Proverbs 31 - Song of Solomon 5
New King James Version
The Words of King Lemuel’s Mother
31 The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:
2 What, my son?
And what, son of my womb?
And what, (A)son of my vows?
3 (B)Do not give your strength to women,
Nor your ways (C)to that which destroys kings.
4 (D)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
5 (E)Lest they drink and forget the law,
And pervert the justice of all [a]the afflicted.
6 (F)Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
7 Let him drink and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.
8 (G)Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are [b]appointed to die.
9 Open your mouth, (H)judge righteously,
And (I)plead the cause of the poor and needy.
The Virtuous Wife
10 (J)Who[c] can find a [d]virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
15 (K)She also rises while it is yet night,
And (L)provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
From [e]her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
20 (M)She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 (N)Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over 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 daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.
The Vanity of Life
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, (O)king in Jerusalem.
3 (R)What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he [g]toils under the sun?
4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
(S)But the earth abides forever.
5 (T)The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And [h]hastens to the place where it arose.
6 (U)The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.
7 (V)All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.
8 All things are [i]full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
(W)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 (X)That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
11 There is (Y)no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after.
The Grief of Wisdom
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my heart to seek and (Z)search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; (AA)this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be [j]exercised. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
15 (AB)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
And what is lacking cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained (AC)more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has [k]understood great wisdom and knowledge.” 17 (AD)And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.
18 For (AE)in much wisdom is much grief,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
The Vanity of Pleasure(AF)
2 I said (AG)in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with (AH)mirth; [l]therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, (AI)this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” 3 (AJ)I searched in my heart how [m]to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was (AK)good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.
4 I made my works great, I built myself (AL)houses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made myself water pools from which to [n]water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female servants, and had [o]servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 8 (AM)I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and [p]musical instruments of all kinds.
9 (AN)So I became great and [q]excelled (AO)more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And (AP)this was my [r]reward from all my labor.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was (AQ)vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.
The End of the Wise and the Fool
12 Then I turned myself to consider wisdom (AR)and madness and folly;
For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—
Only what he has already (AS)done.
13 Then I saw that wisdom (AT)excels folly
As light excels darkness.
14 (AU)The wise man’s eyes are in his head,
But the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I myself perceived
That (AV)the same event happens to them all.
15 So I said in my heart,
“As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“This also is vanity.”
16 For there is (AW)no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever,
Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die?
As the fool!
17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
18 Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because (AX)I must 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 rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. 21 For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his [s]heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 (AY)For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? 23 For all his days are (AZ)sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
24 (BA)Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, [t]more than I? 26 For God gives (BB)wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that (BC)he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Everything Has Its Time
3 To everything there is a season,
A (BD)time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time [u]to be born,
And (BE)a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
4 A time to (BF)weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
(BG)A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
(BH)A time to keep silence,
And a time to (BI)speak;
8 A time to love,
And a time to (BJ)hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.
The God-Given Task
9 (BK)What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 10 (BL)I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that (BM)no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
12 I know that nothing is (BN)better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that (BO)every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
14 I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
(BP)Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
15 (BQ)That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God [v]requires an account of [w]what is past.
Injustice Seems to Prevail
16 Moreover (BR)I saw under the sun:
In the place of [x]judgment,
Wickedness was there;
And in the place of righteousness,
[y]Iniquity was there.
17 I said in my heart,
(BS)“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time there for every [z]purpose and for every work.”
18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” 19 (BT)For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place: (BU)all are from the dust, and all return to dust. 21 (BV)Who[aa] knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? 22 (BW)So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for (BX)that is his [ab]heritage. (BY)For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?
The Uselessness of Selfish Toil
4 Then I returned and considered all the (BZ)oppression that is done under the sun:
And look! The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter—
[ac]On the side of their oppressors there is power,
But they have no comforter.
2 (CA)Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.
3 (CB)Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
The Vanity of Selfish Toil
4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
5 (CC)The fool folds his hands
And consumes his own flesh.
6 (CD)Better a handful with quietness
Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.
