Chronological
Lessons from Mourning
7 Better is a good reputation than precious oil
and the day of death than the day of birth.
2 Better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
since that is the end of all mankind
—and the living should take it to heart.
3 Grief is better than laughter,
for though the face is sad, the heart may be glad.
4 The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.
Wisdom Better Than Folly
5 Better to hear a rebuke from the wise
than to listen to the song of fools.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fool.
This too is vapor.
7 For extortion drives a wise man crazy,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Better the end of a matter than its beginning.
Better a patient spirit than a proud one.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,[a]
for anger settles in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance,
and even better for those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
wisdom preserves the life of the one who possesses it.
13 Consider the work of God,
for who can straighten what He has bent?
14 In a time of prosperity, prosper!
But in a time of adversity, consider:
God has made one as well as the other.
Therefore man cannot discover anything about his future.
Avoid Extremes
15 During my fleeting days I have seen both of these things:
sometimes a righteous one perishes in his righteousness
and sometimes a wicked one lives long in his wickedness.
16 Do not be overly righteous
nor overly wise—
why confound yourself?
17 Do not be overly wicked
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?
18 It is good to grasp the one
and not withdraw your hand from the other.
For the one who fears God will
escape both extremes.
19 Wisdom makes a wise man stronger
than ten rulers in a city.
20 Surely there is not a righteous person on earth
who does what is good and doesn’t sin.[b]
21 Also, do not pay attention to every word people say,
otherwise you might hear your servant mocking you—
22 for your heart knows that many times
you too have mocked others.
23 All this I have tested with wisdom and I said, “I determined to be wise”—but it was far from me. 24 Whatever it may be, it is far off and very profound—who can fathom it? 25 So I turned my heart to understand, to search and seek out wisdom and an explanation of things and to know the stupidity of wickedness and madness of folly.
26 I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare,
whose heart is a trap, and whose hands are chains.
He who pleases God will escape her,
but a sinner will be captured by her.
27 “Look,” said Kohelet, “I have discovered this while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things— 28 which my soul is still seeking, but not finding—I found one upright man among a thousand, but one upright woman among them all I have not found. 29 Only this have I discovered: God made mankind upright, but they went seeking after many schemes.”
Wisdom’s Light and Limits
8 Who is like the wise person?
Who knows the meaning of a matter?
A person’s wisdom makes his face shine,
transforming the harshness of his face.
2 I say: “Obey the king’s command, and especially in regard to the oath of God. 3 Do not be hasty to rush out of his presence. Do not stand up for an evil cause, because he will do whatever he desires. 4 Since the word of a king has authority, who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
5 Whoever obeys his command will not experience harm, and a wise person’s heart discerns the proper time and procedure. 6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person’s trouble is heavy upon him.
7 Since no one knows what will be,
who can tell when it will happen?
8 No one has authority over the wind to restrain it,
nor authority over the day of death.
As no one is discharged during a battle,
so wickedness cannot rescue its master.
9 I have seen all this while applying my mind to everything done under the sun: sometimes one person dominates another person to his own harm. 10 Then I saw the wicked buried—they used to come and go from the holy place, but will soon be forgotten in the very city where they did this. This too is meaningless.
11 When the sentence against a crime is not swiftly carried out, the human heart is encouraged to do evil. 12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes and prolong his days, yet I know that it will be well for those who fear God, for those who revere Him. 13 But it will not go well with the wicked, and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.
14 There is another enigma that occurs upon the earth: there are righteous people who are requited according to the work of the wicked, and there are wicked people who are requited according to the work of the righteous. I said, “This also is meaningless.” 15 So I recommend enjoyment, because there is nothing better for humanity under the sun except to eat, drink and enjoy it. So this joy will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe the activity that is done upon the earth (his eyes not seeing sleep either day or night), 17 then I saw all the work of God. No one can comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite all human efforts to seek it out, no one comprehends. Even if a wise person claims to know, he cannot really comprehend.
One Destiny for All
9 For all this I laid on my heart and to ascertain all this: that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works are in the hand of God. Whether love or hatred, no one knows—everything awaits them.
2 Everyone shares the same destiny: for the righteous and the wicked; for the good, the ritually clean and the defiled; for one who sacrifices and one who does not sacrifice; as the good person so the sinner; as the one who swears like the one who fears an oath.
3 This is a misery in everything done under the sun: that the same destiny awaits everyone. Moreover, the hearts of all humans are full of evil, and folly is in their hearts during their lives—after that they die. 4 Everyone who is among the living has hope—even a living dog is better off than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing.
They have no further reward,
even the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Their love, their hatred, and their zeal
have already perished;
never again will they have a share
in anything that is done under the sun.
7 Go! Eat your bread with gladness and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already accepted your deeds. 8 Let your clothes always be white, and do not spare oil on your head. 9 Live joyously with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life that He has given you under the sun during all your fleeting days—for this is your portion in life and in your toil that you labor under the sun.
