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Proverbs 31 - Ecclesiastes 2
English Standard Version
Proverbs 31 - Ecclesiastes 2
English Standard Version
The Words of King Lemuel
31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 What are you doing, my son?[a] What are you doing, (A)son of my womb?
What are you doing, (B)son of my vows?
3 Do (C)not give your strength to women,
your ways to those (D)who destroy kings.
4 (E)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings (F)to drink wine,
or for rulers to take (G)strong drink,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and (H)pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to the one who (I)is perishing,
and wine to (J)those in bitter distress;[b]
7 (K)let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 (L)Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.[c]
9 Open your mouth, (M)judge righteously,
(N)defend the rights of (O)the poor and needy.
The Woman Who Fears the Lord
10 [d] (P)An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than (Q)jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She (R)seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She (S)rises while it is yet night
and (T)provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She (U)dresses herself[e] with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She (V)opens her hand to (W)the poor
and reaches out her hands to (X)the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in (Y)scarlet.[f]
22 She makes (Z)bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is (AA)fine linen and (AB)purple.
23 Her husband is known in (AC)the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes (AD)linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 (AE)Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many (AF)women have done (AG)excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 (AH)Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
All Is Vanity
1 The words of (AI)the Preacher,[g] the son of David, (AJ)king in Jerusalem.
2 (AK)Vanity[h] of vanities, says (AL)the Preacher,
(AM)vanity of vanities! (AN)All is vanity.
3 (AO)What (AP)does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but (AQ)the earth remains forever.
5 (AR)The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens[i] to the place where it rises.
6 (AS)The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All (AT)streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
(AU)the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 (AV)What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been (AW)already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no (AX)remembrance of former things,[j]
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things[k] yet to be
among those who come after.
The Vanity of Wisdom
12 I (AY)the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I (AZ)applied my heart[l] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy (BA)business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is (BB)vanity[m] and a striving after wind.[n]
15 (BC)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great (BD)wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I (BE)applied my heart to know wisdom and to know (BF)madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but (BG)a striving after wind.
18 For (BH)in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
The Vanity of Self-Indulgence
2 I (BI)said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.[o] 2 I (BJ)said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3 I (BK)searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on (BL)folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. 4 I made great works. I (BM)built houses and planted (BN)vineyards for myself. 5 I made myself (BO)gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had (BP)slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of (BQ)herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and (BR)gold and the treasure of (BS)kings and (BT)provinces. I got (BU)singers, both men and women, and many (BV)concubines,[p] the delight of the sons of man.
9 So I became great and (BW)surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my (BX)wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart (BY)found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my (BZ)reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was (CA)vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing (CB)to be gained under the sun.
The Vanity of Living Wisely
12 (CC)So I turned to consider (CD)wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only (CE)what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 (CF)The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the (CG)same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, (CH)“What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is (CI)no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. (CJ)How the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for (CK)all is vanity and a striving after wind.
The Vanity of Toil
18 I hated (CL)all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must (CM)leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I (CN)turned about and gave my heart up to despair (CO)over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from (CP)all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For (CQ)all his days are full of sorrow, and his (CR)work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
24 (CS)There is nothing better for a person than that he should (CT)eat and drink and find enjoyment[q] in his toil. This also, I saw, is (CU)from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him[r] who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him (CV)God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given (CW)the business of gathering and collecting, (CX)only to give to one who pleases God. (CY)This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 31:2 Hebrew What, my son?
- Proverbs 31:6 Hebrew those bitter in soul
- Proverbs 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away
- Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10–31 are an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
- Proverbs 31:17 Hebrew She girds her loins
- Proverbs 31:21 Or in double thickness
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or Convener, or Collector; Hebrew Qoheleth (so throughout Ecclesiastes)
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context). It appears five times in this verse and in 29 other verses in Ecclesiastes
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 Or and returns panting
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or former people
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or later people
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 The Hebrew term denotes the center of one's inner life, including mind, will, and emotions
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or a feeding on wind; compare Hosea 12:1 (also in Ecclesiastes 1:17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9)
- Ecclesiastes 2:1 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verses 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 26 (see note on 1:2)
- Ecclesiastes 2:8 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Ecclesiastes 2:24 Or and make his soul see good
- Ecclesiastes 2:25 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts apart from me
Proverbs 31 - Ecclesiastes 2
New International Version
Proverbs 31 - Ecclesiastes 2
New International Version
Sayings of King Lemuel
31 The sayings(A) of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.
2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!(B)
3 Do not spend your strength[a] on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.(C)
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel—
it is not for kings to drink wine,(D)
not for rulers to crave beer,
5 lest they drink(E) and forget what has been decreed,(F)
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
6 Let beer be for those who are perishing,
wine(G) for those who are in anguish!
