Beginning
Everyone will die
9 I thought about all these things so that I could understand them. I realized that God controls what happens to people. That includes righteous people and wise people. God decides the things that they do. Nobody knows what will happen in their lives. Other people may love them, or they may hate them.
2 But there is something which happens to everyone. It happens to righteous people and it happens to wicked people. It happens to good people and it happens to bad people. It happens to people who are clean in front of God and it happens to people who are unclean. It happens to people who offer sacrifices to God and it happens to people who do not do that. It happens to good people and to people who turn away from God. It happens to people who make promises to God. It also happens to people who are afraid to do that. 3 Finally, the same thing happens to everyone on the earth. That seems to be a terrible thing. People choose to do evil things. While they are alive, they choose to live like fools. And after that, they die.
4 Anyone who is alive in the world has some hope for good things in the future. It is better to be a dog that is alive than to be a lion that is dead. 5 People who are alive know that they will die one day. But dead people do not know anything. No more good things can happen to them. Nobody remembers them. 6 Everything that they did in the world has finished. If they loved people, if they hated people, if they were jealous of people, all that has finished. They no longer having anything to do with the things that happen on the earth.
Enjoy life
7 So be happy as you eat your food. Be happy as you drink your wine. God is pleased with you as you do these things. 8 Always dress yourself well in good clothes. Use as much sweet oil as you need on your head. 9 Love your wife and enjoy your life together with her. God has given you your life. It is a short life and it is difficult to understand everything that happens. God wants you to enjoy these things as you do hard work during your life on the earth. 10 Use all your strength to do the work that you are doing. One day you will die and you will go into your grave. Then you will not have any work, or ideas, or knowledge or wisdom. So do your work well while you are alive.
11 I have seen another thing that happens here on the earth.
The runner who runs fastest does not always win the race.
The strongest soldiers do not always win the battle.
Very wise people do not always have food to eat.
Very clever people do not always become rich.
People who have learned many things are not always successful.
Yes, anything may happen to anyone at any time.
12 Nobody knows the time when trouble may come to them.
A fish does not know when somebody will catch it in a net.
A bird does not know when somebody will catch it in a trap.
In the same way, terrible trouble suddenly happens to people when they do not expect it.
Better to be wise than to be a fool
13 I saw something else that happens on the earth. It is a good example of what wisdom is like. 14 There was a small city and only a few people lived in it. A powerful king came to attack that city. His army made their camp around the city. They built heaps of earth all around it. 15 There was a man who lived in the city. He was poor but he was also wise. Because he was wise, he knew how to save the city. But after he saved it, nobody remembered that poor man.
16 So I realized that wisdom is better than power. But if you are poor, nobody accepts that you are also wise. People soon forget what you said.
17 A wise person speaks quietly.
But it is good to listen carefully to him.
His words have more value than a king
who is shouting to a crowd of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons that are used to fight a war.
But one bad person can destroy many good things.
10 A few dead flies in a bottle of perfume cause it to have a bad smell.
In the same way, one foolish thing can destroy a lot of wisdom.
2 If you are wise,
you know the right way to go.
But a fool is stupid and he goes the wrong way.
3 Even when fools walk along the road,
they show that they are stupid.
Everyone can see that they are not wise.
4 If your master becomes angry with you,
do not leave your place.
Be patient and answer him quietly.
Then he will forgive your mistakes.
5 I have seen another terrible thing that happens on the earth.
It happens when a ruler does a silly thing.
6 A ruler may give fools too much authority.
At the same time, rich people have no authority.
7 Slaves ride on horses, as important people do.
At the same time, princes have to walk, as slaves do.
8 If you dig a deep hole, you might fall into it.
If you knock down a wall, a snake might bite you.
9 If you cut stones out of the ground, a stone might hurt you.
If you cut wood into pieces, a piece of it might hurt you.
10 If your axe is not sharp,
you will need to be very strong to use it.
If you are wise, you will make the axe's edge sharp again.
That is how wisdom helps you to do things well.
11 Someone may have power over dangerous snakes.
But that will not help him if the snake bites him first.
12 People respect a wise person,
because of the things that he says.
But the words of a fool will destroy him.
13 When a fool starts to speak,
he says silly things.
When he finishes,
he is saying crazy things that are wicked.
