More Proverbs (PRO 30:7-33)

[30:7] I ask you, God, to let me have two things before I die:

[30:8] keep me from lying, and let me be neither rich nor poor. So give me only as much food as I need.

[30:9] If I have more, I might say that I do not need you. But if I am poor, I might steal and bring disgrace on my God.

[30:10] Never criticize servants to their master. You will be cursed and suffer for it.

[30:11] There are people who curse their fathers and do not show their appreciation for their mothers.

[30:12] There are people who think they are pure when they are as filthy as they can be.

[30:13] There are people who think they are so good—oh, how good they think they are!

[30:14] There are people who take cruel advantage of the poor and needy; that is the way they make their living.

[30:15] A leech has two daughters, and both are named “Give me!” There are four things that are never satisfied:

[30:16] the world of the dead, a woman without children, dry ground that needs rain, and a fire burning out of control.

[30:17] If you make fun of your father or despise your mother in her old age, you ought to be eaten by vultures or have your eyes picked out by wild ravens.

[30:18] There are four things that are too mysterious for me to understand:

[30:19] an eagle flying in the sky, a snake moving on a rock, a ship finding its way over the sea, and a man and a woman falling in love.

[30:20] This is how an unfaithful wife acts: she commits adultery, takes a bath, and says, “But I haven't done anything wrong!”

[30:21] There are four things that the earth itself cannot tolerate:

[30:22] a slave who becomes a king, a fool who has all he wants to eat,

[30:23] a hateful woman who gets married, and a servant woman who takes the place of her mistress.

[30:24] There are four animals in the world that are small, but very, very clever:

[30:25] Ants: they are weak, but they store up their food in the summer.

[30:26] Rock badgers: they are not strong either, but they make their homes among the rocks.

[30:27] Locusts: they have no king, but they move in formation.

[30:28] Lizards: you can hold one in your hand, but you can find them in palaces.

[30:29] There are four things that are impressive to watch as they walk:

[30:30] lions, strongest of all animals and afraid of none;

[30:31] goats, strutting roosters, and kings in front of their people.

[30:32] If you have been foolish enough to be arrogant and plan evil, stop and think!

[30:33] If you churn milk, you get butter. If you hit someone's nose, it bleeds. If you stir up anger, you get into trouble.

Advice to a King (PRO 31:1-9)

[31:1] These are the solemn words which King Lemuel's mother said to him:

[31:2] “You are my own dear son, the answer to my prayers. What shall I tell you?

[31:3] Don't spend all your energy on sex and all your money on women; they have destroyed kings.

[31:4] Listen, Lemuel. Kings should not drink wine or have a craving for alcohol.

[31:5] When they drink, they forget the laws and ignore the rights of people in need.

[31:6] Alcohol is for people who are dying, for those who are in misery.

[31:7] Let them drink and forget their poverty and unhappiness.

[31:8] “Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless.

[31:9] Speak for them and be a righteous judge. Protect the rights of the poor and needy.”

The Capable Wife (PRO 31:10-31)

[31:10] How hard it is to find a capable wife! She is worth far more than jewels!

[31:11] Her husband puts his confidence in her, and he will never be poor.

[31:12] As long as she lives, she does him good and never harm.

[31:13] She keeps herself busy making wool and linen cloth.

[31:14] She brings home food from out-of-the-way places, as merchant ships do.

[31:15] She gets up before daylight to prepare food for her family and to tell her servant women what to do.

[31:16] She looks at land and buys it, and with money she has earned she plants a vineyard.

[31:17] She is a hard worker, strong and industrious.

[31:18] She knows the value of everything she makes, and works late into the night.

[31:19] She spins her own thread and weaves her own cloth.

[31:20] She is generous to the poor and needy.

[31:21] She doesn't worry when it snows, because her family has warm clothing.

[31:22] She makes bedspreads and wears clothes of fine purple linen.

[31:23] Her husband is well known, one of the leading citizens.

[31:24] She makes clothes and belts, and sells them to merchants.

[31:25] She is strong and respected and not afraid of the future.

[31:26] She speaks with a gentle wisdom.

[31:27] She is always busy and looks after her family's needs.

[31:28] Her children show their appreciation, and her husband praises her.

[31:29] He says, “Many women are good wives, but you are the best of them all.”

[31:30] Charm is deceptive and beauty disappears, but a woman who honors the Lord should be praised.

[31:31] Give her credit for all she does. She deserves the respect of everyone.

Life Is Useless (ECC 1:1-11)

[1:1] These are the words of the Philosopher, David's son, who was king in Jerusalem.