7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:
8 There is one alone, without [ad]companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his (CE)eye satisfied with riches.
But (CF)he never asks,
“For whom do I toil and deprive myself of (CG)good?”
This also is vanity and a [ae]grave misfortune.
The Value of a Friend
9 Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Popularity Passes Away
13 Better a poor and wise youth
Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.
14 For he comes out of prison to be king,
Although [af]he was born poor in his kingdom.
15 I saw all the living who walk under the sun;
They were with the second youth who stands in his place.
16 There was no end of all the people [ag]over whom he was made king;
Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Fear God, Keep Your Vows
5 Walk (CH)prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather (CI)than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
2 Do not be (CJ)rash with your mouth,
And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
Therefore let your words (CK)be few.
3 For a dream comes through much activity,
And (CL)a fool’s voice is known by his many words.
4 (CM)When you make a vow to God, do not delay to (CN)pay it;
For He has no pleasure in fools.
Pay what you have vowed—
5 (CO)Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.
6 Do not let your (CP)mouth cause your flesh to sin, (CQ)nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your [ah]excuse and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But (CR)fear God.
The Vanity of Gain and Honor
8 If you (CS)see the oppression of the poor, and the violent [ai]perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for (CT)high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.
9 Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.
10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.
11 When goods increase,
They increase who eat them;
So what profit have the owners
Except to see them with their eyes?
12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet,
Whether he eats little or much;
But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
13 (CU)There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun:
Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
14 But those riches perish through [aj]misfortune;
When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
15 (CV)As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return,
To go as he came;
And he shall take nothing from his labor
Which he may carry away in his hand.
16 And this also is a severe evil—
Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And (CW)what profit has he (CX)who has labored for the wind?
17 All his days (CY)he also eats in darkness,
And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.
18 Here is what I have seen: (CZ)It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; (DA)for it is his [ak]heritage. 19 As for (DB)every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his [al]heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the (DC)gift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
Wealth Is Not the Goal of Life
6 There(DD) is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, (DE)so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; (DF)yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil [am]affliction.
3 If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or (DG)indeed he has no burial, I say that (DH)a [an]stillborn child is better than he— 4 for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness. 5 Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one (DI)place?
7 (DJ)All the labor of man is for his mouth,
And yet the soul is not satisfied.
8 For what more has the wise man than the fool?
What does the poor man have,
Who knows how to walk before the living?
9 Better is [ao]the (DK)sight of the eyes than the wandering of [ap]desire.
This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
10 Whatever one is, he has been named (DL)already,
For it is known that he is man;
(DM)And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.
11 Since there are many things that increase vanity,
How is man the better?
12 For who knows what is good for man in life, [aq]all the days of his [ar]vain life which he passes like (DN)a shadow? (DO)Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
The Value of Practical Wisdom
7 A (DP)good name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death than the day of one’s (DQ)birth;
2 Better to go to the house of mourning
Than to go to the house of feasting,
For that is the end of all men;
And the living will take it to (DR)heart.
3 [as]Sorrow is better than laughter,
(DS)For by a sad countenance the heart is made [at]better.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 (DT)It is better to [au]hear the rebuke of the wise
Than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 (DU)For like the [av]crackling of thorns under a pot,
So is the laughter of the fool.
This also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,
(DV)And a bribe [aw]debases the heart.
8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning;
(DW)The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 (DX)Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,
For anger rests in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say,
“Why were the former days better than these?”
For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
And profitable (DY)to those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is [ax]a (DZ)defense as money is a defense,
But the [ay]excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives (EA)life to those who have it.
13 Consider the work of God;
For (EB)who can make straight what He has made crooked?
14 (EC)In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one [az]as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.
15 I have seen everything in my days of vanity:
(ED)There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,
And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
16 (EE)Do not be overly righteous,
(EF)Nor be overly wise:
Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overly wicked,
Nor be foolish:
(EG)Why should you die before your time?
18 It is good that you grasp this,
And also not remove your hand from the other;
For he who (EH)fears God will [ba]escape them all.
19 (EI)Wisdom strengthens the wise
More than ten rulers of the city.
