Chronological
Some Benefits of Serious Thinking
7 It is better to have respect than good perfume.
The day a person dies is better than the day he was born.
2 It is better to go to a funeral
than to a party.
We all must die.
Everyone living should think about this.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter.
Sadness has a good influence on you.
4 A wise man thinks about death,
but a foolish person thinks only about having a good time.
5 It is better to be criticized by a wise man
than to be praised by a foolish person.
6 The laughter of foolish people is useless.
It is like heating a pot by burning straw.
There is a lot of fire but no heat.
7 Even a wise man will become foolish
if he lets money change his thinking.
8 It is better to finish something
than to start it.
It is better to be patient
than to be proud.
9 Don’t become mad quickly,
because getting angry is foolish.
10 Don’t ask, “Why was life better in the ‘good old days’?”
It is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom is as good to have as inheriting property.
It helps people see what to do.
12 Wisdom is like money.
They both help a person.
But wisdom is better than money,
because it can save a person’s life.
13 Stop and think about everything that God causes to happen.
You cannot change a thing,
even if you think it is wrong.
14 When life is good, enjoy it.
But when life is hard, remember:
God gives us good times and hard times.
And no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
It Is Impossible to Be Truly Good
15 In my short life I have seen both of these:
I have seen good men die being good.
And I have seen evil men living a long time.
16 Don’t try to be too right all the time.
Don’t try to be too wise, either.
Why should you destroy yourself this way?
17 Don’t be too wicked.
And don’t be a foolish person.
You will die young if you do so.
18 Try to avoid going too far in doing anything.
Those who honor God will avoid doing too much of anything.
19 Wisdom gives a person strength.
One wise man is stronger than ten leaders in a city.
20 Surely there is not a good man on earth
who always does good and never sins.
21 Don’t listen to everything people say.
You might hear your servant insulting you.
22 You know that many times
you also have insulted others.
23 I used wisdom to test all these things.
I wanted to be wise,
but it was too hard for me.
24 I cannot understand why things are as they are.
It is too hard for anyone to understand.
25 I studied and tried very hard to find wisdom.
I tried to find some meaning for everything.
I learned that it is foolish to be evil.
And it is crazy to act like a fool.
26 I found that some women are worse than death.
They are as dangerous as traps.
Their love is like a net.
Their arms hold men like chains.
A man who follows God will run away from them.
But a sinner will be caught by them.
27 The Teacher says, “This is what I learned:
I added all these things together
to see if I could find some meaning for everything.
28 I am still looking for it,
but I have not found it.
But I did discover that truly good people are hard to find.
Such people are one in a million!
29 One thing I have learned:
God made people good.
But people have found all kinds of ways to be bad.”
Obey the King
8 No one is like the wise man.
He can understand what things mean.
His wisdom makes him happy.
It makes his sad face happy.
2 I advise you always to obey the king’s command. Do this because you made a promise to God. 3 Don’t be too quick to quit the job the king gave you. But don’t support something that is wrong. Remember, the king does whatever he pleases. 4 The king is the highest power. No one can tell him what to do.
5 A person will be safe if he obeys the king’s command.
A wise man knows how to do the right thing at the right time.
6 And there is a right time and a right way for everything.
Yet people often have many troubles.
7 They do not know what the future holds.
No one can tell them what will happen.
8 No one has the power to keep the wind from blowing.
No one has the power to stop his own death.
During war a soldier cannot go home.
So also, the person who does evil will not get away free.
Justice, Rewards and Punishment
9 I saw all of this as I studied. I considered all that is done here on earth. And I saw men rule others and hurt them. 10 I saw evil people being buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place. Good things were said about them in the same towns where they had done evil. This is senseless, too.
11 Sometimes people are not punished right away for the bad things they do. That makes other people want to do bad things, too. 12 A sinner might do a hundred evil things. And he might live a long time. Even so, I know it will be better for those who honor God. They fear him, and he sees it. 13 And I also know it will not go well for evil people. Their lives will be like a brief shadow. They will not live very long. 14 But sometimes something senseless happens on earth. Bad things happen to good people. Good things happen to bad people. This is truly senseless. 15 So I decided it was more important to enjoy life. The best that people can do here on earth is to eat, drink and enjoy life. These joys will help people do the hard work God gives them here on earth.
