A Little Foolishness

10 Dead flies turn a ^(A)perfumer’s oil rancid, so a little foolishness is more ^[a]potent than wisdom and honor. ² A wise person’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish ^(B)person’s heart directs him toward the left. ³ Even when the fool walks along the road, his ^[b]sense is lacking, and he ^[c](C)demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. ⁴ If the ruler’s ^[d]temper rises against you, ^(D)do not abandon your place, because ^(E)composure puts great offenses to rest.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler: ^6 (F)foolishness is set in many exalted places while the rich sit in humble places. ⁷ I have seen ^(G)slaves riding ^(H)on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

^8 (I)One who digs a pit may fall into it, and a ^(J)serpent may bite one who breaks through a wall. ⁹ One who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and one who splits logs may be endangered by them. ¹⁰ If the ^[e]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its ^[f]edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success. ¹¹ If the serpent bites ^[g](K)before being charmed, there is no benefit for the charmer. ^12 (L)Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a ^(M)fool consume him; ¹³ the beginning of ^[h]his talking is foolishness, and the end of ^[i]it is evil ^(N)insanity. ¹⁴ Yet the ^(O)fool multiplies words. No person knows what will happen, and who can tell him ^(P)what will come after him? ¹⁵ The labor of ^[j]a fool makes him so weary that he does not even know how to go to a city. ¹⁶ Woe to you, land whose ^(Q)king is a boy, and whose princes ^[k]feast in the morning. ¹⁷ Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for ^(R)drunkenness. ¹⁸ Through ^(S)extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks. ¹⁹ People prepare a meal for enjoyment, ^(T)wine makes life joyful, and ^(U)money ^[l]is the answer to everything. ²⁰ Furthermore, ^(V)in your bedroom do not ^(W)curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich person; for a bird of the sky will bring the sound, and the winged one will make your word known.

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

11 ^(X)Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you ^(Y)will find it ^[m]after many days. ^2 (Z)Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what ^(AA)misfortune may occur on the earth. ³ If the clouds are full, they pour out rain on the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it ^[n]lies. ⁴ One who watches the wind will not sow and one who looks at the clouds will not harvest. ⁵ Just as you do not ^(AB)know the path of the ^[o]wind, and ^(AC)how bones are formed in the womb of the ^[p]pregnant woman, so you do not ^(AD)know the activity of God who makes everything.

⁶ Sow your seed ^(AE)in the morning and do not ^[q]be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether ^[r]one or the other will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

⁷ The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to ^(AF)see the sun. ⁸ Indeed, if a person lives many years, let him ^(AG)rejoice in them all; but let him remember the ^(AH)days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

⁹ Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the ^[s]impulses of your heart and the ^[t](AI)desires of your eyes. Yet know that ^(AJ)God will bring you to judgment for all these things. ¹⁰ So remove ^[u]sorrow from your heart and keep ^[v](AK)pain away from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are ^[w]fleeting.

Remember God in Your Youth

12 ^(AL)Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the ^(AM)evil days come and the years approach when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; ² before the ^(AN)sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; ³ on the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and strong men are ^(AO)bent over, the grinders stop working because they are few, and ^(AP)those who look through ^[x]windows grow ^[y]dim; ⁴ and the doors on the street are shut as the ^(AQ)sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the ^(AR)daughters of song will ^[z]sing softly. ⁵ Furthermore, people are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper berry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal ^(AS)home while the ^(AT)mourners move around in the street. ⁶ Remember your Creator before the silver cord is ^[aa]broken and the ^(AU)golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; ⁷ then the ^(AV)dust will return to the earth as it was, and the ^[ab](AW)spirit will return to ^(AX)God who gave it. ⁸ “^(AY)Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “all is futility!”

Purpose of the Preacher

⁹ In addition to being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and arranged ^(AZ)many proverbs. ¹⁰ The Preacher sought to find ^(BA)delightful words and to write ^(BB)words of truth correctly.

¹¹ The ^(BC)words of the wise are like ^[ac](BD)goads, and masters of these collections are like driven ^(BE)nails; they are given by one Shepherd. ¹² But beyond this, my son, be warned: the ^[ad]writing of ^(BF)many books is endless, and excessive ^(BG)study is ^[ae]wearying to the body.

¹³ The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: ^(BH)fear God and ^(BI)keep His commandments, because this applies to ^(BJ)every person. ¹⁴ For ^(BK)God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Great Generosity

8 Now, brothers and sisters, we make known to you the grace of God which has been ^(A)given in the churches of ^(B)Macedonia, ² that in a ^[a]great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the ^(C)wealth of their liberality. ³ For I testify that ^(D)according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave voluntarily, ⁴ begging us with much urging for the ^(E)favor ^[b]of participation in the ^[c](F)support of the ^[d]saints, ⁵ and this, not as we had ^[e]expected, but they first ^(G)gave themselves to the Lord and to us by ^(H)the will of God. ⁶ So we ^(I)urged ^(J)Titus that as he had previously ^(K)made a beginning, so he would also complete in you ^(L)this gracious work as well.

⁷ But just as you ^(M)excel ^(N)in everything, in faith, speaking, knowledge, and in all earnestness and in the ^[f]love we inspired in you, see that you also ^(O)excel in this gracious work. ⁸ I ^(P)am not saying this as a command, but as proving, through the earnestness of others, the sincerity of your love as well. ⁹ For you know ^(Q)the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^(R)though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. ¹⁰ I ^(S)give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin ^(T)a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. ¹¹ But now finish ^[g]doing it also, so that just as there was the ^(U)willingness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. ¹² For if the willingness is present, it is acceptable ^(V)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ For this is not for the relief of others and for your hardship, but by way of equality— ¹⁴ at this present time your abundance will serve as assistance for ^(W)their need, so that their abundance also may ^[h]serve as assistance for ^(X)your need, so that there may be equality; ¹⁵ as it is written: “^(Y)The one who had gathered much did not have too much, and the one who had gathered little did not have too little.”

The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.

For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.