20 (EJ)For there is not a just man on earth who does good
And does not sin.
21 Also do not take to heart everything people say,
Lest you hear your servant cursing you.
22 For many times, also, your own heart has known
That even you have cursed others.
23 All this I have [bb]proved by wisdom.
(EK)I said, “I will be wise”;
But it was far from me.
24 (EL)As for that which is far off and (EM)exceedingly deep,
Who can find it out?
25 (EN)I applied my heart to know,
To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things,
To know the wickedness of folly,
Even of foolishness and madness.
26 (EO)And I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
Whose hands are fetters.
[bc]He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.
27 “Here is what I have found,” says (EP)the Preacher,
“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
28 Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:
(EQ)One man among a thousand I have found,
But a woman among all these I have not found.
29 Truly, this only I have found:
(ER)That God made man upright,
But (ES)they have sought out many schemes.”
Obey Authorities for God’s Sake
8 Who is like a wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
(ET)A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,
And (EU)the [bd]sternness of his face is changed.
Obey Authorities for God’s Sake
2 I say, “Keep the king’s commandment (EV)for the sake of your oath to God. 3 (EW)Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.”
4 Where the word of a king is, there is power;
And (EX)who may say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful;
And a wise man’s heart [be]discerns both time and judgment,
6 Because (EY)for every matter there is a time and judgment,
Though the misery of man [bf]increases greatly.
7 (EZ)For he does not know what will happen;
So who can tell him when it will occur?
8 (FA)No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,
And no one has power in the day of death.
There is (FB)no release from that war,
And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.
9 All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.
Death Comes to All
10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were (FC)forgotten[bg] in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity. 11 (FD)Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 (FE)Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that (FF)it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
14 There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it (FG)happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the (FH)righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
15 (FI)So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that (FJ)a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.
Death Comes to All
9 For I [bh]considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: (FK)that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. 2 (FL)All things come alike to all:
One event happens to the righteous and the wicked;
To the [bi]good, the clean, and the unclean;
To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.
As is the good, so is the sinner;
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.
3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they will die;
But (FM)the dead know nothing,
And they have no more reward,
For (FN)the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished;
Nevermore will they have a share
In anything done under the sun.
7 Go, (FO)eat your bread with joy,
And drink your wine with a merry heart;
For God has already accepted your works.
8 Let your garments always be white,
And let your head lack no oil.
9 [bj]Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; (FP)for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.
10 (FQ)Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your (FR)might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
11 I returned (FS)and saw under the sun that—
The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and (FT)chance happen to them all.
12 For (FU)man also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are (FV)snared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them.
Wisdom Superior to Folly
13 This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me: 14 (FW)There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great [bk]snares around it. 15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.
16 Then I said:
“Wisdom is better than (FX)strength.
Nevertheless (FY)the poor man’s wisdom is despised,
And his words are not heard.
17 Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard
Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war;
But (FZ)one sinner destroys much good.”
Wisdom and Folly
10 Dead[bl] flies [bm]putrefy the perfumer’s ointment,
And cause it to give off a foul odor;
So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand,
But a fool’s heart at his left.
3 Even when a fool walks along the way,
He lacks wisdom,
(GA)And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
(GB)Do not leave your post;
For (GC)conciliation[bn] pacifies great offenses.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
As an error proceeding from the ruler:
6 (GD)Folly is set in [bo]great dignity,
While the rich sit in a lowly place.
7 I have seen servants (GE)on horses,
While princes walk on the ground like servants.
8 (GF)He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,
And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.
10 If the ax is dull,
And one does not sharpen the edge,
Then he must use more strength;
But wisdom [bp]brings success.
11 A serpent may bite (GG)when it is not charmed;
The [bq]babbler is no different.
12 (GH)The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
But (GI)the lips of a fool shall swallow him up;
13 The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,
And the end of his talk is raving madness.
14 (GJ)A fool also multiplies words.
No man knows what is to be;
Who can tell him (GK)what will be after him?
15 The labor of fools wearies them,
For they do not even know how to go to the city!
