Judaism
Proverbs 19
Text
Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity Than he that is perverse in his lips and a fool at the same time.
Also, that the soul be without knowledge is not good; And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.
The foolishness of man perverteth his way; And his heart fretteth against the LORD.
Wealth addeth many friends; But as for the poor, his friend separateth himself from him.
A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that breatheth forth lies shall not escape.
Many will entreat the favour of the liberal man; And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
All the brethren of the poor do hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He that pursueth words, they turn against him.
He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul; He that keepeth understanding shall find good.
A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that breatheth forth lies shall perish.
Luxury is not seemly for a fool; Much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
It is the discretion of a man to be slow to anger, And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; But his favour is as dew upon the grass.
A foolish son is the calamity of his father; And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
House and riches are the inheritance of fathers; But a prudent wife is from the LORD.
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.
He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul; But he that despiseth His ways shall die.
He that is gracious unto the poor lendeth unto the LORD; And his good deed will He repay unto him.
Chasten thy son, for there is hope; But set not thy heart on his destruction. .
A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment; For if thou interpose, thou wilt add thereto.
Hear counsel, and receive instruction, That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
There are many devices in a man’s heart; But the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
The lust of a man is his shame; And a poor man is better than a liar.
The fear of the LORD tendeth to life; And he that hath it shall abide satisfied, He shall not be visited with evil.
The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish, And will not so much as bring it back to his mouth.
When thou smitest a scorner, the simple will become prudent; And when one that hath understanding is reproved, he will understand knowledge.
A son that dealeth shamefully and reproachfully Will despoil his father, and chase away his mother.
Cease, my son, to hear the instruction That causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
An ungodly witness mocketh at right; And the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.
Judgments are prepared for scorners, And stripes for the back of fools.
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?”
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!”