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The Lord approves of those who are good,
    but he condemns those who plan wickedness.

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Good people obtain favor from the Lord,(A)
    but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.(B)

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35 For whoever finds me finds life
    and receives favor from the Lord.

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35 For those who find me(A) find life(B)
    and receive favor from the Lord.(C)

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24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.

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24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit(A) and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.(B)

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Good comes to those who lend money generously
    and conduct their business fairly.

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Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,(A)
    who conduct their affairs with justice.

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Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.

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Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.

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In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes.
    Scoundrels will not be respected.
For fools speak foolishness
    and make evil plans.
They practice ungodliness
    and spread false teachings about the Lord.
They deprive the hungry of food
    and give no water to the thirsty.
The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil.
    They plot crooked schemes.
They lie to convict the poor,
    even when the cause of the poor is just.

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No longer will the fool(A) be called noble
    nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
For fools speak folly,(B)
    their hearts are bent on evil:(C)
They practice ungodliness(D)
    and spread error(E) concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave empty(F)
    and from the thirsty they withhold water.
Scoundrels use wicked methods,(G)
    they make up evil schemes(H)
to destroy the poor with lies,
    even when the plea of the needy(I) is just.(J)

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31 Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
    choking on their own schemes.

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31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
    and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.(A)

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None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.

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As no one has power over the wind to contain it,
    so[a] no one has power over the time of their death.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
    so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 8:8 Or over the human spirit to retain it, / and so

18 a heart that plots evil,
    feet that race to do wrong,

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18         a heart that devises wicked schemes,
        feet that are quick to rush into evil,(A)

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15 The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others.
    Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set.

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15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;(A)
    their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.(B)

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