Chronological
The Value of Wisdom
7 A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind;
and the living will lay it to heart.
3 Grief is better than laughter,
for with a downcast face the heart considers the good.
4 The heart of those who are wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of those who are foolish in the house of feasting.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke from a wise man
than a man listen to the song of fools.
6 For like the crackling sound of thorns under a pot,
so is the mocking laughter of fools.
And this is also vanity.
7 For oppression brings confusion to the wise man,
and a bribe destroys a man’s heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than the beginning of it,
and the patient in spirit than the haughty in spirit.
9 Do not be quick in your spirit to be angry,
for irritation settles in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the earlier days better than these days?”
For it is not from wisdom that you inquire this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
and an advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For the protection of wisdom
is like the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is
that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
13 Consider the work of God:
Who is able to make straight
what He has made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful,
but in the day of distress consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
For this reason man will not be able to understand
anything that comes after him.
15 I have seen everything in my days of vanity:
There is the righteous man who dies in his righteousness,
and there is the wicked man who extends his life of evil.
16 Do not be excessively righteous,
and do not be extremely wise;
why should you destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overly wicked,
and do not be a fool;
why should you die before your time?
18 It is good that you should take hold of this,
and from the other not withhold your hand;
for he who fears God will come out from them all.
19 Wisdom strengthens the wise man
more than ten rulers who are in the city.
20 For there is not a righteous man on earth
who only does good and refrains from sin.
21 Do not give heed to everything people say,
lest you hear your servant cursing you.
22 Your heart knows
that many times you have spoken a curse against others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said,
“I will be wise,”
but it was far from me.
24 That which is, is far off,
and exceedingly deep.
Who can find it out?
25 And I turned my heart to know,
and seek and search out wisdom in how things are
and to experience wicked folly,
even foolishness and madness.
26 I find more bitter than death
the woman whose heart is snares
and nets,
and whose hands are fetters.
He who pleases God escapes her,
but the sinner is taken by her.
27 “See, this is what I found,” says the Preacher,
“adding one thing to another to find the sum,
28 which my soul still seeks
but I do not find:
One man among a thousand I have found,
but a woman among all these I have not found.
29 See, this only have I found:
that God made man upright,
but they have sought out many schemes.”
8 Who is like a wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a matter?
A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,
and the harshness of his face is softened.
The Value of Obedience
2 I say, “Keep the king’s command, because of your oath to God. 3 Do not be hasty to leave his presence. Do not take a stand in an unpleasant matter, for he does whatever pleases him.” 4 For the word of the king is powerful, and who would say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 He who keeps his command will know no evil thing;
and a wise heart will know the appropriate time and just way.
6 For to every matter there is an appropriate time and just way,
though a man’s distress weighs heavily on him.
7 For he does not know what will happen;
for who can declare to him what will occur?
8 There is not a man with mastery over the wind to restrain it,
nor with power over the day of death.
And no one can discharge a battle,
nor can wickedness rescue the one possessing it.
9 All this I saw while applying my heart to every work that is done under the sun, when one man rules over another to the other’s hurt.
God’s Unknowable Ways
10 Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised[a] in the city where they did works. This is also vanity.
11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed swiftly, the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil. 12 Since one who sins may do evil a hundred times and extend his life, I also have experienced that it will be good for those who fear God when they have reverence before Him. 13 But it will not be well for the wicked, and he will not prolong his days, like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
14 There is a vanity that takes place on the earth that there are righteous men who are treated according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked men who are treated according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. 15 And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun than to eat and drink and be joyful; for this will go with him in his labor all the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.
16 When I set my heart to know wisdom and to experience the affairs that are done on earth, though day and night there is no sleep for one’s eyes, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Inasmuch as a man labors to seek, he will not understand. Even if a wise man claims to know, he cannot grasp it.
A Common Fate
9 For I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: that the deeds of the righteous and the wise are in the hand of God. No man knows whether love or hate awaits them; both are before him. 2 The same fate comes to all: There is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the evil,[b] for the clean and the unclean, for 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.
3 And this is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that the same event happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are filled with evil, and folly is in their hearts while they have life, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 The living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;
they have no more reward,
for the memory of them is forgotten.
6 What they loved, hated,
and envied has already perished;
and there is no reward for them from long ago
in everything that is done under the sun.
7 Go and eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a pleasant heart; for God is already pleased with your deeds. 8 At all times may your clothing be white, and let not oil ever lack on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun; because that is your reward in life and in your toil because you have labored under the sun. 10 Whatever your hands find to do, do with your strength; for there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, the place where you are going.
