The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: Therefore leave off contention, before there is quarrelling.

纷争的起头如水放开，所以，在争闹之先必当止息争竞。

纷争掀起，如同缺口的水；因此，争端尚未爆发就当制止。

纷争掀起，如同缺口的水；因此，争端尚未爆发就当制止。

争端爆发如洪水决堤，当在爆发前将其制止。

纷争的开始，如同决堤的水；所以在争执发生以前，就要制止。

纷争的开始，就如放开的水；卷入争执之前，当放弃争辩。

紛爭的起頭如水放開，所以，在爭鬧之先必當止息爭競。

紛爭掀起，如同缺口的水；因此，爭端尚未爆發就當制止。

紛爭掀起，如同缺口的水；因此，爭端尚未爆發就當制止。

爭端爆發如洪水決堤，當在爆發前將其制止。

紛爭的開始，如同決堤的水；所以在爭執發生以前，就要制止。

紛爭之起點如放水；故爭吵尚未暴發，先要放棄。

紛爭的開始，就如放開的水；捲入爭執之前，當放棄爭辯。

釁端之起、如水潰決、宜先弭之、以免爭鬥、

釁隙之開、若江河之潰、故爭競將起、必弭之。

爭端之起、如水之破隙、故爭競未發之先、當止之、

Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

Starting to argue is like making a crack in a dam. So drop the matter before a fight breaks out.

The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so stop before a dispute breaks out.

To start a conflict is to release a flood; stop the dispute before it breaks out.

The beginning of strife is like letting out water, So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.

To start a conflict is to release a flood; stop the dispute before it breaks out.

The beginning of strife[ is as] when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.

Starting a quarrel is like letting out water; stop it before strife breaks out!

The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.

Go not forth hastily to strive, Lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, When thy neighbor hath put thee to shame.

It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife; But every fool will be quarrelling.

and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your hands, even as we charged you;

But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth.This wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed.But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy.And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace.

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

A soft answer turneth away wrath; But a grievous word stirreth up anger.

Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face.And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle.Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten Edom; and thy heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?But Amaziah would not hear; for it was of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought after the gods of Edom.So Joash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth- shemesh, which belongeth to Judah.And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to his tent.And Joash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth- shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits.And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed- edom, and the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

He that is slow to anger is of great understanding; But he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.

An angry man stirreth up strife, And a wrathful man aboundeth in transgression.

As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to inflame strife.

And the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thy house upon thee with fire.And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye saved me not out of their hand.And when I saw that ye saved me not, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye are fugitives of Ephraim, ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Manasseh.And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And it was so, that, when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth; for he could not frame to pronounce it right: then they laid hold on him, and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of Ephraim forty and two thousand.

But foolish and ignorant questionings refuse, knowing that they gender strifes.And the Lord’s servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing,

He loveth transgression that loveth strife: He that raiseth high his gate seeketh destruction.

and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.So the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was brought about of God, that Jehovah might establish his word, which he spake by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So all Israel departed unto their tents.

And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they did chide with him sharply.And he said unto them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?God hath delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two.

By pride cometh only contention; But with the well- advised is wisdom.

And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and brought the king, and his household, over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then are ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all at the king’s cost? or hath he given us any gift?And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.And there happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.So all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and provided them with sustenance, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.Then said the king to Amasa, Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and be thou here present.So Amasa went to call the men of Judah together; but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.And David said to Abishai, Now will Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities, and escape out of our sight.And there went out after him Joab’s men, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men; and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. And Joab was girded with his apparel of war that he had put on, and thereon was a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well with thee, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the body, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. And Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.And there stood by him one of Joab’s young men, and said, He that favoreth Joab, and he that is for David, let him follow Joab.And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth- maacah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth- maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.And he came near unto her; and the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.I am of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of Jehovah?And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.The matter is not so: but a man of the hill- country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David; deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. And he blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.

And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren.Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou take the right hand, then I will go to the left.

The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, all of them valiant men; because they had forsaken Jehovah, the God of their fathers.

And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and questioning with them, the brethren appointed that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.They therefore, being brought on their way by the church, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church and the apostles and the elders, and they rehearsed all things that God had done with them.But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed, saying, It is needful to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.And the apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider of this matter.And when there had been much questioning, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Brethren, ye know that a good while ago God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.And God, who knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us;and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.Now therefore why make ye trial of God, that ye should put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they.And all the multitude kept silence; and they hearkened unto Barnabas and Paul rehearsing what signs and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles through them.And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me:Symeon hath rehearsed how first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up:That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called,Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old.Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to God;but that we write unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood.For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath.

Now in these days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not fit that we should forsake the word of God, and serve tables.Look ye out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.But we will continue stedfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the word.And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus a proselyte of Antioch;

And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.

And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.Then they arose and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin, and for Ish- bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath- hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.And the battle was very sore that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.