We Cannot Understand All God Does
16 I used my mind to learn about all that happens on earth. I saw how busy people are. They work day and night and hardly ever sleep. 17 I also saw all that God has done. Nobody can understand what God does here on earth. No matter how hard a person tries to understand it, he cannot. Even if a wise man says he understands, he really cannot. No one at all can really understand it.
Is Death Fair?
9 I thought about something else and tried hard to understand it. I saw that God takes care of both good people and wise people and what they do. But no one knows if he will see good or bad times.
2 Both good and bad things happen to everyone.
They happen to those who are fair and to those who are wicked.
They happen to those who are good and to those who are evil.
They happen to those who sacrifice and to those who do not.
The same things happen to a good person
as happen to a sinner.
The same things happen to a person who makes promises to God
as to one who does not.
3 This is something unfair that happens here on earth. The same things happen to everyone. So men’s minds are full of evil and foolish thoughts while they live. After that, they join the dead. 4 But anyone still alive has hope. Even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
5 The living know they will die.
But the dead no longer think about such things.
Dead people have no more reward.
People forget them.
6 After a person is dead,
he can no longer show love or hate or jealousy.
And he will never again share
in the things that happen here on earth.
Enjoy Life While You Can
7 So go eat your food and enjoy it.
Drink your wine and be happy.
It is all right with God
if you do this.
8 Put on nice clothes
and make yourself look good.
9 Enjoy life with the wife you love. Enjoy all the days of this short life God has given you here on earth. It is all you have. So enjoy the work you have to do here on earth. 10 Whatever work you do, do your best. This is because you are going to the grave. There is no working, no planning, no knowledge and no wisdom there.
Time and Chance
11 I also realized something else here on earth that is senseless:
The fast runner does not always win the race.
The strong army does not always win the battle.
The wise man does not always have food.
The smart man does not always become wealthy.
And the man with special skills does not always receive praise.
Bad things happen to everyone.
12 A person never knows what will happen to him next.
He is like a fish caught in a cruel net.
He is like a bird caught in a trap.
In the same way, a person is trapped by bad things
that suddenly happen to him.
Wisdom Does Not Always Win
13 I also saw something wise happen here on earth. And it was very impressive to me. 14 There was a small town with only a few people in it. A great king fought against it and put his armies all around it. 15 Now there was a wise man in the town. He was poor, but he used his wisdom to save his town. But later on, everyone forgot about him. 16 I still think wisdom is better than strength. But those people forgot about the poor man’s wisdom. And they stopped listening to what he said.
17 The quiet words of a wise man are better
than the shouts of a foolish ruler.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war.
But one sinner can destroy much good.
10 Dead flies will make even perfume smell bad.
In the same way, a little foolishness can ruin
a wise man’s fame for wisdom.
2 A wise man’s heart leads him in the right way.
But the heart of a foolish person leads him in the wrong way.
3 A foolish person is not wise.
It shows in everything he does.
Even as he walks along the road,
he shows everyone how stupid he is.
4 Don’t leave your job
just because the ruler is angry with you.
Remain calm.
It will help correct your mistakes.
5 Here is something else unfair that happens here on earth.
It is the kind of mistake rulers make:
6 Foolish people are given important positions
while rich people are given less important ones.
7 I have seen servants ride on horses
while princes walk beside them on foot.
8 Anyone who digs a pit might fall into it.
Anyone who knocks down a wall might be bitten by a snake.
9 Anyone who moves large stones might be hurt by them.
And anyone who cuts logs might get hurt while doing it.
10 Cutting logs with a dull ax
makes you work harder.
A wise man will sharpen his ax.
In the same way, wisdom can make any job easier.
11 Someone might know how to control snakes.
But what good is such wisdom if the snake has already bitten him?
12 A wise man’s words bring him praise.
But a foolish person’s words will destroy him.
13 A foolish person begins by saying something foolish.
In the end he is saying even crazier things.
