Beginning
Advice in Worship
5 [a]Watch your step whenever you visit God’s house, and come more ready to listen than to offer a fool’s sacrifice, since fools[b] never think they’re doing evil.
2 [c]Don’t be impulsive with your mouth
nor be in a hurry to talk in God’s presence.
Since God is in heaven
and you’re on earth,
keep your speech short.
3 Too many worries lead to nightmares,
and a fool is known from talking too much.
Keep Your Promises to God
4 When you make a promise to God, don’t fail to keep it, since he isn’t pleased with fools. Keep what you promise— 5 it’s better that you don’t promise than that you do promise and not follow through.[d] 6 Never let your mouth cause you[e] to sin and don’t proclaim in the presence of the angel,[f] “My promise[g] was a mistake,” for why should God be angry at your excuse[h] and destroy what you’ve undertaken? 7 In spite of many daydreams, pointless actions, and empty words, it is more important to fear God.
The Use and Abuse of Wealth
8 Don’t be surprised when you see the poor oppressed and the violent perverting both justice and verdicts[i] in a province, for one high official watches another, and there are ones higher still over them. 9 Also, the increase of the land belongs to everyone; the king himself is served by his[j] field.
10 Whoever loves money will never have enough money.
Whoever loves luxury will not be content with abundance.
This also is pointless.
11 When possessions increase,
so does the number of consumers;
therefore what good are they to their owners,
except to look at them?
12 Sweet is the sleep of a working man,
whether he eats a little or a lot,
but the excess wealth of the rich
will not allow him to rest.
13 I have observed a painful tragedy on earth:
Wealth hoarded by its owner harms him,
14 and that wealth is lost in troubled circumstances.
Then a son is born,
but there is nothing left for him.[k]
15 Just as he came naked from his mother’s womb,
he will leave[l] as naked as he came;
he will receive no profit from his efforts—
he cannot carry away even a handful.
16 This is also a painful tragedy:
However a person comes, he also departs;
so what does he gain as he labors after the wind?
17 Furthermore, all his days he lives[m] in darkness
with great sorrow, anger, and affliction.
The Use and Abuse of Accomplishment
18 Look! I observed that it is good and prudent to eat, drink, and enjoy all that is good of a person’s[n] work that he does on earth during the limited days of his life, which God gives him, for this is his allotment. 19 Furthermore, for every person to whom God has given wealth, riches, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept this allotment, and to rejoice in his work—this is a gift from God. 20 For he will not brood much over the days of his life, since God will keep him occupied with the joys of his heart.
Enjoyment of Life as a Gift from God
6 There exists another misfortune that I have observed on earth, and it is a heavy burden upon human beings: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, riches, and honor, so that he lacks none of his heart’s desires—but God does not give him the capability to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger consumes them. This is pointless and a grievous affliction.
3 A man might father a hundred children,[o] and live for many years, so that the length of his life[p] is long—but if his life does not overflow with goodness, and he doesn’t receive a proper[q] burial, I maintain that stillborn children[r] are better off than he is, 4 because stillborn children[s] arrive in pointlessness, leave in darkness, and their names are covered in darkness. 5 Furthermore, though they never saw the sun nor learned anything,[t] they are more content than the other. 6 Even if he lives a thousand years twice over without experiencing the best—aren’t all of them going to the same place?
7 Every person works for his own self-interests,[u]
but his desires remain unsatisfied.
8 For what advantage has the wise person over the fool?
What advantage does the poor man have
in knowing how to face life?[v]
9 It is better to focus on what you can see
than to meander after your self-interest;
this also is pointless and a chasing after wind.
10 Whatever exists has been named already;[w]
people know what it means[x] to be human—
and a person cannot defeat one who is more powerful than he.
11 Because many words lead to pointlessness,
how do people benefit from this?
12 Who knows what is best for people in this life, every day of their pointless lives that they pass through[y] like a shadow? Who informs people on earth what will come along after them?
Lessons for Life
7 A good name exceeds the value of fine perfume,
and the day of someone’s death exceeds the value of[z] the day of his birth.
2 It’s better to attend a funeral[aa]
than to attend a banquet,[ab]
for everyone dies eventually,
and the living will take this to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
because the heart is made better through trouble.
4 For the wise person thinks carefully when in mourning,
but fools focus their thoughts on pleasure.
5 It is better to listen to a wise person’s rebuke
than to listen to the praise[ac] of fools.
6 For as thorns burn to heat a pot,
so also is the laughter of the fool—
even this is pointless.
