1 In the manner of snow in the summer, and rain at the harvest, so also is glory unfit for the foolish.
2 Like a bird flying away to another place, and like a sparrow that hurries away freely, so also a curse uttered against someone without cause will pass away.
3 A whip is for a horse, and a muzzle is for donkey, and a rod is for the back of the imprudent.
4 Do not respond to the foolish according to his folly, lest you become like him.
5 Respond to the foolish according to his folly, lest he imagine himself to be wise.
6 Whoever sends words by a foolish messenger has lame feet and drinks iniquity.
7 In the manner of a lame man who has beautiful legs to no purpose, so also is a parable unfit for the mouth of the foolish.
8 Just like one who casts a stone into the pile of Mercury, so also is he who gives honor to the foolish.
9 In the manner of a thorn, if it were to spring up from the hand of a drunkard, so also is a parable in the mouth of the foolish.
10 Judgment determines cases. And whoever imposes silence on the foolish mitigates anger.
11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit, so also is the imprudent who repeats his foolishness.
12 Have you seen a man who seems wise to himself? There will be greater hope held for the unwise than for him.
13 The lazy one says, “There is a lion along the way, and a lioness in the roads.”
14 Just as a door turns upon its hinges, so also does the lazy one turn upon his bed.
15 The lazy one conceals his hand under his arms, and it is a labor for him to move it to his mouth.
16 The lazy one seems wiser to himself than seven men speaking judgments.
17 Just like one who takes hold of a dog by the ears, so also is he who crosses impatiently and meddles in the quarrels of another.
18 Just as he is guilty who let loose the arrows and the lances unto death,
19 so also is the man who harms his friend by deceitfulness. And when he has been apprehended, he says, “I did it jokingly.”
20 When the wood fails, the fire will be extinguished. And when the gossiper is taken away, conflicts will be quelled.
21 Just as charcoals are to burning coals, and wood is to fire, so also is an angry man who stirs up quarrels.
22 The words of a whisperer seem simple, but they penetrate to the innermost parts of the self.
23 In the same manner as an earthen vessel, if it were adorned with impure silver, conceited lips are allied with a wicked heart.
24 An enemy is known by his lips, though it is from his heart that he draws out deceit.
25 When he will have lowered his voice, do not believe him, for there are seven vices in his heart.
26 Whoever covers hatred with deceit, his malice shall be revealed in the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. And whoever rolls a stone, it will roll back to him.
28 A false tongue does not love truth. And a slippery mouth works ruin.
1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the future day may bring.
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth: an outsider, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is weighty, and sand is burdensome; but the wrath of the foolish is heavier than both.
4 Anger holds no mercy, nor does fury when it erupts. And who can bear the assault of one who has been provoked?
5 An open rebuke is better than hidden love.
6 The wounds of a loved one are better than the deceitful kisses of a hateful one.
7 A sated soul will trample the honeycomb. And a hungry soul will accept even bitter in place of sweet.
8 Just like a bird migrating from her nest, so also is a man who abandons his place.
9 Ointment and various perfumes delight the heart. And the good advice of a friend is sweet to the soul.
10 Do not dismiss your friend or your father’s friend. And do not enter your brother’s house in the day of your affliction. A close neighbor is better than a distant brother.
11 My son, study wisdom, and rejoice my heart, so that you may be able to respond to the one who reproaches.
12 The discerning man, seeing evil, hides himself. The little ones, continuing on, sustain losses.
13 Take away the garment of him who has vouched for an outsider. And take a pledge from him on behalf of foreigners.
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a grand voice, rising in the night, shall be like one who curses.
15 A roof leaking on a cold day, and an argumentative woman, are comparable.
16 He who would restrain her, he is like one who would grasp the wind, or who would gather together oil with his right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron, and a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoever maintains the fig tree shall eat its fruit. And whoever is the keeper of his master shall be glorified.
19 In the manner of faces looking into shining water, so are the hearts of men made manifest to the prudent.
20 Hell and perdition are never filled; similarly the eyes of men are insatiable.
21 In the manner of silver being tested in the refinery, and gold in the furnace, so also is a man tested by the mouth of one who praises. The heart of the iniquitous inquires after evils, but the heart of the righteous inquires after knowledge.
22 Even if you were to crush the foolish with a mortar, as when a pestle strikes over pearled barley, his foolishness would not be taken from him.
23 Be diligent to know the countenance of your cattle, and consider your own flocks,
24 for you will not always hold this power. But a crown shall be awarded from generation to generation.
25 The meadows are open, and the green plants have appeared, and the hay has been collected from the mountains.
26 Lambs are for your clothing, and goats are for the price of a field.
27 Let the milk of goats be sufficient for your food, and for the necessities of your household, and for the provisions of your handmaids.
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45 For behold, the war is before us, and truly, with the water of the Jordan here and there, and the banks, and the marshes, and the woods: there is no place for us to turn aside.