14 A foolish person talks too much about what he will do.
No one knows the future.
No one can tell him what will happen after he dies.
15 A foolish person doesn’t know even the most obvious things.
He can’t even find his way back to town.
So he has to wear himself out working.
The Value of Work
16 How terrible it will be for a country
if its king is a child.
How terrible it will be for that country
if its leaders have parties all the time.
17 A country is well off
if its king comes from a good family.
It is good for a country
if its leaders control their eating and drinking.
They should eat and drink for strength,
not to get drunk.
18 If a person is lazy and doesn’t repair the roof,
it will begin to fall.
If he refuses to fix it,
the house will leak.
19 A party makes you feel good.
And wine makes you feel happy.
But both cost you a lot of money.
20 Don’t say or think bad things about the king.
And don’t say bad things about rich people even alone in your bedroom.
A little bird might report it to others.
A bird might fly to them and tell all you said.
Boldly Face the Future
11 Do good things everywhere you go.[a]
After a while the good you do will return to help you.
2 Invest what you have in several different businesses.
You don’t know what bad things might happen on earth.
3 If clouds are full of rain,
they will pour water on the earth.
A tree can fall to the north or south.
But it will stay where it falls.
4 If a person waits for perfect weather,
he will never plant his seeds.
And if he is afraid that every cloud will bring rain,
he will never harvest his crops.
5 You don’t know where the wind will blow.
And you don’t know how a baby grows in its mother’s body.
In the same way, God certainly made all things.
But you can’t understand what he is doing.
6 Begin planting early in the morning,
and don’t stop working until evening.
This is because you don’t know which things you do will succeed.
It is even possible that everything you do will succeed.
Serve God While You Are Young
7 It is good to be alive
to enjoy the light of day.
8 A person ought to enjoy every day of his life.
This is true no matter how long he lives.
But he should also remember this:
You will be dead much longer than you live.
After you are dead, you accomplish nothing.
9 Young people, enjoy yourselves while you are young.
Be happy while you are young.
Do whatever your heart desires.
Do whatever you want to do.
But remember that God will judge you
for everything you do.
10 So avoid sorrow and sadness.
Forget about all the bad things that happen to you.
This is because the joys of youth pass quickly away.
The Problems of Old Age
12 Remember your Creator while you are young.
Your old age is coming
when you will have many troubles.
When that time comes,
you won’t have much to enjoy.
2 When you become old,
the light from the sun, moon and stars will seem dark to you.
It will seem as if the rain clouds never go away.
3 At that time your arms will lose their strength.
Your strong legs will become weak and bent.
Your teeth will fall out so you cannot chew.
Your eyes will not see clearly.
4 Your ears will be deaf to the noise in the streets.
You will barely hear singing.
The sound of the millstone grinding your grain will seem very quiet.
But you’ll wake up when a bird first starts singing!
5 You will fear high places.
And you will be afraid to go for a walk because you may fall.
Your hair will become white like the flowers on an almond tree.
You will limp along like a grasshopper when you walk.
Your desires will be gone.
Then you will go to your everlasting home.
And people will go to your funeral.
6 Remember God before your life is snapped like a silver chain.
Remember God before your life is broken like a golden bowl.
It will be as useless as a broken bucket at the spring.
It will be no good, like a broken wheel at a water well.
7 Your body will become part of the dust of the earth again.
But your spirit will return to God who gave it.
8 Everything is useless!
The Teacher says that everything is useless.
Conclusion
9 The Teacher was very wise. He taught the people what he knew. The Teacher very carefully thought about, studied and set in order many wise teachings. 10 The Teacher looked for just the right words. He wrote teachings that are dependable and true.
11 Words from wise men are like sharp sticks used to guide animals. These words are like nails that have been driven in firmly. They are wise teachings that come from God the Shepherd. 12 So be careful, my son, about other teachings. People are always writing books. And too much study will make you very tired.
13 Now, everything has been heard.
Here is my final advice:
Honor God and obey his commands.
This is the most important thing people can do.
14 God knows everything people do,
even the things done in secret.
He knows all the good and all the bad.
He will judge everything people do.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.