Ecclesiastes 11-12

English Standard Version

Cast Your Bread upon the Waters

11 ^(A)Cast your bread upon the waters,
    ^(B)for you will find it after many days.
²^(C)Give a portion to ^(D)seven, or even to eight,
    ^(E)for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
³If the clouds are full of rain,
    they empty themselves on the earth,
and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,
    in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
⁴He who observes the wind will not sow,
    and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

⁵As you do not know the way ^(F)the spirit comes to ^(G)the bones in the womb^[a] of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

⁶In the morning sow your seed, and at evening ^(H)withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

⁷Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to ^(I)see the sun.

⁸So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember ^(J)that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is ^(K)vanity.^[b]

⁹^(L)Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. ^(M)Walk in the ways of your heart and ^(N)the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things ^(O)God will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Remove vexation from your heart, and ^(P)put away pain^[c] from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

12 Remember also your Creator in ^(Q)the days of your youth, before ^(R)the evil days come and the years draw near of which ^(S)you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; ²before ^(T)the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, ³in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and ^(U)those who look through the windows are dimmed, ⁴and ^(V)the doors on the street are shut—when ^(W)the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all ^(X)the daughters of song are brought low— ⁵they are afraid also of what is high, and ^(Y)terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,^[d] and desire fails, because man is going to his ^(Z)eternal ^(AA)home, and the ^(AB)mourners go about the streets— ⁶before the silver cord is snapped, or ^(AC)the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is ^(AD)shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, ⁷and ^(AE)the dust returns to the earth as it was, and ^(AF)the spirit returns to God ^(AG)who gave it. ⁸^(AH)Vanity^[e] of vanities, says ^(AI)the Preacher; all is vanity.

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

⁹Besides being wise, ^(AJ)the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging ^(AK)many proverbs with great care. ¹⁰^(AL)The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

¹¹^(AM)The words of the wise are like goads, and like ^(AN)nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are ^(AO)given by ^(AP)one Shepherd. ¹²My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making ^(AQ)many books there is no end, and ^(AR)much study is a weariness of the flesh.

¹³The end of the matter; all has been heard. ^(AS)Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.^[f] ¹⁴For ^(AT)God will bring every deed into judgment, with^[g] every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 11:5 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts As you do not know the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb
Ecclesiastes 11:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verse 10 (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 11:10 Or evil
Ecclesiastes 12:5 Or is a burden
Ecclesiastes 12:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (three times in this verse); see note on 1:2
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Or the duty of all mankind
Ecclesiastes 12:14 Or into the judgment on

Psalm 73

English Standard Version

Book Three

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

73 Truly God is good to ^(B)Israel,
    to those who are ^(C)pure in heart.
²But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
    my steps had nearly slipped.
³^(D)For I was ^(E)envious of the arrogant
    when I saw the ^(F)prosperity of the wicked.

⁴For they have no pangs until death;
    their bodies are fat and sleek.
⁵They are not in trouble as others are;
    they are not ^(G)stricken like the rest of mankind.
⁶Therefore pride is ^(H)their necklace;
    violence covers them as ^(I)a garment.
⁷Their ^(J)eyes swell out through fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies.
⁸They scoff and ^(K)speak with malice;
    loftily they threaten oppression.
⁹They set their mouths against the heavens,
    and their tongue struts through the earth.
¹⁰Therefore his people turn back to them,
    and find ^(L)no fault in them.^[a]
¹¹And they say, ^(M)“How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹²Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they ^(N)increase in riches.
¹³All in vain have I ^(O)kept my heart clean
    and ^(P)washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴For all the day long I have been ^(Q)stricken
    and ^(R)rebuked ^(S)every morning.
¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
    I would have betrayed ^(T)the generation of your children.

¹⁶But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me ^(U)a wearisome task,
¹⁷until I went into ^(V)the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their ^(W)end.

¹⁸Truly you set them in ^(X)slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.
¹⁹How they are destroyed ^(Y)in a moment,
    swept away utterly by ^(Z)terrors!
²⁰Like ^(AA)a dream when one awakes,
    O Lord, when ^(AB)you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
²¹When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
²²I was ^(AC)brutish and ignorant;
    I was like ^(AD)a beast toward you.

²³Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you ^(AE)hold my right hand.
²⁴You ^(AF)guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will ^(AG)receive me to glory.
²⁵^(AH)Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
²⁶^(AI)My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is ^(AJ)the strength^[b] of my heart and my ^(AK)portion ^(AL)forever.

²⁷For behold, those who are ^(AM)far from you shall perish;
    you put an end to everyone who is ^(AN)unfaithful to you.
²⁸But for me it is good to ^(AO)be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my ^(AP)refuge,
    that I may ^(AQ)tell of all your works.

Footnotes

Psalm 73:10 Probable reading; Hebrew the waters of a full cup are drained by them
Psalm 73:26 Hebrew rock

Psalm 88

English Standard Version

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to ^(B)Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil^[a] of ^(C)Heman the Ezrahite.

88 O Lord, ^(D)God of my salvation,
I ^(E)cry out day and night before you.
²Let my prayer come before you;
^(F)incline your ear to my cry!

³For my soul is full of troubles,
    and ^(G)my life draws near to ^(H)Sheol.
⁴I am counted among those who ^(I)go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
⁵like one set loose among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom ^(J)you remember no more,
    for they are ^(K)cut off from your hand.
⁶You have put me in ^(L)the depths of the pit,
    in the ^(M)regions dark and ^(N)deep.
⁷Your wrath ^(O)lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with ^(P)all your waves. Selah

⁸You have caused ^(Q)my companions to shun me;
    you have made me ^(R)a horror^[b] to them.
I am ^(S)shut in so that I cannot escape;
⁹    ^(T)my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
    I ^(U)spread out my hands to you.
¹⁰Do you work wonders for the dead?
    ^(V)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
¹¹Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
¹²Are your ^(W)wonders known in ^(X)the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of ^(Y)forgetfulness?

¹³But I, O Lord, cry ^(Z)to you;
    ^(AA)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
¹⁴O Lord, why ^(AB)do you cast my soul away?
    Why ^(AC)do you hide your face from me?
¹⁵Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.^[c]
¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me;
    your ^(AD)dreadful assaults destroy me.
¹⁷They ^(AE)surround me like a flood ^(AF)all day long;
    they ^(AG)close in on me together.
¹⁸You have caused ^(AH)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness.^[d]

Footnotes

Psalm 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms
Psalm 88:8 Or an abomination
Psalm 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
Psalm 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion

1 Kings 11:41-43

English Standard Version

⁴¹^(A)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? ⁴²And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. ⁴³And Solomon ^(B)slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And ^(C)Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

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2 Chronicles 9:29-31

English Standard Version

Solomon's Death

²⁹^(A)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from ^(B)first to last, are they not written in the history of ^(C)Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of ^(D)Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of ^(E)Iddo ^(F)the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? ³⁰Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in ^(G)the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.