46 Therefore, cry out now to heaven so that you may be freed from the hand of your enemies.” And they joined together in warfare.
47 And Jonathan extended his hand to strike Bacchides, but he turned away from him in retreat.
48 And Jonathan, and those who were with him, leaped forward into the Jordan, and they swam across the Jordan to them.
49 And there fell from the side of Bacchides on that day one thousand men. And they returned to Jerusalem.
50 And they built fortified cities in Judea: the fortification that was in Jericho, and in Emmaus, and in Bethhoron, and in Bethel, and Timnath, and Pharathon, and Tephon, with high walls, and gates, and bars.
51 And he stationed garrisons in them, so that those in Israel became trained in warfare.
52 And he fortified the city of Bethzur, and of Gazara, and the stronghold, and he stationed auxiliaries in them, with supplies of rations.
53 And he took the sons of the leaders of the region for hostages, and put them in the stronghold in Jerusalem under guard.
54 Now in the second month of the one hundred and fifty-third year, Alcimus instructed that the walls of the inner court of the sanctuary be destroyed, and that the works of the prophets be destroyed. And he began to destroy them.
55 At that time, Alcimus was struck, and his works were hindered, and his mouth was closed shut, and he was weakened with paralysis, so that he was no longer able speak a word, nor to give orders concerning his house.
56 And Alcimus died at that time, in great torment.
57 And Bacchides saw that Alcimus was dead. And he returned to the king. And the land was quiet for two years.
58 And all the iniquitous considered together, saying, “Behold, Jonathan, and those who are with him, live in quietude and confidence. Now, therefore, let us bring forth Bacchides, and he will capture them all, in one night.”
59 So they went and gave counsel to him.
60 And he rose up, so as to advance with a great army. And he secretly sent letters to his associates who were in Judea, to seize Jonathan and those who were with him. But they were not able, for their plan became known to them.
61 And he apprehended, from the men of the region, those who were the leaders of this malice, fifty men. And he killed them.
62 And Jonathan, and Simon, and those who were with him, withdrew into Bethbasi, which is in the desert. And he repaired its breaches, and they fortified it.
63 And Bacchides knew about it, and he gathered together all his multitude. And he reported it to those who were from Judea.
64 And he came and made camp above Bethbasi, and he fought against it for many days, and he made machines of war.
65 But Jonathan left behind his brother Simon in the city, and he went out into the country, and he approached with a number of men,
66 and he struck Odomera and his brothers, and the sons of Phasiron, in their tents. And he began to slaughter and to increase in forces.
67 In truth, Simon, and those who were with him, went forth from the city and burned the machines of war,
68 and they fought against Bacchides, and he was crushed by them. And they afflicted him greatly, because his counsel and his meetings were in vain.
69 And he was angry with the men of iniquity who had given him counsel to come into their region, and he killed many of them. But he decided to depart with the remainder into their country.
70 And Jonathan knew of it, and he sent ambassadors to him to arrange a peace with him, and to restore the captives to him.
71 And he accepted it willingly, and he acted according to his words, and he swore that he would do him no evil all the days of his life.
72 And he restored to him the captives which he previously had been given from the land of Judah. And he turned back and went away into his own land, and he no longer drew near, in order to enter into their borders.
73 And so the sword ceased from Israel. And Jonathan lived in Michmash, and, in that place, Jonathan began to judge the people, and he destroyed the impious out of Israel.
1 I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me.
2 My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
3 May he not suffer thy foot to be moved: neither let him slumber that keepeth thee.
4 Behold he shall neither slumber nor sleep, that keepeth Israel.
5 The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy protection upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not burn thee by day: nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord keepeth thee from all evil: may the Lord keep thy soul.
8 May the Lord keep thy going in and thy going out; from henceforth now and for ever.
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham, as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him.
2 And Abraham divided to him a tenth part of everything. And in translation his name is first, indeed, king of justice, and next also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, he is thereby likened to the Son of God, who remains a priest continuously.
4 Next, consider how great this man is, since the Patriarch Abraham even gave tithes to him from the principal things.
5 And indeed, those who are from the sons of Levi, having received the priesthood, hold a commandment to take tithes from the people in accord with the law, that is, from their brothers, even though they also went forth from the loins of Abraham.
6 But this man, whose lineage is not enumerated with them, received tithes from Abraham, and he blessed even the one who held the promises.
7 Yet this is without any contradiction, for what is less should be blessed by what is better.
8 And certainly, here, men who receive tithes still die; but there, he bears witness that he lives.
9 And so it may be said that even Levi, who received tithes, was himself a tithe through Abraham.
10 For he was still in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him.
11 Therefore, if consummation had occurred through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), then what further need would there be for another Priest to rise up according to the order of Melchizedek, one who was not called according to the order of Aaron?
12 For since the priesthood has been transferred, it is necessary that the law also be transferred.