14 But he never stops talking.
Nobody knows what will happen in the future.
Nobody can tell us what will happen after we die.
15 When a fool does any work,
he quickly becomes tired.
He is so tired that he forgets the way to town.
16 A country is in terrible trouble
if its ruler is young and foolish.
If its leaders go to parties all day,
a country is in trouble.
17 But if a country's ruler belongs to a good family,
that country will be a happy place.
Its leaders only enjoy parties at the proper time.
They control themselves and they do not become drunk.
18 If a man is too lazy to work on his house,
its roof will fall down.
Rain will make his rooms wet.
19 Good food and wine help us to laugh and to be happy.
But you need to have money to buy everything.
20 Do not say bad things about the king.
Do not even think about it!
Even when you are in your bedroom,
do not say bad things about rich people.
A little bird might hear you.
It might tell people what you have said.
Do what is wise
11 Freely give your things to other people.
If you do that, one day you will receive your things back again.
2 Share your things with several other people.
You do not know when trouble will come.
Then those people can help you.
3 When clouds are full of water,
rain will fall on the earth.
If a tree falls to the ground,
it will stay there, in the same place.
4 A farmer who waits for the right wind
will never plant any seeds.
If he is always looking at the clouds,
he will never bring in his crops.
5 We do not know the path that the wind blows along.
Nor do we know how a baby's body grows
inside a pregnant woman.
So nobody can explain the things that God does.
He is the one who has made everything.
6 Plant your seeds in the morning,
and continue to work until the evening.
You do not know which seeds will become strong plants.
Perhaps only some of them will grow.
Perhaps they will all grow well.
Remember God while you are young
7 Light makes people happy.
It is good to see the sun rise in the morning.
8 People may live for many years,
and they should happily enjoy every day.
But they should remember that their lives will end in death.
There will be many days of trouble ahead.
We cannot understand everything that will happen to us in the future.
9 Young people, enjoy your life while you are young.
Do the things that you think are good.
Enjoy the things that you see.
But remember that God will judge you
for all the things that you do.
10 Do not worry about things.
Do not let your body cause you to have pain.
You will not be young and strong for very long.
We all become old too quickly.
12 Remember to serve God while you are young.
He is the one who made you.
Your life will have many troubles in the future.
During those years, you will say,
‘I do not enjoy my life any more.’
2 When you are old, the light from the sun will not seem to be bright.
You will not see the moon or the stars.
There will always be dark clouds after the rain.
3 Your arms that have kept you safe will shake.
Your legs will become weak.
You will have only a few teeth to eat with.
Your eyes will no longer see very well.
4 Your ears will not hear noises outside in the streets.
You will not hear the sound of people as they work.
You will not hear the sound of people as they sing songs.
But a bird's song will wake you
when you want to sleep.
5 You will be afraid to stand on high places.
You will worry about danger in the streets.
When you are old, your hair will become white,
like the flowers on an almond tree.
You will feel too tired to move yourself,
like an old grasshopper.
You will not want to have sex.
Finally, we will all die and go to our home in the ground.
Many people will weep at our funeral.
6 Remember to serve God while you are young,
because one day your life will finish.
It will be like a silver chain that breaks;
like a gold bowl that breaks;
like a water pot at the well that breaks into pieces;
like a rope at the well that breaks apart.[a]
7 Our bodies go back into the ground as dust.
The breath of our life goes back to God,
who gave it to us.[b]
8 So I, the Teacher, say,
‘All these things have no purpose.
We cannot understand why they happen.’
About the Teacher
9 The Teacher was wise man. He also taught the people to understand things. He studied many proverbs and he wrote them down carefully. 10 The Teacher tried to find the right words, so that he could show the true meaning of what he wrote. 11 The words of wise people are like sharp sticks that a farmer uses to move his animals along. Their messages are like strong nails in a piece of wood. It is God, our one Shepherd, who gives these messages to us.
A final message
12 My son, I warn you to be careful about any other teaching. There will always be more and more books to read. If you try to study everything, you will be very weak and tired.
13 Now I have heard everything and this is what I have decided: Respect God and obey his commands. That is God's purpose for all people. 14 Remember that God will judge everything that we do, to see if it is good or it is bad. He knows even the things that we do secretly.
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