Ecclesiastes 7

New International Version

Wisdom

7 A good name is better than fine perfume,^(A)
    and the day of death better than the day of birth.^(B)
²It is better to go to a house of mourning
    than to go to a house of feasting,
for death^(C) is the destiny^(D) of everyone;
    the living should take this to heart.
³Frustration is better than laughter,^(E)
    because a sad face is good for the heart.
⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.^(F)
⁵It is better to heed the rebuke^(G) of a wise person
    than to listen to the song of fools.
⁶Like the crackling of thorns^(H) under the pot,
    so is the laughter^(I) of fools.
    This too is meaningless.

⁷Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe^(J) corrupts the heart.

⁸The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience^(K) is better than pride.
⁹Do not be quickly provoked^(L) in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.^(M)

¹⁰Do not say, “Why were the old days^(N) better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.

¹¹Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing^(O)
    and benefits those who see the sun.^(P)
¹²Wisdom is a shelter
    as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
    Wisdom preserves those who have it.

¹³Consider what God has done:^(Q)

Who can straighten
    what he has made crooked?^(R)
¹⁴When times are good, be happy;
    but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
    as well as the other.^(S)
Therefore, no one can discover
    anything about their future.

¹⁵In this meaningless life^(T) of mine I have seen both of these:

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.^(U)
¹⁶Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself?
¹⁷Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time?^(V)
¹⁸It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God^(W) will avoid all extremes.^[a]

¹⁹Wisdom^(X) makes one wise person more powerful^(Y)
than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,^(Z)
no one who does what is right and never sins.^(AA)

²¹Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you^(AB) may hear your servant cursing you—
²²for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.

²³All this I tested by wisdom and I said,

“I am determined to be wise”^(AC)—
    but this was beyond me.
²⁴Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
    who can discover it?^(AD)
²⁵So I turned my mind to understand,
    to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things^(AE)
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
    and the madness of folly.^(AF)

²⁶I find more bitter than death
    the woman who is a snare,^(AG)
whose heart is a trap
    and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
    but the sinner she will ensnare.^(AH)

²⁷“Look,” says the Teacher,^[b]^(AI) “this is what I have discovered:

“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
²⁸    while I was still searching
    but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
    but not one upright woman^(AJ) among them all.
²⁹This only have I found:
    God created mankind upright,
    but they have gone in search of many schemes.”

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 7:18 Or will follow them both
Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly

Romans 6

New International Version

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

6 What shall we say, then?^(A) Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?^(B) ²By no means! We are those who have died to sin;^(C) how can we live in it any longer? ³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized^(D) into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death^(E) in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead^(F) through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.^(G)

⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.^(H) ⁶For we know that our old self^(I) was crucified with him^(J) so that the body ruled by sin^(K) might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin^(L)— ⁷because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.^(M)

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.^(N) ⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,^(O) he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.^(P) ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin^(Q) once for all;^(R) but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin^(S) but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign^(T) in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness,^(U) but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.^(V) ¹⁴For sin shall no longer be your master,^(W) because you are not under the law,^(X) but under grace.^(Y)

Slaves to Righteousness

¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?^(Z) By no means! ¹⁶Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey^(AA)—whether you are slaves to sin,^(AB) which leads to death,^(AC) or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷But thanks be to God^(AD) that, though you used to be slaves to sin,^(AE) you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching^(AF) that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸You have been set free from sin^(AG) and have become slaves to righteousness.^(AH)

¹⁹I am using an example from everyday life^(AI) because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness^(AJ) leading to holiness. ²⁰When you were slaves to sin,^(AK) you were free from the control of righteousness.^(AL) ²¹What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!^(AM) ²²But now that you have been set free from sin^(AN) and have become slaves of God,^(AO) the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.^(AP) ²³For the wages of sin is death,^(AQ) but the gift of God is eternal life^(AR) in^[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.

Footnotes

Romans 6:6 Or be rendered powerless
Romans 6:23 Or through

Psalm 121

New International Version

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
²My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven^(A) and earth.^(B)

³He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴indeed, he who watches^(C) over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord watches over^(D) you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶the sun^(E) will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord will keep you from all harm^(F)—
he will watch over your life;
⁸the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.^(G)