16 (GL)Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
And your princes feast in the morning!
17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles,
And your (GM)princes feast at the proper time—
For strength and not for drunkenness!
18 Because of laziness the [br]building decays,
And (GN)through idleness of hands the house leaks.
19 A feast is made for laughter,
And (GO)wine makes merry;
But money answers everything.
20 (GP)Do not curse the king, even in your thought;
Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom;
For a bird of the air may carry your voice,
And a bird in flight may tell the matter.
The Value of Diligence
11 Cast your bread (GQ)upon the waters,
(GR)For you will find it after many days.
2 (GS)Give a serving (GT)to seven, and also to eight,
(GU)For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain,
They empty themselves upon the earth;
And if a tree falls to the south or the north,
In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As (GV)you do not know what is the way of the [bs]wind,
(GW)Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.
7 Truly the light is sweet,
And it is pleasant for the eyes (GX)to behold the sun;
8 But if a man lives many years
And (GY)rejoices in them all,
Yet let him (GZ)remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.
Seek God in Early Life
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
(HA)Walk in the [bt]ways of your heart,
And [bu]in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
(HB)God will bring you into judgment.
10 Therefore remove [bv]sorrow from your heart,
And (HC)put away evil from your flesh,
(HD)For childhood and [bw]youth are vanity.
Seek God in Early Life
12 Remember(HE) now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the [bx]difficult days come,
And the years draw near (HF)when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
2 While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
4 When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all (HG)the daughters of music are brought low.
5 Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to (HH)his eternal home,
And (HI)the mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is [by]loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
7 (HJ)Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
(HK)And the spirit will return to God (HL)who gave it.
8 “Vanity(HM) of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“All is vanity.”
The Whole Duty of Man
9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and (HN)set[bz] in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find [ca]acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of [cb]scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. 12 And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and (HO)much study is wearisome to the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
(HP)Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For (HQ)God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.
Solomon’s Love for a Shulamite Girl
1 The (HR)song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
The Banquet
The [cc]Shulamite
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
(HS)For [cd]your love is better than wine.
3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
4 (HT)Draw me away!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
The Shulamite
The king (HV)has brought me into his chambers.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
We will be glad and rejoice in [cf]you.
We will remember your love more than wine.
The Shulamite
Rightly do they love you.
5 I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has [cg]tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own (HW)vineyard I have not kept.
(To Her Beloved)
7 Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who [ch]veils herself
By the flocks of your companions?
The Beloved
8 If you do not know, (HX)O fairest among women,
[ci]Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
9 I have compared you, (HY)my love,
(HZ)To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 (IA)Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
11 We will make [cj]you ornaments of gold
With studs of silver.
The Shulamite
12 While the king is at his table,
My [ck]spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
That lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms
In the vineyards of En Gedi.
The Beloved
The Shulamite
16 Behold, you are (IC)handsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!
Also our [cm]bed is green.
17 The beams of our houses are cedar,
And our rafters of fir.
A Country Girl in a Palace
2 I am the rose of Sharon,
And the lily of the valleys.
The Beloved
2 Like a lily among thorns,
So is my love among the daughters.
The Shulamite
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And (ID)his fruit was sweet to my taste.
The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem
4 He brought me to the [cn]banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
6 (IE)His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
7 (IF)I [co]charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Beloved’s Request
The Shulamite
8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
9 (IG)My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11 For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
14 “O my (IH)dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your [cp]face,
(II)Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”
Her Brothers
15 Catch us (IJ)the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.
The Shulamite
16 (IK)My beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
(To Her Beloved)
17 (IL)Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved,
And be (IM)like a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of [cq]Bether.
A Troubled Night
The Shulamite
3 By (IN)night on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.
2 “I will rise now,” I said,
“And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love.”
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3 (IO)The watchmen who go about the city found me;
I said,
“Have you seen the one I love?”
4 Scarcely had I passed by them,
When I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go,
Until I had brought him to the (IP)house of my mother,
And into the [cr]chamber of her who conceived me.