Avoiding the Evils of Life
7 Unjust gain makes the wise foolish,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The conclusion of something is better than its beginning,
and a patient attitude[ad] is more valuable than a proud one.[ae]
9 Never be in a hurry to become internally angry,
since anger settles down in the lap of fools.
10 Never ask “Why does the past[af] seem so much better than now?”[ag]
because this question does not come from wisdom.
11 Wise use of possessions is good;
it brings benefit to the living.[ah]
12 Indeed, wisdom gives protection,[ai] just like money does,
but it’s better to know that wisdom gives life,
to those who have mastered[aj] it.
The Works of God
13 Consider the work of God:
Who is able to straighten
what he has bent?
14 When times are good, be joyful;
when times are bad, consider this:
God made the one as well as the other,
so people won’t seek anything outside of his best.
15 I have seen it all[ak] during my pointless life:
both a righteous person who dies
while he is righteous,
and a wicked person who lives to an old age,
while remaining wicked.[al]
Practical Wisdom
16 Do not be overly righteous,
nor be overly wise.
Why be self-destructive?
17 Do not excel at wickedness,
nor be a fool.
Why die before your time?
18 It is good for you to grab hold of this and not let go,
because whoever fears God will escape
all of these extremes.[am]
19 Wisdom given as strength to a wise person
is better than having ten powerful men in the city.
20 For there is not a single righteous man on earth
who practices good and does not sin.
21 Don’t listen to everything that is spoken—
you may hear your servant cursing you,
22 since you also know how often
you have cursed others.
23 I used my wisdom to test all of this.
I said, “I want to be wise,”
but it was beyond me.
24 Whatever it is,
it’s far off and most profound.
Who can attain it?
25 I committed myself to understand,
to learn, to search for wisdom and explanations,
and to understand both the evil that is foolishness
and the stupidity that is delusion.
26 I discovered for myself a bitterness
that surpasses that of death:
the woman whose heart is full of[an] snares and nets,
whose hands are chains of bondage.
Whoever pleases God will escape from her,
but the transgressor will be trapped by her.
27 “Look at this,” says the Teacher. “Linking one thing to another, I reached this conclusion:
28 Among the things I seek but have not found:
one man among a thousand I did find,
but I have not found one woman to be wise[ao] among all these.
29 I have discovered only this:
God made human beings for righteousness,
but they seek many alternatives.”
The Wise Use of Power
8 Who is really wise?
Who knows how to interpret this saying:
“A person’s wisdom improves his appearance,
softening a harsh countenance.”
The Wisdom of Pleasing Leaders
2 I advise[ap] doing what the king says, especially regarding an oath to God. 3 Don’t be in a hurry to leave him, and don’t persist in evil, for he does whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king’s command is powerful, who is able to challenge him, asking, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever obeys his commands will not experience harm, and the wise in heart will discern both the appropriate time and response.[aq] 6 Indeed, there is an appropriate time and a response[ar] for every circumstance, since human misery weighs heavily upon him. 7 For he has absolutely no knowledge what will happen, since who can declare to him when it will come about? 8 Just as no human being has control over the wind[as] to restrain it, so also no human being has control over the day of his death. Just as no one is discharged during war, so wickedness will not release those who practice[at] it.
9 I observed all this, and carefully considered everything that is undertaken on earth, especially the time when someone dominates another to his detriment. 10 So I watched the wicked being entombed. They used to come in and out of the Holy Place,[au] but now they are forgotten in the city, where they used to work. This, too, is pointless.
The Wisdom of Fearing God
11 Whenever a sentence for a crime is not carried out swiftly, the human mind[av] becomes determined to commit evil. 12 Even though a sinner does what is wrong a hundred times and still survives, nevertheless I also know that things will go well for those who fear God, who fear in his presence. 13 But things will not go well for the wicked person: he will not lengthen his life[aw] like a shadow, since he has no fear before God.
Fruitless Righteousness, Fruitful Evil
14 Here is a pointless thing that happens on earth: A righteous man receives what happens to the wicked, and a wicked man receives what happens to the righteous. I concluded that this, too, is pointless. 15 So then I recommended enjoyment of life, because it is better on earth for a man to eat, drink, and be happy, since this will stay with him throughout his struggle all the days of his life, which God grants him on earth.
16 When I dedicated myself to experience wisdom and to observe what is undertaken on earth—even going without sleep day and night— 17 I saw all of it as the activity of God. Frankly, a human being cannot understand what happens on earth, because however hard a man works to discover it, he will not find out. Despite what he thinks he knows, he will not be able to figure it out.
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