Ecclesiastes 7:25
New King James Version
25 (A)I applied my heart to know,
To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things,
To know the wickedness of folly,
Even of foolishness and madness.
Ecclesiastes 7:25
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 10:13
New King James Version
13 The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,
And the end of his talk is raving madness.
Ecclesiastes 10:13
New International Version
13 At the beginning their words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness—
2 Peter 3:3-9
New King James Version
3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, (A)walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of (B)creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that (C)by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth (D)standing out of water and in the water, 6 (E)by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But (F)the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for (G)fire until the day of judgment and [a]perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and (H)a thousand years as one day. 9 (I)The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but (J)is longsuffering toward [b]us, (K)not willing that any should perish but (L)that all should come to repentance.
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- 2 Peter 3:7 destruction
- 2 Peter 3:9 NU you
2 Peter 3:3-9
New International Version
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days(A) scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.(B) 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?(C) Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”(D) 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word(E) the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.(F) 6 By these waters also the world of that time(G) was deluged and destroyed.(H) 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,(I) being kept for the day of judgment(J) and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.(K) 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,(L) as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient(M) with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.(N)
2 Peter 2:3-9
New King James Version
3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction [a]does not slumber.
Doom of False Teachers
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to [b]hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of (A)Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and (B)delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, (C)tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— 9 then (D)the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
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- 2 Peter 2:3 M will not
- 2 Peter 2:4 Lit. Tartarus
2 Peter 2:3-9
New International Version
3 In their greed(A) these teachers will exploit you(B) with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned,(C) but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness[b] to be held for judgment;(D) 5 if he did not spare the ancient world(E) when he brought the flood on its ungodly people,(F) but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;(G) 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes,(H) and made them an example(I) of what is going to happen to the ungodly;(J) 7 and if he rescued Lot,(K) a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless(L) 8 (for that righteous man,(M) living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials(N) and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.(O)
Footnotes
- 2 Peter 2:4 Greek Tartarus
- 2 Peter 2:4 Some manuscripts in gloomy dungeons
Jeremiah 12:1-2
New King James Version
Jeremiah’s Question
12 Righteous (A)are You, O Lord, when I plead with You;
Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.
(B)Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?
2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;
They grow, yes, they bear fruit.
(C)You are near in their mouth
But far from their [a]mind.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:2 Most secret parts, lit. kidneys
Jeremiah 12:1-2
New International Version
Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You are always righteous,(A) Lord,
when I bring a case(B) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:(C)
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(D)
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2 You have planted(E) them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.(F)
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.(G)
Ecclesiastes 9:1-3
New King James Version
Death Comes to All
9 For I [a]considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: (A)that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. 2 (B)All things come alike to all:
One event happens to the righteous and the wicked;
To the [b]good, the clean, and the unclean;
To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.
As is the good, so is the sinner;
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.
3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
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- Ecclesiastes 9:1 Lit. put
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 LXX, Syr., Vg. good and bad,
Ecclesiastes 9:1-3
New International Version
A Common Destiny for All
9 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.(A) 2 All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
As it is with the good,
so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
so with those who are afraid to take them.(B)
3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(C) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(D) and afterward they join the dead.(E)
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.
Ecclesiastes 7:27
New King James Version
27 “Here is what I have found,” says (A)the Preacher,
“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
Ecclesiastes 7:27
New International Version
27 “Look,” says the Teacher,[a](A) “this is what I have discovered:
“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly
Ecclesiastes 3:16-17
New King James Version
Injustice Seems to Prevail
16 Moreover (A)I saw under the sun:
In the place of [a]judgment,
Wickedness was there;
And in the place of righteousness,
[b]Iniquity was there.
17 I said in my heart,
(B)“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time there for every [c]purpose and for every work.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 3:16 justice
- Ecclesiastes 3:16 Wickedness
- Ecclesiastes 3:17 desire
Ecclesiastes 3:16-17
New International Version
16 And I saw something else under the sun:
In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.
17 I said to myself,
Ecclesiastes 2:20
New King James Version
20 Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun.
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Ecclesiastes 2:20
New International Version
20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 2:15
New King James Version
15 So I said in my heart,
“As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“This also is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 2:15
New International Version
15 Then I said to myself,
“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?”(A)
I said to myself,
“This too is meaningless.”
Ecclesiastes 2:12
New King James Version
The End of the Wise and the Fool
12 Then I turned myself to consider wisdom (A)and madness and folly;
For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—
Only what he has already (B)done.
Ecclesiastes 2:12
New International Version
Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless
Ecclesiastes 2:1-3
New King James Version
The Vanity of Pleasure(A)
2 I said (B)in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with (C)mirth; [a]therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, (D)this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” 3 (E)I searched in my heart how [b]to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was (F)good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 2:1 gladness
- Ecclesiastes 2:3 Lit. to draw my flesh
Ecclesiastes 2:1-3
New International Version
Pleasures Are Meaningless
2 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure(A) to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,”(B) I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine,(C) and embracing folly(D)—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
Ecclesiastes 1:13-17
New King James Version
13 And I set my heart to seek and (A)search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; (B)this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be [a]exercised. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
15 (C)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
And what is lacking cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained (D)more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has [b]understood great wisdom and knowledge.” 17 (E)And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.
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- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Or afflicted
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit. seen
Ecclesiastes 1:13-17
New International Version
13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.(A) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!(B) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(C)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(D)
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me;(E) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,(F) and also of madness and folly,(G) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
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