[1:2] It is useless, useless, said the Philosopher. Life is useless, all useless.

[1:3] You spend your life working, laboring, and what do you have to show for it?

[1:4] Generations come and generations go, but the world stays just the same.

[1:5] The sun still rises, and it still goes down, going wearily back to where it must start all over again.

[1:6] The wind blows south, the wind blows north—round and round and back again.

[1:7] Every river flows into the sea, but the sea is not yet full. The water returns to where the rivers began, and starts all over again.

[1:8] Everything leads to weariness—a weariness too great for words. Our eyes can never see enough to be satisfied; our ears can never hear enough.

[1:9] What has happened before will happen again. What has been done before will be done again. There is nothing new in the whole world.

[1:10] “Look,” they say, “here is something new!” But no, it has all happened before, long before we were born.

[1:11] No one remembers what has happened in the past, and no one in days to come will remember what happens between now and then.

The Philosopher's Experience (ECC 1:12-2:26)

[1:12] I, the Philosopher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

[1:13] I determined that I would examine and study all the things that are done in this world. God has laid a miserable fate upon us.

[1:14] I have seen everything done in this world, and I tell you, it is all useless. It is like chasing the wind.

[1:15] You can't straighten out what is crooked; you can't count things that aren't there.

[1:16] I told myself, “I have become a great man, far wiser than anyone who ruled Jerusalem before me. I know what wisdom and knowledge really are.”

[1:17] I was determined to learn the difference between knowledge and foolishness, wisdom and madness. But I found out that I might as well be chasing the wind.

[1:18] The wiser you are, the more worries you have; the more you know, the more it hurts.

[2:1] I decided to enjoy myself and find out what happiness is. But I found that this is useless, too.

[2:2] I discovered that laughter is foolish, that pleasure does you no good.

[2:3] Driven on by my desire for wisdom, I decided to cheer myself up with wine and have a good time. I thought that this might be the best way people can spend their short lives on earth.

[2:4] I accomplished great things. I built myself houses and planted vineyards.

[2:5] I planted gardens and orchards, with all kinds of fruit trees in them;

[2:6] I dug ponds to irrigate them.

[2:7] I bought many slaves, and there were slaves born in my household. I owned more livestock than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem.

[2:8] I also piled up silver and gold from the royal treasuries of the lands I ruled. Men and women sang to entertain me, and I had all the women a man could want.

[2:9] Yes, I was great, greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and my wisdom never failed me.

[2:10] Anything I wanted, I got. I did not deny myself any pleasure. I was proud of everything I had worked for, and all this was my reward.

[2:11] Then I thought about all that I had done and how hard I had worked doing it, and I realized that it didn't mean a thing. It was like chasing the wind—of no use at all.

[2:12] After all, a king can only do what previous kings have done. So I started thinking about what it meant to be wise or reckless or foolish.

[2:13] Oh, I know, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.

[2:14] The wise can see where they are going, and fools cannot.” But I also know that the same fate is waiting for us all.

[2:15] I thought to myself, “What happens to fools is going to happen to me, too. So what have I gained from being so wise?” “Nothing,” I answered, “not a thing.”

[2:16] No one remembers the wise, and no one remembers fools. In days to come, we will all be forgotten. We must all die—wise and foolish alike.

[2:17] So life came to mean nothing to me, because everything in it had brought me nothing but trouble. It had all been useless; I had been chasing the wind.

[2:18] Nothing that I had worked for and earned meant a thing to me, because I knew that I would have to leave it to my successor,

[2:19] and he might be wise, or he might be foolish—who knows? Yet he will own everything I have worked for, everything my wisdom has earned for me in this world. It is all useless.

[2:20] So I came to regret that I had worked so hard.

[2:21] You work for something with all your wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then you have to leave it all to someone who hasn't had to work for it. It is useless, and it isn't right!

[2:22] You work and worry your way through life, and what do you have to show for it?

[2:23] As long as you live, everything you do brings nothing but worry and heartache. Even at night your mind can't rest. It is all useless.

[2:24] The best thing we can do is eat and drink and enjoy what we have earned. And yet, I realized that even this comes from God.

[2:25] How else could you have anything to eat or enjoy yourself at all?

[2:26] God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness to those who please him, but he makes sinners work, earning and saving, so that what they get can be given to those who please him. It is all useless. It is like chasing the wind.

A Time for Everything (ECC 3:1-15)

[3:1] Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.

[3:2] He sets the time for birth and the time for death, the time for planting and the time for pulling up,

[3:3] the time for killing and the time for healing, the time for tearing down and the time for building.

