¹⁵ In my ^(A)vain^[a] life I have seen everything. There is ^(B)a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who ^(C)prolongs his life in his evildoing. ¹⁶ Be not overly righteous, and do not ^(D)make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? ¹⁷ Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. ^(E)Why should you die before your time? ¹⁸ It is good that you should take hold of ^(F)this, and from ^(G)that ^(H)withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.

^19 (I)Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

²⁰ Surely ^(J)there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

²¹ Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear ^(K)your servant cursing you. ²² Your heart knows that ^(L)many times you yourself have cursed others.

²³ All this I have tested by wisdom. ^(M)I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. ²⁴ That which has been is far off, and ^(N)deep, very deep; ^(O)who can find it out?

^25 (P)I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. ²⁶ And I find something more ^(Q)bitter than death: ^(R)the woman whose heart is ^(S)snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but ^(T)the sinner is taken by her. ²⁷ Behold, this is what I found, says ^(U)the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things— ²⁸ which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. ^(V)One man among a thousand I found, but ^(W)a woman among all these I have not found. ²⁹ See, this alone I found, that ^(X)God made man upright, but ^(Y)they have sought out many schemes.

God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, ^(A)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(B)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ^8 (C)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(D)God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(E)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(F)not that we have loved God ^(G)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(H)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ^12 (I)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(J)his love is perfected in us.

^13 (K)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(L)we have seen and testify that ^(M)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(N)the world. ^15 (O)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ So ^(P)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(Q)God is love, and ^(R)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this ^(S)is love perfected with us, so that ^(T)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(U)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(V)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(W)been perfected in love. ^19 (X)We love because he first loved us. ^20 (Y)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(Z)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[a] love God ^(AA)whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(AB)this commandment we have from him: ^(AC)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Keep the King's Command

² I say:^[a] Keep the king's command, because of ^(C)God's oath to him.^{[b] 3} Be not hasty to ^(D)go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. ⁴ For the word of the king is supreme, and ^(E)who may say to him, “What are you doing?” ⁵ Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way.^{[c] 6} For there is a time and a way ^(F)for everything, although man's trouble^[d] lies heavy on him. ⁷ For he ^(G)does not know what is to be, for ^(H)who can tell him how it will be? ⁸ No man has power to ^(I)retain the spirit, ^(J)or power over the day of death. There is no ^(K)discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. ^9 (L)All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt.

Those Who Fear God Will Do Well

¹⁰ Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of ^(M)the holy place and were ^(N)praised^[e] in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity.^{[f] 11} Because ^(O)the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, ^(P)the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. ¹² Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and ^(Q)prolongs his life, yet I know that ^(R)it will be well with ^(S)those who fear God, because they fear before him. ¹³ But it will ^(T)not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like ^(U)a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

Man Cannot Know God's Ways

¹⁴ There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people ^(V)to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people ^(W)to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. ¹⁵ And I commend joy, for man ^(X)has nothing better under the sun but to ^(Y)eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶ When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see ^(Z)the business that is done on earth, how neither ^(AA)day nor night do one's eyes see sleep, ¹⁷ then I saw all the work of God, that ^(AB)man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, ^(AC)he cannot find it out.

Overcoming the World

5 ^(A)Everyone who believes that ^(B)Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and ^(C)everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. ^2 (D)By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. ³ For ^(E)this is the love of God, that we ^(F)keep his commandments. And ^(G)his commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For ^(H)everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—^(I)our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes ^(J)that Jesus is the Son of God?

Testimony Concerning the Son of God

⁶ This is he who came ^(K)by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And ^(L)the Spirit is the one who testifies, because ^(M)the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. ^9 (N)If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God ^(O)that he has borne concerning his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God ^(P)has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God ^(Q)has made him a liar, ^(R)because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony, that God gave us ^(S)eternal life, and ^(T)this life is in his Son. ^12 (U)Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

That You May Know

¹³ I write ^(V)these things to you who ^(W)believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. ¹⁴ And this is ^(X)the confidence that we have toward him, that ^(Y)if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and ^(Z)God^[a] will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. ^(AA)There is sin that leads to death; ^(AB)I do not say that one should pray for that. ^17 (AC)All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

¹⁸ We know that ^(AD)everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but ^(AE)he who was born of God ^(AF)protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

¹⁹ We know that we are from God, and ^(AG)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and ^(AH)has given us understanding, so that we may know ^(AI)him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and ^(AJ)eternal life. ²¹ Little children, ^(AK)keep yourselves from idols.