.

4. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; He that watcheth the clouds shall not reap.

5. As thou knowest not the way of the wind, nor the growth of the bones in the womb of the mother, even so, thou canst not fathom the work of G.o.d who compa.s.seth everything.

RECOMMENDATION OF WISDOM AS CIRc.u.mSPECTION

_(a) In our Dealings with Women_

VII. 23. All this have I tried with understanding; I was minded to acquire wisdom, but it remained far from me. 24. Far off is that which is,[288] and deep, deep; who can fathom it?

25. I turned away, and my heart was bent upon understanding, sifting, and seeking the outgrowth of wisdom and knowledge, madness, and folly. 26.

Whereupon I found that more bitter than death is woman--that snare whose heart is a net, whose arms are fetters: the G.o.d-favoured shall escape her, but the sinner shall be entangled by her.

27. Lo, this have I found, saith the Speaker, piecing one thing with another in order to discover a result: 28. What my soul hath ever sought for, yet never fallen upon, is this: I have discovered one man, among thousands; and of all these there was not one single woman. 29. Behold, this only have I found: that G.o.d made men upright, but they go in search of many wiles.

_(b) In our Relations to the Monarch_

VIII.1. A man's wisdom brightens up his countenance.

And transforms the coa.r.s.e rancour of his face.

2. The wise man hearkens to the king's command, By reason of the oath to G.o.d.

3. Steer clear of evil causes![289]

For he[290] doeth even what he listeth.

4. Mighty is the word of the monarch; Who dares ask him: "What dost thou?"[291]

X.2. The wise man's heart straineth to the right, The heart of the fool to the left.

3. Even out of doors he lacketh sense, Saying unto every one: "I am a fool."[292]

4. Though the wrath of the ruler should swell against thee, yet forsake not thy post. For composure avoids grave mistakes.

5. There is an evil which I beheld under the sun, like unto a blunder, proceeding from the ruler!