5 (IQ)I [cs]charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Coming of Solomon
The Shulamite
6 (IR)Who is this coming out of the wilderness
Like pillars of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the merchant’s fragrant powders?
7 Behold, it is Solomon’s couch,
With sixty valiant men around it,
Of the valiant of Israel.
8 They all hold swords,
Being expert in war.
Every man has his sword on his thigh
Because of fear in the night.
9 Of the wood of Lebanon
Solomon the King
Made himself a [ct]palanquin:
10 He made its pillars of silver,
Its support of gold,
Its seat of purple,
Its interior paved with love
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And see King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
The day of the gladness of his heart.
The Bridegroom Praises the Bride
The Beloved
4 Behold, (IS)you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes behind your veil.
Your hair is like a (IT)flock of goats,
Going down from Mount Gilead.
2 (IU)Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
Which have come up from the washing,
Every one of which bears twins,
And none is [cu]barren among them.
3 Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
(IV)Your temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
4 (IW)Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built (IX)for an armory,
On which hang a thousand [cv]bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
5 (IY)Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.
6 (IZ)Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
7 (JA)You are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir (JB)and Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.
9 You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
10 How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
(JC)How much better than wine is your love,
And the [cw]scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!
11 Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
(JD)Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is (JE)like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A garden [cx]enclosed
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Fragrant henna with spikenard,
14 Spikenard and saffron,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense,
Myrrh and aloes,
With all the chief spices—
15 A fountain of gardens,
A well of (JF)living waters,
And streams from Lebanon.
The Shulamite
16 Awake, O north wind,
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
(JG)Let my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant (JH)fruits.
The Bride Praises the Bridegroom
The Beloved
5 I (JI)have come to my garden, my (JJ)sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
(JK)I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
(To His Friends)
Eat, O (JL)friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!
The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening
The Shulamite
2 I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
(JM)He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, [cy]my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My [cz]locks with the drops of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I [da]defile them?
4 My beloved put his hand
By the [db]latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
6 I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My [dc]heart leaped up when he spoke.
(JN)I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7 (JO)The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.
8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
9 What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
(JP)O fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so [dd]charge us?
The Shulamite
10 My beloved is white and ruddy,
[de]Chief among ten thousand.
11 His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
12 (JQ)His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And [df]fitly set.
13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
16 His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!
Footnotes
- Proverbs 31:5 Lit. sons of affliction
- Proverbs 31:8 Lit. sons of passing away
- Proverbs 31:10 Vv. 10–31 are an alphabetic acrostic in Hebrew; cf. Ps. 119
- Proverbs 31:10 Lit. a wife of valor, in the sense of all forms of excellence
- Proverbs 31:16 Lit. the fruit of her hands
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Absurdity, Frustration, Futility, Nonsense; and so throughout the book
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 labors
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 Is eager for, lit. panting
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 wearisome
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Or afflicted
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit. seen
- Ecclesiastes 2:1 gladness
- Ecclesiastes 2:3 Lit. to draw my flesh
- Ecclesiastes 2:6 irrigate
- Ecclesiastes 2:7 Lit. sons of my house
- Ecclesiastes 2:8 Exact meaning unknown
- Ecclesiastes 2:9 Lit. increased
- Ecclesiastes 2:10 Lit. portion
- Ecclesiastes 2:21 Lit. portion
- Ecclesiastes 2:25 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. without Him
- Ecclesiastes 3:2 Lit. to bear
- Ecclesiastes 3:15 Lit. seeks
- Ecclesiastes 3:15 what is pursued
- Ecclesiastes 3:16 justice
- Ecclesiastes 3:16 Wickedness
- Ecclesiastes 3:17 desire
- Ecclesiastes 3:21 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Who knows whether the spirit . . . goes upward, and whether . . . goes downward to the earth?
