Anonymous (Septuagint) · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| And after him Nathan rose up to prophesy in the days of David.
2| As the fat set apart from the peace offering, so was David set apart from the sons of Israel.
3| He toyed with lions the way one plays with young goats, and with bears as though they were flock-lambs.
4| Did he not, while still a youth, slay a giant, and lift the disgrace off his nation, when his hand let fly a stone from the sling and cut down the arrogance of Goliath?
5| For he called upon the Lord Most High, and he gave strength to his right hand to remove a man of war, that he might exalt the horn of his people.
6| So the people gave him glory beyond tens of thousands, and spoke well of him amid the Lord's blessings, when a crown of splendor was brought to him.
7| For he crushed his foes on every flank, and reduced the Philistines, his adversaries, to nothing; he broke their horn, and it remains broken to this day.
8| In every deed of his he gave thanks to the Holy Most High with words of glory; with all his heart he sang praise, and loved him who made him.
9| And he set singers before the altar, that from their sound the melodies might be sweet;
10| he gave the feasts their splendor, and adorned the seasons to their completion, so that when they praised his holy name, the sanctuary rang out from the morning.
11| The Lord lifted away his sins, and raised his horn without end, granting him a royal covenant and a splendid throne over Israel.
12| After him rose a son endowed with understanding, and for his sake he dwelt in wide security;
13| Solomon reigned in days of peace, for whom God gave rest on every side, that he might build a house for his name and prepare a sanctuary forever.
14| How wise you were in your youth, and were filled, like a river, with understanding.
15| Your soul covered the earth, and you filled it with dark sayings and parables;
16| your name went out to islands far off, and you were beloved in your peace;
17| in songs and proverbs and parables, and in the interpreting of them, the lands were amazed at you;
18| in the name of the Lord God, who is called the God of Israel, you gathered gold like tin, and multiplied silver like lead.
19| You bent your loins to women, and let yourself be ruled through your body;
20| you gave a stain to your glory, and profaned your offspring, bringing wrath upon your children, and I was pierced with grief over your folly,
21| in that the sovereignty was split in two, and out of Ephraim arose a disobedient kingdom.
22| But the Lord will not leave his mercy, nor let any of his works be destroyed, nor blot out the offspring of his chosen one, nor take away the seed of him who loved him; and to Jacob he gave a remnant, and to David a root out of him.
23| And Solomon rested with his fathers, and left after him from his offspring, for the people, folly and one lacking in understanding, Rehoboam, who turned the people away from his counsel, and Jeroboam son of Nebat, who made Israel sin and gave Ephraim a way of sin.
24| And their sins multiplied exceedingly, so as to remove them from their land;
25| for they sought after every wickedness, until vengeance came upon them.