Ecclesiastes 7
New American Standard Bible 1995
Wisdom and Folly Contrasted
7 A (A)good name is better than a good ointment,
And the (B)day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because [a]that is the (C)end of every man,
And the living [b](D)takes it to [c]heart.
3 (E)Sorrow is better than laughter,
For (F)when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
4 The [d]mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the [e]mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to (G)listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the [f]crackling of (H)thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the (I)laughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
7 For (J)oppression makes a wise man mad,
And a (K)bribe [g]corrupts the heart.
8 The (L)end of a matter is better than its beginning;
(M)Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.
9 Do not be [h](N)eager in your heart to be angry,
For anger resides in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good
And an (O)advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For (P)wisdom is [i]protection just as money is [j]protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that (Q)wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
13 Consider the (R)work of God,
For who is (S)able to straighten what He has bent?
14 (T)In the day of prosperity be happy,
But (U)in the day of adversity consider—
God has made the one as well as the other
So that man will (V)not discover anything that will be after him.
15 I have seen everything during my [k](W)lifetime of futility; there is (X)a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is (Y)a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 16 Do not be excessively (Z)righteous and do not (AA)be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 17 Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you (AB)die before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp one thing and also not [l]let go of the other; for the one who (AC)fears God comes forth with [m]both of them.
19 (AD)Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. 20 Indeed, (AE)there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. 21 Also, do not [n]take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant (AF)cursing you. 22 For [o]you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.
23 I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” (AG)but it was far from me. 24 What has been is remote and (AH)exceedingly [p]mysterious. (AI)Who can discover it? 25 I [q](AJ)directed my [r]mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. 26 And I discovered more (AK)bitter than death the woman whose heart is (AL)snares and nets, whose hands are chains. (AM)One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but (AN)the sinner will be captured by her.
27 “Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28 which [s]I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a (AO)woman among all these. 29 Behold, I have found only this, that (AP)God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 7:2 I.e. death
- Ecclesiastes 7:2 Lit gives
- Ecclesiastes 7:2 Lit his heart
- Ecclesiastes 7:4 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 7:4 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 7:6 Lit voice
- Ecclesiastes 7:7 Lit destroys
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 Lit hasty in your spirit
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 Lit in a shadow
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 Lit in a shadow
- Ecclesiastes 7:15 Lit days
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit rest your hand
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit all
- Ecclesiastes 7:21 Lit give your heart to
- Ecclesiastes 7:22 Lit your heart knows also
- Ecclesiastes 7:24 Lit deep
- Ecclesiastes 7:25 Lit turned about
- Ecclesiastes 7:25 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 7:28 Lit my soul still seeks
Psalm 10:1-11
New American Standard Bible 1995
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
10 Why (A)do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why (B)do You hide [a]Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In (C)pride the wicked [b]hotly pursue the afflicted;
[c]Let them be (D)caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (E)boasts of his (F)heart’s desire,
And [d]the greedy man curses and (G)spurns the Lord.
4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, (H)does not seek Him.
All his [e]thoughts are, “(I)There is no God.”
5 His ways [f](J)prosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, (K)out of his sight;
As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “(L)I will not be moved;
[g]Throughout all generations (M)I will not be in adversity.”
7 His (N)mouth is full of curses and deceit and (O)oppression;
(P)Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
8 He sits in the (Q)lurking places of the villages;
In the hiding places he (R)kills the innocent;
His eyes [h]stealthily watch for the [i](S)unfortunate.
9 He lurks in a hiding place as (T)a lion in his [j]lair;
He (U)lurks to catch (V)the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his (W)net.
10 He [k]crouches, he [l]bows down,
And the [m]unfortunate fall [n]by his mighty ones.
11 He (X)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 10:1 Or Your eyes
- Psalm 10:2 Lit burn
- Psalm 10:2 Or They will be caught
- Psalm 10:3 Or blesses the greedy man
- Psalm 10:4 Or plots
- Psalm 10:5 Lit are strong
- Psalm 10:6 Lit To
- Psalm 10:8 Lit lie in wait
- Psalm 10:8 Or poor
- Psalm 10:9 Or thicket
- Psalm 10:10 Or is crushed
- Psalm 10:10 Or is bowed down
- Psalm 10:10 Or poor
- Psalm 10:10 Or into his claws
Matthew 3:7-17
New American Standard Bible 1995
7 But when he saw many of the (A)Pharisees and (B)Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You (C)brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from (D)the wrath to come? 8 (E)Therefore bear fruit (F)in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘(G)We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 The (H)axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore (I)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “As for me, (J)I baptize you [a]with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; (K)He will baptize you [b]with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His (L)winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will (M)gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the (N)chaff with (O)unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13 (P)Then Jesus *arrived (Q)from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us (R)to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and [c](S)he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and [d]lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “(T)This is [e]My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 3:11 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by
- Matthew 3:11 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by
- Matthew 3:16 Or He
- Matthew 3:16 Lit coming upon Him
- Matthew 3:17 Or My Son, the Beloved
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