- Ecclesiastes 3:22 portion or lot
- Ecclesiastes 4:1 Lit. At the hand
- Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. a second
- Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. evil task
- Ecclesiastes 4:14 The youth
- Ecclesiastes 4:16 Lit. to all before whom he was to be
- Ecclesiastes 5:6 Lit. voice
- Ecclesiastes 5:8 wresting
- Ecclesiastes 5:14 Lit. bad business
- Ecclesiastes 5:18 Lit. portion
- Ecclesiastes 5:19 Lit. portion
- Ecclesiastes 6:2 disease
- Ecclesiastes 6:3 Or miscarriage
- Ecclesiastes 6:9 What the eyes see
- Ecclesiastes 6:9 Lit. soul
- Ecclesiastes 6:12 Lit. the number of the days
- Ecclesiastes 6:12 futile
- Ecclesiastes 7:3 Vexation or Grief
- Ecclesiastes 7:3 well or pleasing
- Ecclesiastes 7:5 listen to
- Ecclesiastes 7:6 Lit. sound
- Ecclesiastes 7:7 destroys
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 A protective shade, lit. shadow
- Ecclesiastes 7:12 advantage or profit
- Ecclesiastes 7:14 alongside
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 Lit. come forth from all of them
- Ecclesiastes 7:23 tested
- Ecclesiastes 7:26 Lit. He who is good before God
- Ecclesiastes 8:1 Lit. strength
- Ecclesiastes 8:5 Lit. knows
- Ecclesiastes 8:6 is great upon him
- Ecclesiastes 8:10 Some Heb. mss., LXX, Vg. praised
- Ecclesiastes 9:1 Lit. put
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 LXX, Syr., Vg. good and bad,
- Ecclesiastes 9:9 Lit. See life
- Ecclesiastes 9:14 LXX, Syr., Vg. bulwarks
- Ecclesiastes 10:1 Lit. Flies of death
- Ecclesiastes 10:1 Tg., Vg. omit putrefy
- Ecclesiastes 10:4 Lit. healing, health
- Ecclesiastes 10:6 exalted positions
- Ecclesiastes 10:10 Lit. is a successful advantage
- Ecclesiastes 10:11 Lit. master of the tongue
- Ecclesiastes 10:18 Lit. rafters sink
- Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or spirit
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 Impulses
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 As you see to be best
- Ecclesiastes 11:10 vexation
- Ecclesiastes 11:10 Prime of life
- Ecclesiastes 12:1 Lit. evil
- Ecclesiastes 12:6 So with Qr., Tg.; Kt. removed; LXX, Vg. broken
- Ecclesiastes 12:9 arranged
- Ecclesiastes 12:10 Lit. delightful
- Ecclesiastes 12:11 Lit. masters of assemblies
- Song of Solomon 1:2 A young woman from the town of Shulam or Shunem, Song 6:13. The speaker and audience are identified according to the number, gender, and person of the Hebrew words. Occasionally the identity is not certain.
- Song of Solomon 1:2 Masc. sing.: the Beloved
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Masc. sing.: the Beloved
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Fem. sing.: the Shulamite
- Song of Solomon 1:6 Lit. looked upon me
- Song of Solomon 1:7 LXX, Syr., Vg. wanders
- Song of Solomon 1:8 Lit. Go out
- Song of Solomon 1:11 Fem. sing.: the Shulamite
- Song of Solomon 1:12 perfume
- Song of Solomon 1:15 my companion, friend
- Song of Solomon 1:16 couch
- Song of Solomon 2:4 Lit. house of wine
- Song of Solomon 2:7 adjure
- Song of Solomon 2:14 Lit. appearance
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Lit. Separation
- Song of Solomon 3:4 room
- Song of Solomon 3:5 adjure
- Song of Solomon 3:9 A portable enclosed chair
- Song of Solomon 4:2 bereaved
- Song of Solomon 4:4 Small shields
- Song of Solomon 4:10 fragrance
- Song of Solomon 4:12 locked or barred
- Song of Solomon 5:2 my companion, friend
- Song of Solomon 5:2 curls or hair
- Song of Solomon 5:3 dirty
- Song of Solomon 5:4 opening
- Song of Solomon 5:6 Lit. soul
- Song of Solomon 5:9 adjure
- Song of Solomon 5:10 Distinguished
- Song of Solomon 5:12 sitting in a setting
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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