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10 Dead flies make perfumed oil ferment and stink, just as a little stupidity outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man’s heart heads right, but a fool’s heart heads left.
3 Even when a fool is walking down the road, he does not know where he is going, and he advertises to everyone that he is a fool.
4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not abandon your post, because keeping calm puts serious sins to rest.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun. What a mistake rulers make! 6 Stupidity is placed in many high places, but the rich are seated in low positions. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, while princes walk on the ground like slaves.
8 A person who digs a pit might fall into it, and one who breaks through a wall might be bitten by a snake.
9 A person who quarries stones may be hurt by them. Someone who splits logs may be endangered by them.
10 If the ax is dull and no one sharpens its edge, the person chopping must apply more strength, but an advantage of wisdom is that it gives success.
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to having a charmer.[a]
12 Words from a wise man’s mouth bring favor, but a fool’s lips swallow him up.
13 The fool starts out by saying stupid things, but he ends up speaking wicked madness. 14 The fool multiplies words.
No one knows what will be in the future, and who can tell him what will come after him?
15 The hard work of fools wears them out so much that they no longer know their way to town.[b]
16 How unfortunate you are, O land, when your king once was a servant,[c] and your officials overeat in the morning. 17 How blessed you are, O land, when your king is a son of nobles, and your officials eat at the right time—to get stronger, not to get drunk.
18 Because of laziness, roof beams sag. Because of idle hands, the house leaks.
19 Food is made for pleasure. Wine makes life happy, but money is the answer for everything.
20 Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich person in your bedroom, for a bird in the skies might carry your voice, or a bird in flight might reveal the matter.
11 Cast your bread on the surface of the water. Then, after many days you will find it again.[d]
2 Put part of your investment into seven or even into eight ventures, for you do not know what disaster might come upon the land.
3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, wherever it falls, there it will lie.
4 Whoever keeps watching the wind will never sow, and anyone who keeps looking at the clouds will never reap.
5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind,[e] or how bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, for you do not know which effort will succeed, this one or that, or if both of them will be equally good.
7 Light is sweet, and it is good for eyes to see the sun.
8 Yes, even if a man lives many years, in all of them let him find joy, but let him keep in mind the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come is vapor.
Advice to the Young
9 Young man, be happy while you are a child, and let your heart make you glad during the days of your youth. Walk down the roads on which your heart leads you and on the way your eyes see—but know that for all these, God will bring you into judgment.
10 Put frustration out of your mind, and ignore the troubles of your body, because youth and the dawn of life are vapor.[f]
12 So remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the bad days come and the years arrive when you will say,
“I have no delight in them,”
2 before the sun and the light of the moon and the stars are darkened,
before the clouds return after the rain,
3 before the day when the watchmen of the house tremble,
and the strong men are bent over,
and the women who grind grain cease because they are few,
and those watching through the windows can barely see.
4 Then the double doors to the street are shut,
as the grinding of the mill grows quiet.
A person wakes up at the sound of a bird,
but all the sounds of music are muffled.
5 Then they fear heights and terrors along the road.
The almond blossoms become white.
The grasshopper drags himself along,
and the caperberry has no effect.[g]
Why? Because the man is heading to his eternal home.
Then the wailing mourners will go around in the street.
6 Remember your Creator
before the silver cord is snapped,
and the golden bowl is broken,
before the jar is shattered by the spring,
and the waterwheel is broken by the well,
7 and the dust goes back into the ground—just as it was before,
and the spirit goes back to God who gave it.
8 “Nothing but vapor,” said Ecclesiastes, the speaker.[h] “It is all vapor.”
9 Besides being wise, Ecclesiastes taught the people knowledge, and he weighed, collected, and arranged many proverbs. 10 Ecclesiastes searched to find just the right words. What was written was honest—they were true words. 11 Sayings of wise men are like cattle prods, and those sayings collected by experts are like firmly fixed nails, given by one Shepherd.
12 My son, beware of anything in addition to these. There is no end of making many books, and much study wears out the body.
13 This is the conclusion of the matter. Everything has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments. For mankind, this is everything.[i]
14 Yes, God will bring everything that is done into judgment, including everything that is hidden, whether good or evil.
Finish the Collection
8 Now brothers,[a] we want you to know about the grace of God that was given in the churches of Macedonia: 2 In a severe test of trouble, their overflowing joy and their deep poverty overflowed into an abundance of their generosity.[b] 3 I testify that of their own free will they gave according to their ability, and even beyond their ability, 4 pleading with us with an urgent request for the gracious privilege of joining in this service to the saints. 5 And they did this not as we had expected, but in keeping with God’s will they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us. 6 As a result we urged Titus, since he had already made a beginning, to bring to completion this gracious gift on your part. 7 But just as you overflow in every way—in faith, in word, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us[c]—see that you also overflow in this gracious gift.
8 I do not say this as a command, but to test how genuine your love is, by comparing it with the eagerness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.
10 And I am giving advice in this matter because it is going to be helpful for you. Last year, you were not only the first to take action, but also the first to be willing. 11 Now bring the work to completion too, so that your eagerness to start may be matched by your completing it with what you have. 12 For if the eagerness is there, a gift is acceptable according to what someone has, not according to what he does not have.
13 Certainly, our goal is not that others take it easy while you are burdened, but that there may be equality. 14 At the present time, your abundance will provide what they lack, in order that their abundance will also provide what you lack—in this way there will be equality. 15 As it is written, “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”[d]
Psalm 49
The Fool Trusts in Riches
Heading
For the choir director. By the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
Introduction
1 Hear this, all you peoples.
Pay attention, all you inhabitants of this world,
2 all you children of Adam, all mankind,
rich and poor alike.
3 My mouth will speak wisdom.
The meditation of my heart will give understanding.
4 I will listen carefully to wise teaching.
With a lyre I will explain deep truths.
The Limitations of Riches
5 Why should I fear days of trouble,
days when the wickedness of my pursuers surrounds me?[a]
6 They trust in their wealth.
They place their confidence in the abundance of their riches.
7 But no one can by any means redeem himself.[b]
He cannot give God a ransom for himself—
8 (Yes, the ransom for their souls is costly.
Any payment would fall short.)[c]
9 —so that he could live on forever and not see the pit.
10 Yes, we can see that wise men die.
The fool and the senseless alike perish,
and they leave their wealth to others.
11 They think their houses will remain forever,
their dwellings for generation after generation[d]
because they named lands after themselves.
12 But man, though he has riches, does not even spend a night here.
He is like the animals that perish.
13 This way of theirs is foolishness,
but their followers approve of what they say. Interlude
14 They are like a flock destined for the grave.
Death will be their shepherd.
The upright will rule over them in the morning.
Their bodies will be consumed by the grave,
far from their mansions.[e]
The Limitless Power of God
15 But surely God will redeem my life from the power of the grave.
Yes, he will take me to himself. Interlude
Review and Conclusion
16 Do not be afraid when a man grows rich,
when the glory of his house increases,
17 because when he dies, he cannot take anything along.
His glory will not go down with him.
18 Throughout his life he congratulates himself:
“People praise you because you have done so well for yourself.”
19 He will go to the gathering place of his fathers.
They will never see the light!
20 A man who has riches but does not understand
is like the animals that perish.
20 Have I not written to you already[a] with advice and knowledge,
21 in order to make accurate, true words known to you,
so that you may reply with true words to those who sent you?
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.