[3:4] He sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy, the time for mourning and the time for dancing,

[3:5] the time for making love and the time for not making love, the time for kissing and the time for not kissing.

[3:6] He sets the time for finding and the time for losing, the time for saving and the time for throwing away,

[3:7] the time for tearing and the time for mending, the time for silence and the time for talk.

[3:8] He sets the time for love and the time for hate, the time for war and the time for peace.

[3:9] What do we gain from all our work?

[3:10] I know the heavy burdens that God has laid on us.

[3:11] He has set the right time for everything. He has given us a desire to know the future, but never gives us the satisfaction of fully understanding what he does.

[3:12] So I realized that all we can do is be happy and do the best we can while we are still alive.

[3:13] All of us should eat and drink and enjoy what we have worked for. It is God's gift.

[3:14] I know that everything God does will last forever. You can't add anything to it or take anything away from it. And one thing God does is to make us stand in awe of him.

[3:15] Whatever happens or can happen has already happened before. God makes the same thing happen again and again.

Injustice in the World (ECC 3:16-4:16)

[3:16] In addition, I have also noticed that in this world you find wickedness where justice and right ought to be.

[3:17] I told myself, “God is going to judge the righteous and the evil alike, because every thing, every action, will happen at its own set time.”

[3:18] I decided that God is testing us, to show us that we are no better than animals.

[3:19] After all, the same fate awaits human beings and animals alike. One dies just like the other. They are the same kind of creature. A human being is no better off than an animal, because life has no meaning for either.

[3:20] They are both going to the same place—the dust. They both came from it; they will both go back to it.

[3:21] How can anyone be sure that the human spirit goes upward while an animal's spirit goes down into the ground?

[3:22] So I realized then that the best thing we can do is enjoy what we have worked for. There is nothing else we can do. There is no way for us to know what will happen after we die.

[4:1] Then I looked again at all the injustice that goes on in this world. The oppressed were crying, and no one would help them. No one would help them, because their oppressors had power on their side.

[4:2] I envy those who are dead and gone; they are better off than those who are still alive.

[4:3] But better off than either are those who have never been born, who have never seen the injustice that goes on in this world.

[4:4] I have also learned why people work so hard to succeed: it is because they envy the things their neighbors have. But it is useless. It is like chasing the wind.

[4:5] They say that we would be fools to fold our hands and let ourselves starve to death.

[4:6] Maybe so, but it is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time with both hands, trying to catch the wind.

[4:7] I have noticed something else in life that is useless.

[4:8] Here is someone who lives alone. He has no son, no brother, yet he is always working, never satisfied with the wealth he has. For whom is he working so hard and denying himself any pleasure? This is useless, too—and a miserable way to live.

[4:9] Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively.

[4:10] If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it's just too bad, because there is no one to help him.

[4:11] If it is cold, two can sleep together and stay warm, but how can you keep warm by yourself?

[4:12] Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone. A rope made of three cords is hard to break.

[4:15] I thought about all the people who live in this world, and I realized that somewhere among them there is a young man who will take the king's place.

[4:16] There may be no limit to the number of people a king rules; when he is gone, no one will be grateful for what he has done. It is useless. It is like chasing the wind.

Don't Make Rash Promises (ECC 5:1-7)

[5:1] Be careful about going to the Temple. It is better to go there to learn than to offer sacrifices like foolish people who don't know right from wrong.

[5:2] Think before you speak, and don't make any rash promises to God. He is in heaven and you are on earth, so don't say any more than you have to.

[5:3] The more you worry, the more likely you are to have bad dreams, and the more you talk, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

[5:4] So when you make a promise to God, keep it as quickly as possible. He has no use for a fool. Do what you promise to do.

[5:5] Better not to promise at all than to make a promise and not keep it.

[5:6] Don't let your own words lead you into sin, so that you have to tell God's priest that you didn't mean it. Why make God angry with you? Why let him destroy what you have worked for?

[5:7] No matter how much you dream, how much useless work you do, or how much you talk, you must still stand in awe of God.

Life Is Useless (ECC 5:8-6:12)

[5:8] Don't be surprised when you see that the government oppresses the poor and denies them justice and their rights. Every official is protected by someone higher, and both are protected by still higher officials.

[5:9] Even a king depends on the harvest.

[5:10] If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless.

[5:11] The richer you are, the more mouths you have to feed. All you gain is the knowledge that you are rich.

[5:12] Workers may or may not have enough to eat, but at least they can get a good night's sleep. The rich, however, have so much that they stay awake worrying.

[5:13] Here is a terrible thing that I have seen in this world: people save up their money for a time when they may need it,

[5:14] and then lose it all in some bad deal and end up with nothing left to pass on to their children.

