^5 (E)It is better to ^[c]hear the rebuke of the wise
Than for a man to hear the song of fools.
^6 (F)For like the ^[d]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,
^(G)And a bribe ^[e]debases the heart.

⁸ The end of a thing is better than its beginning;
^(H)The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
^9 (I)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 ^(J)to those who see the sun.
¹² For wisdom is ^[f]a ^(K)defense as money is a defense,
But the ^[g]excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives ^(L)life to those who have it.

¹³ Consider the work of God;
For ^(M)who can make straight what He has made crooked?
^14 (N)In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one ^[h]as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

^(O)There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,
And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.

^16 (P)Do not be overly righteous,
^(Q)Nor be overly wise:
Why should you destroy yourself?
¹⁷ Do not be overly wicked,
Nor be foolish:
^(R)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 ^(S)fears God will ^[i]escape them all.

^19 (T)Wisdom strengthens the wise
More than ten rulers of the city.

^20 (U)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 ^[j]proved by wisdom.
^(V)I said, “I will be wise”;
But it was far from me.
^24 (W)As for that which is far off and ^(X)exceedingly deep,
Who can find it out?
^25 (Y)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 (Z)And I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets,
Whose hands are fetters.
^[k]He who pleases God shall escape from her,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her.

²⁷ “Here is what I have found,” says ^(AA)the Preacher,
“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
²⁸ Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:
^(AB)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:
^(AC)That God made man upright,
But ^(AD)they have sought out many schemes.”

⁴ Where the word of a king is, there is power;
And ^(AI)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 ^[m]discerns both time and judgment,
⁶ Because ^(AJ)for every matter there is a time and judgment,
Though the misery of man ^[n]increases greatly.
^7 (AK)For he does not know what will happen;
So who can tell him when it will occur?
^8 (AL)No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,
And no one has power in the day of death.
There is ^(AM)no release from that war,
And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.

One event happens to the righteous and the wicked;
To the ^[q]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.

⁵ For the living know that they will die;
But ^(AX)the dead know nothing,
And they have no more reward,
For ^(AY)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, ^(AZ)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.

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 ^(BE)chance happen to them all.
¹² For ^(BF)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 ^(BG)snared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them.

“Wisdom is better than ^(BI)strength.
Nevertheless ^(BJ)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 ^(BK)one sinner destroys much good.”

⁴ For behold, ^(C)the kings assembled,
They passed by together.
⁵ They saw it, and so they marveled;
They were troubled, they hastened away.
⁶ Fear ^(D)took hold of them there,
And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
⁷ As when You break the ^(E)ships of Tarshish
With an east wind.

⁸ As we have heard,
So we have seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God:
God will ^(F)establish it forever. Selah

⁹ We have thought, O God, on ^(G)Your lovingkindness,
In the midst of Your temple.
¹⁰ According to ^(H)Your name, O God,
So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
¹¹ Let Mount Zion rejoice,
Let the daughters of Judah be glad,
Because of Your judgments.

¹² Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;
¹³ Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may ^(I)tell it to the generation following.
¹⁴ For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
^(J)He will be our guide
^[b]Even to death.