7 Let them drink(H) and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 Speak(I) up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.(J)
Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
10 [b]A wife of noble character(K) who can find?(L)
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband(M) has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.(N)
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.(O)
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.(P)
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders(Q) of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.(R)
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise(S) at the city gate.
Everything Is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher,[c](T) son of David, king in Jerusalem:(U)
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”(V)
3 What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?(W)
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.(X)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.(Y)
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.(Z)
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,(AA)
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;(AB)
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,(AC)
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.(AD)
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher,(AE) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.(AF) 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.(AG) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!(AH) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(AI)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(AJ)
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;(AK) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,(AL) and also of madness and folly,(AM) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
Pleasures Are Meaningless
2 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure(AP) to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,”(AQ) I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine,(AR) and embracing folly(AS)—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.
4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself(AT) and planted vineyards.(AU) 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves(AV) who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold(AW) for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.(AX) I acquired male and female singers,(AY) and a harem[d] as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem(AZ) before me.(BA) In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;(BB)
nothing was gained under the sun.(BC)
Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless
12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
and also madness and folly.(BD)
What more can the king’s successor do
than what has already been done?(BE)
13 I saw that wisdom(BF) is better than folly,(BG)
just as light is better than darkness.
14 The wise have eyes in their heads,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
that the same fate overtakes them both.(BH)
15 Then I said to myself,
“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?”(BI)
I said to myself,
“This too is meaningless.”
16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;(BJ)
the days have already come when both have been forgotten.(BK)
Like the fool, the wise too must die!(BL)
Toil Is Meaningless
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(BM) 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.(BN) 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish?(BO) Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?(BP) 23 All their days their work is grief and pain;(BQ) even at night their minds do not rest.(BR) This too is meaningless.
24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink(BS) and find satisfaction in their own toil.(BT) This too, I see, is from the hand of God,(BU) 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?(BV) 26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom,(BW) knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth(BX) to hand it over to the one who pleases God.(BY) This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 31:3 Or wealth
- Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10-31 are an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12
- Ecclesiastes 2:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
1 John 1
English Standard Version
1 John 1
English Standard Version
The Word of Life
1 (A)That which was (B)from the beginning, (C)which we have heard, (D)which we have seen with our eyes, (E)which we looked upon and (F)have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 (G)the life (H)was made manifest, and we have seen it, and (I)testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, (J)which was with the Father and (K)was made manifest to us— 3 (L)that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed (M)our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so (N)that our[a] joy may be complete.
Walking in the Light
5 (O)This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that (P)God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 (Q)If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and (R)do not practice the truth. 7 But (S)if we walk in the light, (T)as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and (U)the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 (V)If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and (W)the truth is not in us. 9 (X)If we confess our sins, he is (Y)faithful and just to forgive us our sins and (Z)to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, (AA)we make him a liar, and (AB)his word is not in us.
Footnotes
- 1 John 1:4 Some manuscripts your
1 John 1
New International Version
1 John 1
New International Version
The Incarnation of the Word of Life
1 That which was from the beginning,(A) which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,(B) which we have looked at and our hands have touched(C)—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared;(D) we have seen it and testify to it,(E) and we proclaim to you the eternal life,(F) which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,(G) so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.(H) 4 We write this(I) to make our[a] joy complete.(J)
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
5 This is the message we have heard(K) from him and declare to you: God is light;(L) in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness,(M) we lie and do not live out the truth.(N) 7 But if we walk in the light,(O) as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.(P)
8 If we claim to be without sin,(Q) we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.(R) 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins(S) and purify us from all unrighteousness.(T) 10 If we claim we have not sinned,(U) we make him out to be a liar(V) and his word is not in us.(W)
Footnotes
- 1 John 1:4 Some manuscripts your
- 1 John 1:7 Or every
English Standard Version (ESV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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