11 Again I saw under the sun that—
the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong,
nor food to the wise,
nor riches to the intelligent,
nor favor to those with knowledge;
but time and chance happen to them all.
12 For man does not know his time:
Like fish caught in an unfortunate net,
like birds caught in a snare,
so the sons of men are ensnared at a tragic, yet appointed time,
when it suddenly falls on them.
The Excellence of Wisdom
13 I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me: 14 There was a small city with a few men in it; and a great king came and surrounded it, and he built up great siege works against it. 15 But a poor, wise man was found there, and he himself in his wisdom delivered the city, but no one remembered that poor man. 16 Then I said, “Wisdom is better than strength; yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.”
17 The words of the wise heard in quietness are better
than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but only one sinner can destroy much that is good.
10 A dead fly causes a stench in mixed anointing oil,
so a little folly is more weighty than wisdom and honor.
2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of a fool to the left.
3 Even when a fool walks on the road,
he lacks sense,
and he shows everyone that he is a fool.
4 If the anger of a ruler rises against you,
do not leave your post;
for calmness pacifies great offenses.
5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun
like an error that goes out from a ruler:
6 Folly is set in many high places,
but the rich sit in a low place.
7 I have seen slaves riding on horses,
and officials walking along the ground like slaves.
8 He who digs a pit will fall into it,
and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
9 He who quarries stones is injured by them,
and he who splits wood is in danger from them.
10 If an iron piece is blunt
and there is no one to sharpen it,
then he must prevail with more strength;
but wisdom is a benefit to succeed.
11 If a serpent bites before it is charmed,
there is no advantage to the charmer.
12 The words of a wise man’s mouth bring favor,
but the speech of a fool consumes him;
13 the beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,
and the end of his talk is evil madness.
14 A fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be;
who can tell him what will be after him?
15 The labor of the foolish makes him weary,
such that he does not know the way to the city!
16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a lad,
and your princes are feasting in the morning!
17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is from nobility,
and your princes are feasting at the appropriate time—
with self-control and not drunkenness!
18 The roof beams sink in with slothfulness,
and with the idleness of one’s hands the house drips.
19 They make feasts for laughter,
and wine gladdens life;
but money resolves everything.
20 Even in your mind do not curse the king;
and in your bedchamber do not curse the rich;
for a bird in the sky may carry your voice,
and a winged creature may declare the matter.
The Value of Diligence
11 Cast your bread upon the waters,
for you will find it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, or even eight,
for you do not know what calamity may happen on the earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty out on the land;
and if a tree falls to the north or south,
in the place that the tree falls, there it will be.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the way of the wind,
or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child;
likewise you do not know the work of God
who has made everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed,
and in the evening do not let your hand rest;
because you do not know which activity will find success,
this way or that way,
or if the both will be good.
Remember Your Creator in Your Youth
7 Light is sweet,
and good for the eyes to see the sun;
8 for if a man lives many years,
may he rejoice in all of them.
But let him also remember
that the days of darkness are many.
Everything that comes is vanity.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
and in your early years may your heart do you good;
walk in the path of your heart
and the desire of your eyes;
but know that in all these things
God will bring you into judgment.
10 Take away anger from your heart,
and remove distress from your body,
for youth and the dawn are vanity.
12 Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the difficult days come
and the years arrive when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
2 before the sun, light,
moon, and stars are darkened,
and the clouds leave after the rain;
3 in the day when those watching the house tremble,
and the strong men are bent over;
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows have dimmed eyes;
4 and the doors on the street are shut,
and the sound of grinding is low;
and one rises up at the sound of a bird,
and all the daughters of song are brought low;
5 when they are afraid of heights,
even the terrors along the road;
the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire fails,
because man goes to his eternal home,
and the mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember your Creator before the cord of silver is snapped,
or the bowl of gold smashed,
or the jar by the spring broken
or the wheel at the cistern crushed.
7 The dust returns to the earth where it was,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 It is all vanity, says the Preacher;
all is vanity.
Epilogue
9 And in addition to being wise, the Preacher still taught the people knowledge, and he considered, sought out, and arranged many proverbs. 10 And the Preacher sought to discover words of delight, and to write in uprightness words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the collected sayings are like firmly embedded nails, given by one shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness to the flesh.
13 Now all has been heard.
Let us hear the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every secret thing,
whether good or evil.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.