[5:15] We leave this world just as we entered it—with nothing. In spite of all our work there is nothing we can take with us.

[5:16] It isn't right! We go just as we came. We labor, trying to catch the wind, and what do we get?

[5:17] We get to live our lives in darkness and grief, worried, angry, and sick.

[5:18] Here is what I have found out: the best thing we can do is eat and drink and enjoy what we have worked for during the short life that God has given us; this is our fate.

[5:19] If God gives us wealth and property and lets us enjoy them, we should be grateful and enjoy what we have worked for. It is a gift from God.

[5:20] Since God has allowed us to be happy, we will not worry too much about how short life is.

[6:1] I have noticed that in this world a serious injustice is done.

[6:2] God will give us wealth, honor, and property, yes, everything we want, but then will not let us enjoy it. Some stranger will enjoy it instead. It is useless, and it just isn't right.

[6:3] We may have a hundred children and live a long time, but no matter how long we live, if we do not get our share of happiness and do not receive a decent burial, then I say that a baby born dead is better off.

[6:4] It does that baby no good to be born; it disappears into darkness, where it is forgotten.

[6:5] It never sees the light of day or knows what life is like, but at least it has found rest—

[6:6] more so than the man who never enjoys life, though he may live two thousand years. After all, both of them are going to the same place.

[6:7] We do all our work just to get something to eat, but we never have enough.

[6:8] How are the wise better off than fools? What good does it do the poor to know how to face life?

[6:9] It is useless; it is like chasing the wind. It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.

[6:10] Everything that happens was already determined long ago, and we all know that you cannot argue with someone who is stronger than you.

[6:11] The longer you argue, the more useless it is, and you are no better off.

[6:12] How can anyone know what is best for us in this short, useless life of ours—a life that passes like a shadow? How can we know what will happen in the world after we die?

Thoughts about Life (ECC 7:1-8:1)

[7:1] A good reputation is better than expensive perfume; and the day you die is better than the day you are born.

[7:2] It is better to go to a home where there is mourning than to one where there is a party, because the living should always remind themselves that death is waiting for us all.

[7:3] Sorrow is better than laughter; it may sadden your face, but it sharpens your understanding.

[7:4] Someone who is always thinking about happiness is a fool. A wise person thinks about death.

[7:5] It is better to have wise people reprimand you than to have stupid people sing your praises.

[7:6] When a fool laughs, it is like thorns crackling in a fire. It doesn't mean a thing.

[7:7] You may be wise, but if you cheat someone, you are acting like a fool. If you take a bribe, you ruin your character.

[7:8] The end of something is better than its beginning. Patience is better than pride.

[7:9] Keep your temper under control; it is foolish to harbor a grudge.

[7:10] Never ask, “Oh, why were things so much better in the old days?” It's not an intelligent question.

[7:11] Everyone who lives ought to be wise; it is as good as receiving an inheritance

[7:12] and will give you as much security as money can. Wisdom keeps you safe—this is the advantage of knowledge.

[7:13] Think about what God has done. How can anyone straighten out what God has made crooked?

[7:14] When things are going well for you, be glad, and when trouble comes, just remember: God sends both happiness and trouble; you never know what is going to happen next.

[7:15] My life has been useless, but in it I have seen everything. Some good people may die while others live on, even though they are evil.

[7:16] So don't be too good or too wise—why kill yourself?

[7:17] But don't be too wicked or too foolish, either—why die before you have to?

[7:18] Avoid both extremes. If you have reverence for God, you will be successful anyway.

[7:19] Wisdom does more for a person than ten rulers can do for a city.

[7:20] There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake.

[7:21] Don't pay attention to everything people say—you may hear your servant insulting you,

[7:22] and you know yourself that you have insulted other people many times.

[7:23] I used my wisdom to test all of this. I was determined to be wise, but it was beyond me.

[7:24] How can anyone discover what life means? It is too deep for us, too hard to understand.

[7:25] But I devoted myself to knowledge and study; I was determined to find wisdom and the answers to my questions, and to learn how wicked and foolish stupidity is.

[7:26] I found something more bitter than death—the woman who is like a trap. The love she offers you will catch you like a net, and her arms around you will hold you like a chain. A man who pleases God can get away, but she will catch the sinner.

[7:27] Yes, said the Philosopher, I found this out little by little while I was looking for answers.

[7:28] I have looked for other answers but have found none. I found one man in a thousand that I could respect, but not one woman.

[7:29] This is all that I have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.

[8:1] Only the wise know what things really mean. Wisdom makes them smile and makes their frowns disappear.