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your all strength, for there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, where you are going.
11 I further observed under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
nor the battle to the mighty,
nor does bread come to the wise,
or wealth to the discerning,
or favor to the skillful;
for time and chance befall them all.
12 Moreover, no man knows his time:
like fish caught in a fatal net
or birds caught in a snare,
so people are trapped in a time of calamity,
that falls upon them suddenly.
13 I also observed this as wisdom under the sun, and it greatly impressed me. 14 There was a little city with a few people in it and a mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built great siege works against it. 15 Now a poor, wise man was found in it, and he delivered the city by his shrewdness. Yet nobody remembered that poor man! 16 So I said: “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heeded.
17 The words of the wise heard in quiet
are better than a ruler’s shout among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
Wisdom and Folly
10 Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 The heart of the wise is to his right,
and the heart of the fool is to his left.
3 Even as the fool walks along the way,
his heart lacks sense
and tells everyone what a fool he is.
4 If a ruler’s spirit rises up against you,
do not leave your post,
for composure allays great offences.
5 There is a wrong I have seen under the sun
like an error proceeding from a ruler.
6 Fools are placed in many high positions,
while the rich sit in low ones.
7 I have seen slaves on horses,
and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it,
and whoever breaks through a fence may be bitten by a snake.
9 Whoever quarries stones may be hurt by them,
and whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
10 If the iron axe is blunt
and one doesn’t sharpen the edge,
then he must exert more force.
So wisdom has the advantage of giving success.
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed,
there is no profit for the charmer.
12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,
but the lips of a fool destroy him.
13 The words from his mouth begin as folly
and end as grievous madness—
14 and the fool multiplies words.
No one knows what will happen,
and who can tell him what will happen after him?
15 The mischief of fools wearies them
for he doesn’t know how to go to town.
16 Oy to you, O land, when your king is a youth[c]
and your princes feast in the morning.
17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is a son of nobles,
and your princes eat at the proper time—
in self-control and not in drunkenness!
18 By laziness the rafters sag,
and by idle hands the house leaks.
19 A feast is made for laughter,
and wine makes life glad—
but money is the answer for everything.
20 Do not ridicule the king—even in your thoughts,
nor curse the rich in your bedroom.
For a bird of the air may carry your voice,
and a winged creature may report your words.
Wisdom of the Long View
11 Cast your bread upon the waters,
for after many days you will find it.
2 Give portions to seven, or even to eight,
for you do not know what disaster may happen upon the earth.
3 If the clouds are full,
they empty out rain upon the earth.
Whether a tree falls to south or north,
the tree lies wherever it falls.
4 Whoever keeps watching the wind will not sow
and whoever gazes at the clouds will not reap.
5 Just as you do not know how the spirit passes into the bones in the womb of a pregnant woman,
so you do not know the work of God who makes all things.
6 In the morning sow your seed,
and in the evening do not let your hand be idle,
for you do not know if this or that will succeed,
or if both will prosper together.
7 Light is sweet,
and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
8 For if a man lives many years,
let him rejoice in them all.
But let him remember the days of darkness—
for there will be many.
Everything to come is obscure.
9 Rejoice, young man, in your childhood,
and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.
Walk in the ways of your heart
and in the sight of your eyes,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you to judgment.
10 So banish anxiety from your heart
and cast off distress from your body,
for youth and prime of life are fleeting.
Ode for the Aging
12 So remember your Creator
in the days of your youth:
before the days of misery come,
and years draw near when you will say:
“I have no pleasure in them”—
2 before the sun and light and moon
and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds dissipate after the rain,
3 in the day the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when grinders stop because they are few,
and those peering out windows grow dim,
4 when doors are shut in the street
and the sound of the mill fades,
when one arises at the chirp of a bird
and all their songs grow faint,
5 when they also are afraid of heights
and of dangers on the road,
when the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper drags itself along,
and the caper berry fails to excite—
for a man is going to his eternal home,
and mourners go about in the street—
6 before the silver cord is snapped,
or the golden bowl is crushed,
or the jug at the cistern is shattered,
or the wheel at the well is broken.
7 Then the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 “Evanescent vapors,” says Kohelet.
All is futility.
Conclusion: Fear God
9 Furthermore, Kohelet was not only wise but he also taught the people knowledge. He pondered, sought out, and set in order many proverbs. 10 Kohelet searched to find delightful words and truthful, accurate sayings. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collective sayings are like firmly affixed nails. They have been given by one Shepherd. 12 Be warned my son of anything in addition to them: There is no end to the making of many books, and excessive study wearies the flesh.
13 A final word, when all has been heard:
Fear God and keep His mitzvot!
For this applies to all mankind.
14 God will bring every deed into judgment,
including everything that is hidden,
whether it is good or evil.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.