Search this site or the web powered by FreeFind |
Maar een ding: ek vergeet die dinge wat agter is en strek my uit na wat voor is,
en jaag na die doel om die prys te verkry van die hoë roeping van God in Christus Jesus.
--Paulus in Filipense 3:14
Dink 'n bietjie hieroor:
Waters van rus soos wat Dawid dit in Ps. 23 beskryf, kan ‘n paar dinge vir ons beteken:
Die volgende beskrywing van die verhaal van die verlore seun soos Dominee Sara-Jane Wessels dit skilder, het weereens vir my nuwe betekenis gekry. Ek hoop jy sal ook die drie hoof figure opnuut ontmoet.
Verlore Seun Keer Terug
Green pastures and still waters as described by David in psalm 23 may have different meanings to different people. :
Deuterocanonical (apocrypha) books are those books that were included in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) but not included in the Hebrew Bible
How Great is our God
The deuterocanonical (apocrypha) books are those books that were included in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) but not included in the Hebrew Bible. The following is The New English Bible translation of given chapters within this named book.
Do not let your passions be your guide, but restrain your desires. If you indulge yourself with all that passion fancies, it will make you the butt of your enemies.
Do not revel in great luxury, or the expense of it may ruin you.
Do not beggar yourself by feasting on borrowed money, when there is nothing in your purse.
A drunken workman never grows rich; carelessness in small things leads little by little to ruin.
Wine and women rob the wise of their wits, and a frequenter of prostitutes becomes more and more reckless, till sores and worms take possession of him, and his recklessness becomes his undoing.
To trust a man hastily shows a shallow mind, and to sin is to do an injury to yourself.
To delight in wickedness is to court condemnation, but evil loses its hold on the man who hates gossip.
Never repeat what you hear, and you will never be the loser.
Tell no tales about friend or foe; unless silence makes you an accomplice, never betray a man's secret. Suppose he has heard you and learnt to distrust you, he will seize the first chance to show his hatred.
Have you heard a rumour? Let it die with you. Never fear, it will not make you burst. A fool with a secret goes through agony like a woman in childbirth.
As painful as an arrow through the thigh is a rumour in the heart of a fool.
Confront your friend with the gossip about him; he may not done it; or if he did it, he will know not to do it again.
Confront your neighbour; he may not have said it; or if he did say it, he will know not to say it again.
Confront your friend; it will often turn out to be slander; do not believe everything you hear. A man may let slip more than he intends; whose tongue is always free from guilt?
Confront your neighbour before you threaten him, and let the law of the Most High take its course.
All wisdom is the fear of the Lord and includes the fulfilling of the law.
The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom, nor is there good sense in the advice of sinners.
There is a cleverness that is loathsome, and some fools are merely ignorant.
Better to be God-fearing and lack brains than to have great intelligence and break the law.
A meticulous cleverness may lead to injustice, and a man may make himself offensive in order that right may prevail.
There is a scoundrel who stoops and wears mourning, but who is a fraud at heart. He covers his face and pretends to be deaf, but when nobody is looking, he will steal a march on you; and if lack of strength prevents him from doing wrong, he will still harm you at the first opportunity. Yet you can tell a man by his looks and recognize good sense at first sight. A man's clothes, and the way he laughs, and his gait, reveal his character.
20 A reproof may be untimely, and silence may show a man's good sense. Yet how much better it is to complain than to nurse a grudge, and confession saves a man from disgrace.
Like a eunuch longing to seduce a girl is the man who tries to do right by violence.
One man is silent and is found to be wise; another is hated for his endless chatter. One man is silent, at a loss for an answer; another is silent, biding his time.
The wise man is silent until the right moment, but a swaggering fool is always speaking out of turn.
A garrulous man makes himself detested, and one who abuses his position arouses hatred.
A man sometimes find profit in adversity, and a windfall may result in loss. Sometimes liberality does not benefit the giver, sometimes it brings a double return.
The quest for honour may lead to disgrace, but there are those who have risen from obscurity to eminence.
A man may make a good bargain, but pay for it seven times over.
A wise man endears himself when he speaks, but fools scatter compliments in vain.
A gift from a fool will bring you no benefit; it looks bigger to him than it does to you. He gives small gifts accompanied by long lectures, and opens his mouth as wide as the town crier. He gives a loan today and asks it back tomorrow, obnoxious fellow that he is!
The fool says, 'I have no friends, I get no thanks for my kindnesses; though they eat my bread, they speak ill of me.' How everyone will laugh at him -and how often!
Better a slip on the stone floor than a slip of the tongue; and the fall of the wicked comes just as suddenly.
An ill- mannered man is like an unseasonable story, continually on the lips of the ill- bred. A proverb will fall flat when uttered by a fool, for he will produce it at the wrong time.
Poverty may keep a man from doing wrong; when the day's work is over, conscience will not trouble him.
A man's diffidence may be his undoing, or the foolish figure he cuts in the eyes of the world.
A man may be shamed into making promises to a friend and needlessly turn him into an enemy.
A lie is an ugly blot on a man's name, and is continually on the lips of those who know no better.
It is better to be a thief than a habitual liar, but both will come to the same bad end.
A lying disposition brings disgrace; the shame of it can never be shaken off.
A wise man advances himself when he speaks, and a man of sense makes himself pleasant to the great.
The man who tills his land heaps up a harvest, and he who pleases the great reaps pardon for his wrongdoing.
Hospitality and presents make wise men blind; like a gag in the mouth they silence criticism.
Hidden wisdom and buried treasure, what use is there in either?
Better a man who hides his folly than one who hides his wisdom!
21 Have you done wrong, my son? Do it no more, but ask pardon for your past wrongdoing. Avoid wrong as you would a viper, for if you go near, it will bite you; its teeth are like a lion's teeth and can destroy the lives of men.
Every breach of the law is like a two -edged sword; it inflicts an incurable wound.
By intimidation and insolence a man forfeits his wealth; thus a proud man will be stripped of his possessions.
The Lord listens to the poor man's appeal, and his verdict follows without delay.
To hate reproof is to go the way of sinners, but whoever fears the Lord will repent whole- heartedly.
A great talker is known far and wide, but a sensible man is aware of his failings.
To build a house with borrowed money is like collecting stones for your own tomb.
A gathering of lawless men is like a bundle of tow, which ends by going up in flames.
The road of sinners is smoothly paved, but it leads straight down to the grave.
Whoever keeps the law keeps his thoughts under control; the fear of the Lord has its outcome in wisdom.
A man who is not clever cannot be taught, but there is a cleverness which only breeds bitterness.
A wise man's knowledge is like a river in full spate, and his advice is a life- giving spring.
A fool's mind is a leaky bucket: it cannot hold anything it learns. If an instructed man hears a wise saying, he applauds it and improves on it. If a rake hears it, he is annoyed and throws it behind his back.
Listening to a fool is like travelling with a heavy pack, but there is delight to be found in intelligent conversation.
The assembly welcomes a word from the wise man, and thinks over what he says. A fool's wisdom is like a tumbledown house; his knowledge is a string of ill- digested sayings. To fools education is like fetters, like a handcuff on the wrist. To the wise education is a golden ornament like a bracelet on the arm.
A fool laughs out loud; a clever man smiles quietly, if at all.
A fool rushes into a house; while a man of experience hangs back politely.
A boor peers into the house from the doorstep, while a well- bred man stands outside.
It is bad manners to listen at doors; a man of sense would think it a crushing disgrace.
The glib only repeat what others have said, but the wise weigh every word.
Fools speak before they think; wise men think first and speak afterwards.
When a bad man curses his adversary, he is cursing himself.
A tale- bearer blackens his own character and makes himself hated throughout the neighbourhood.
22 An idler is like a filthy stone; everyone jeers at his disgrace. An idler is like a lump of dung; whoever picks it up shakes it off his hand.
There is shame in being father to a spoilt son, and the birth of a daughter means loss. A sensible daughter wins a husband, but an immodest one is a grief to her father. A brazen daughter disgraces both father and husband and is despised by both.
Unseasonable talk is like music in time of mourning, but the lash of wisdom's discipline is always in season.
Teaching a fool is like mending pottery with glue, or like rousing a sleeper from heavy sleep. As well reason with a drowsy man as with a fool; when you have finished, he will say, 'What was that?'
Mourn over the dead for the eclipse of his light; mourn over the fool for the eclipse of his wits.
Mourn less bitterly for the dead, for he is at rest; but the fool's life is worse than death.
Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but for a godless fool it lasts all his life.
Do not talk long with a fool or visit a stupid man. Beware of him, or you may be in trouble and find yourself bespattered when he shakes himself. Avoid him, if you are looking for peace, and you will not be worn out by his folly.
What is heavier than lead? What is its name but 'Fool'? Sand, salt, and a lump of iron are less of a burden than a stupid man.
A tie- beam fixed firmly into a building is not shaken loose by an earthquake; so a mind kept firm by intelligent advice will not be daunted in a crisis.
A mind solidly backed by intelligent thought is like the stucco that decorates a smooth wall. As a fence set on a hill -top cannot stand against the wind, so a mind made timid by foolish fancies is not proof against any terror.
Hurt the eye and tears will flow; hurt the mind and you will find it sensitive. Throw a stone at the birds and you scare them away; abuse a friend and you break off your friendship.
If you have drawn your sword on a friend, do not give up hope, there is still a way back. If you have quarrelled with your friend, never fear, there can still be a reconciliation. But abuse, scorn, a secret betrayed, a stab in the back-- these will make any friend keep his distance.
Win your neighbour's confidence while he is poor, and you will share the joy of his prosperity; stand by him in time of trouble, and you will be his partner when he comes into a fortune.
As furnace- fumes and smoke come before the flame, so insults come before bloodshed. I will not be afraid to protect my friend nor will I turn my back on him. If harm should befall me on his account, everyone who hears of it will beware of him.
Oh, for a sentry to guard my mouth and a seal of discretion to close my lips, to keep them from being my downfall, and to keep my tongue from causing my ruin!
23 Lord, Father, and Ruler of my life, do not abandon me to the tongue's control or allow me to fall on its account.
Oh for wisdom's lash to curb my thoughts and to discipline my mind, without overlooking my mistakes or condoning my sins! Then my mistakes would not multiply nor my sins increase, humiliating me before my opponents and giving my enemy cause to gloat.
Lord, Father, and God of my life, do not let me have a supercilious eye. Protect me from the onslaught of desire; let neither gluttony nor lust take hold of me, nor give me over to the power of shameless passion.
Hear, my sons, how to discipline the mouth, take warning, and you will never be caught out. It is by his own words that the sinner is ensnared; he is tripped up by his own scurrility and pride.
Do not inure your mouth to oaths or make a habit of naming the Holy One. As a slave constantly under the lash is never free from weals, so the man who has oaths and the sacred name for ever on his lips will never be clear of guilt.
A man given to swearing is lawless to the core; the scourge will never be far from his house. If he goes back on his word, he must bear the blame; if he wilfully neglects it, he sins twice over; if his oath itself was insincere, he cannot be his house will be filled with trouble.
There is a kind of speech that is the counterpart of death; may it never be found among Jacob's descendants! The pious keep clear of such conduct and do not wallow in sin.
Do not make a habit of coarse, vulgar talk, or you will be bound to say something sinful.
Remember your father and mother when you take your seat among the great, or you may forget yourself in their presence and make a fool of yourself through bad habit; then you will wish you had never been born, and curse the day of your birth. A man addicted to scurrilous talk will never learn better as long as he lives.
Two kinds of men add sin to sin, and a third brings retribution on himself.
Hot lust that blazes like a fire can never be quenched till life is destroyed. A man whose whole body is given to sensuality never stops till the fire consumes him. To a seducer every loaf is as sweet as the last, and he does not weary until he dies.
The man who strays from his own bed says to himself, 'Who can see me? All around is dark and the walls hide me; nobody can see me, why need I worry? The Most High will not take note of my sins. The eyes of men are all he fears; he forgets that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun, observing every step men take and penetrating every secret. Before the universe was created, it was known to him, and so it is since its completion. This man will pay the penalty in the public street, caught where he least expected it.
So too with the woman who is unfaithful to her husband, presenting him with an heir by a different father: first, she disobeys the law of the Most High; secondly, she commits an offence against her husband; thirdly, she has prostituted herself by bearing bastard children. She shall be disgraced before the assembly, and the consequences will fall on her children. Her children will not take root, nor will fruit grow on her branches. A curse will rest on her memory, and her shame will never be blotted out. All who survive her will learn that nothing is better than the fear of the Lord or sweeter than obeying his commandments.
Deuterocanonical (apocrypha) books are those books that were included in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) but not included in the Hebrew Bible
How Great is our God