| OLD TESTAMENT | NEW TESTAMENT | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 7 Books | Old Testament History | Wisdom Books | Major Prophets | Minor Prophets | NT History | Epistles of St. Paul | General Writings | |||
| Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuter. Joshua Judges | Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chron. 2 Chron. | Ezra Nehem. Tobit Judith Esther 1 Macc. 2 Macc. | Job Psalms Proverbs Eccles. Songs Wisdom Sirach | Isaiah Jeremiah Lament. Baruch Ezekiel Daniel | Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah | Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi | Matthew Mark Luke John Acts | Romans 1 Corinth. 2 Corinth. Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians | 1 Thess. 2 Thess. 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews | James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation |
| 1 2 πάντα |
1 Man’s heart is ever full of devising; from the Lord comes the ordering of right speech.[1] 2 His own path man scans, and nothing sees amiss, but the divine balance weighs our thoughts; 3 share with the Lord the burden of all thy doings, if thou wouldst be sincere in thy intent. | 1 Hominis est animam præparare, et Domini gubernare linguam. Omnes viæ hominis patent oculis ejus; spirituum ponderator est Dominus. Revela Domino opera tua, et dirigentur cogitationes tuæ. |
| 4 | 4 God, who made all, made all for his own purposes, even the godless man, with doom awaiting him. | 4 Universa propter semetipsum operatus est Dominus; impium quoque ad diem malum. |
| 5 ἀκάθαρτος |
5 A proud man the Lord holds in abhorrence; depend upon it, no acquittal shall he find. (To do right, that is the first step on the way of blessedness, a more welcome thing in God’s sight than any sacrifice a man can offer.[2]) 6 Kindness and honour are sin’s purging; ever it is the fear of the Lord turns men away from harm. 7 Live as the Lord would have thee live, and he will make even thy enemies into well-wishers. | 5 Abominatio Domini est omnis arrogans; etiamsi manus ad manum fuerit, non est innocens. Initium viæ bonæ facere justitiam; accepta est autem apud Deum magis quam immolare hostias. Misericordia et veritate redimitur iniquitas, et in timore Domini declinatur a malo. Cum placuerint Domino viæ hominis, inimicos quoque ejus convertet ad pacem. |
| 8 ὁ ζητῶ |
8 Better a penny honestly come by than great revenues ill gotten. | 8 Melius est parum cum justitia quam multi fructus cum iniquitate. |
| 9 πάντα |
9 Heart of man must plan his course, but his steps will fall as the Lord guides them. | 9 Cor hominis disponit viam suam, sed Domini est dirigere gressus ejus. |
| 10 |
10 Speaks king, speaks oracle; never a word amiss. 11 Scale and balance are emblems of the Lord’s own justice; no weight in the merchant’s wallet but is of divine fashioning. 12 Wrong-doing the king will not abide; on right his own throne rests. 13 Kings are for honest talk; free-spoken is well loved. 14 The king’s frown is death at thy door; wisdom will appease it; 15 his smile is life; not more welcome the spring rains, than royal favour. | 10 Divinatio in labiis regis; in judicio non errabit os ejus. Pondus et statera judicia Domini sunt, et opera ejus omnes lapides sacculi. Abominabiles regi qui agunt impie, quoniam justitia firmatur solium. Voluntas regum labia justa; qui recta loquitur diligetur. Indignatio regis nuntii mortis, et vir sapiens placabit eam. In hilaritate vultus regis vita, et clementia ejus quasi imber serotinus. |
| 16 νοσσιαὶ σοφίας |
16 Not of gold or silver be thy hoard; make wisdom thine, discernment thine, more precious than these. | 16 Posside sapientiam, quia auro melior est, et acquire prudentiam, quia pretiosior est argento. |
| 17 τρίβοι |
17 The just man travels by the high road, safe from harm, watching his path anxiously, as he values his life. | 17 Semita justorum declinat mala; custos animæ suæ servat viam suam. |
| 18 |
18 Presumption comes first, and ruin close behind it; pride ever goes before a fall. 19 Better a humble lot among peaceful folk, than all the spoil a tyrant’s friendship can bring thee. | 18 Contritionem præcedit superbia, et ante ruinam exaltatur spiritus. Melius est humiliari cum mitibus quam dividere spolia cum superbis. |
| 20 |
20 Well versed in doctrine, happiness thou shalt win; trust in the Lord, and find a blessing. 21 Good judgement a wise heart can claim; winning words bring greater prizes yet. 22 The prudent man drinks from a living fountain; fools only learn the lessons of their folly. 23 Wisdom distils from heart to mouth, and lends the lips persuasion. 24 Honey itself cannot vie with well-framed words, for heart’s comfort and body’s refreshment. 25 The right road in a man’s thinking may be one whose goal is death. | 20 Eruditus in verbo reperiet bona, et qui sperat in Domino beatus est. Qui sapiens est corde appellabitur prudens, et qui dulcis eloquio majora percipiet. Fons vitæ eruditio possidentis; doctrina stultorum fatuitas. Cor sapientis erudiet os ejus, et labiis ejus addet gratiam. Favus mellis composita verba; dulcedo animæ sanitas ossium. Est via quæ videtur homini recta, et novissima ejus ducunt ad mortem. |
| 26 ἀ |
26 No better friend drudgery has than appetite; hunger drives a man to his task. | 26 Anima laborantis laborat sibi, quia compulit eum os suum. |
| 27 ἀ |
27 Ever the godless man digs a well of mischief, ever his lips are aflame. 28 His the scheming that breeds quarrels, the whispering that divides his clan, 29 the love of wrong that misleads his neighbours and carries them off into evil ways; 30 spell-bound with dreams of treachery, he shuts his lips tight and goes about his false errand.[3] | 27 Vir impius fodit malum, et in labiis ejus ignis ardescit. Homo perversus suscitat lites, et verbosus separat principes. Vir iniquus lactat amicum suum, et ducit eum per viam non bonam. Qui attonitis oculis cogitat prava, mordens labia sua perficit malum. |
| 31 στέφανος καυχήσεως |
31 No prize so honourable as old age, and it is won by innocence of life. | 31 Corona dignitatis senectus, quæ in viis justitiæ reperietur. |
| 32 κρείσσων ἀ |
32 Patience is worth more than valour; better a disciplined heart than a stormed city. | 32 Melior est patiens viro forti, et qui dominatur animo suo expugnatore urbium. |
| 33 |
33 Into the lap’s fold the lot falls haphazard, but the Lord rules the issue. | 33 Sortes mittuntur in sinum, sed a Domino temperantur. |
[1] The bearing of this maxim is uncertain.
[2] The second half of this verse is found in the Septuagint Greek, but not in the Hebrew text.
[3] In the first half of this verse, the Hebrew text is usually understood to mean ‘He plots treachery with a wink of the eye’.
Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd
