Judaism
Proverbs 16
Text
The preparations of the heart are man’s, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; But the LORD weigheth the spirits.
Commit thy works unto the LORD, And thy thoughts shall be established.
The LORD hath made every things for His own purpose, Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; My hand upon it! he shall not be unpunished.
By mercy and truth iniquity is expiated; And by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
When a man’s ways please the LORD, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Better is a little with righteousness Than great revenues with injustice.
A man’s heart deviseth his way; But the LORD directeth his steps.
A divine sentence is in the lips of the king; His mouth trespasseth not in judgment.
A just balance and scales are the LORD’S; All the weights of the bag are His work.
It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness; For the throne is established by righteousness.
Righteous lips are the delight of kings; And they love him that speaketh right.
The wrath of a king is as messengers of death; But a wise man will pacify it.
In the light of the king’s countenance is life; And his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! Yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver.
The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
Pride goeth before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
Better it is to be of a lowly spirit with the humble, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
He that giveth heed unto the word shall find good; And whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
The wise in heart is called a man of discernment; And the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
Understanding is a fountain of life unto him that hath it; But folly is the chastisement of fools.
The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, And addeth learning to his lips.
Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death.
The hunger of the labouring man laboureth for him; For his mouth compelleth him.
An ungodly man diggeth up evil, And in his lips there is as a burning fire.
A froward man soweth strife; And a whisperer separateth familiar friends.
A man of violence enticeth his neighbour, And leadeth him into a way that is not good.
He shutteth his eyes, it is to devise froward things; He that biteth his lips bringeth evil to pass.
The hoary head is a crown of glory, It is found in the way of righteousness.
He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
The lot is cast into the lap; But the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
Text: The Holy Scriptures, Jewish Publication Society (1917), public domain, via Sefaria.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Dhammapada 129 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“All tremble at the rod, all fear death. Treating others like oneself, neither kill nor incite to kill.”
Divine Compassion & Mercy
Quran 1:1
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.”
Luke 6:36
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”
Snp 1.8 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“Even as a mother would protect with her life her child, her only child, so too for all creatures unfold a boundless heart.”
Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 1
“ik oankaar sat naam: one Creator, whose Name is Truth, beyond fear and enmity.”
Impermanence & Letting Go
Dhammapada 20:277 (trans. F. Max Müller)
“‘All created things perish,’ he who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; this is the way to purity.”
Tao Te Ching 76 (trans. James Legge)
“Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“Nay, but as when one layeth His worn-out robes away, And taking new ones, sayeth, "These will I wear to-day!" So putteth by the spirit Lightly its garb of flesh, And passeth to inherit A residence afresh.”
The Path to Wisdom
Dhammapada 20:282 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“From meditation springs wisdom, without meditation, wisdom ends.”
Analects 2:11 (trans. James Legge)
“If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others.”
Tao Te Ching 33 (trans. James Legge)
“He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent.”
Quran 39:9
“Are those who know equal with those who know not?”
Humility & Surrender
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“And let go those, Rites and writ duties! Fly to Me alone! Make Me thy single refuge! I will free Thy soul from all its sins! Be of good cheer!”
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
Tao Te Ching 22 (trans. James Legge)
“The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray.”
Quran 2:45
“Seek help in patience and prayer; and truly it is hard save for the humble-minded.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Dhammapada 2 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“Intention is the leader of things; intention is first, they’re made by intention. If with pure intent you speak or act, happiness follows you like a shadow that never leaves.”
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 16 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“The Doors of Hell Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pass, The door of Lust, the door of Wrath, the door Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three!”