Old/New Testament
7 Teacher: A good name is worth more than the finest perfume,
and the day you die is better than the day you were born.
2 In the same way, it is better to go to a funeral
than a celebration.
Why? because death is the end of life’s journey,
and the living should always take that to heart.
3 Sorrow beats foolish laughter;
embracing sadness somehow gladdens our hearts.
4 A wise heart is well acquainted with grief,
but a foolish heart seeks only pleasure’s company.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
than a song written by fools,
6 For the laughter of fools is like
the hiss and crackle of burning thorns beneath a pot.
This, too, is fleeting.
7 Oppression can turn the wise into fools,
and a bribe can damage the noblest heart.
8 Having the last word is better than having the first,
and patience will benefit you more than pride.
9 Do not be quick to anger,
for anger sits comfortably in the lap of fools.
10 Do not ask, “Where have all the good times gone?”
Wisdom knows better than to ask such a thing.
11 It is good to have wisdom along with an inheritance;
they give a clear advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For together wisdom and money are alike in this:
both offer protection from life’s misfortunes,
But the real advantage of knowledge is this:
wisdom alone preserves the lives of those who have it.
13 Think for a moment about the work of God.
Can anyone make straight what God has made crooked?
Often wisdom invites us to ponder great questions. The question, “Can anyone make straight what God has made crooked?” echoes the words of 1:15—“Something crooked cannot be made straight.” Only God can determine what is and what is not. God makes our paths crooked or straight. And we often do not understand why one person’s way is straight and another’s is crooked. The message of the teacher is simple: reverence God regardless of the path you have been given to walk.
14 Teacher: When times are good,
enjoy them and be happy.
When times are bad,
think about this:
God makes both good and bad times,
so that no one really knows what is coming next.
15 In the fleeting time I have lived on this earth, I have seen just about everything: the good dying in their goodness and the wicked living to a ripe old age. 16 So my advice? Do not act overly righteous, and do not think yourself wiser than others. Why go and ruin yourself? 17 But do not be too wicked or foolish either. Why die before it’s your time? 18 Grasp both sides of things and keep the two in balance; for anyone who fears God won’t give in to the extremes.[a]
After each act of creation in Genesis 1, “God saw that His new creation was beautiful and good.” When creation is nearly complete, God not only declares it “good” but is described as “savoring its beauty and appreciating its goodness” (Genesis 1:31). In the creation account recorded in Genesis 2, God places the tree of the knowledge of “good and evil” in the garden and commands the first couple not to eat of the tree. But that is precisely what they do; and in the act of eating, they gain knowledge of good and knowledge of what the absence of good brings. Adam and Eve’s children live with this dichotomy. For example, when Cain is distressed over God’s choice of Abel’s offering over his, God says to Cain, “Don’t you know that as long as you do what is right, then I accept you? But if you do not do what is right, watch out, because sin is crouching at the door, ready to pounce on you!” (Genesis 4:7). The temptation to scheme—that is, to do the “evil” rather than the “good”—begins with the first human pair; the teacher of Ecclesiastes reminds his readers that the same temptation still exists.
19 Wisdom is more powerful to a wise person than 10 rulers in a city.
20 There is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and never sins.
21 Don’t take to heart all that people say;
eventually you may hear your servant curse you.
22 And face it, your heart has overheard how often you’ve cursed others.
23 I have tested all of these sayings against wisdom. I promised myself, “I will become wise,” but wisdom kept its distance. 24 True wisdom remains elusive; its profound mysteries are remote. Who can discover it?
25 So I turned and dedicated my heart to knowing more, to digging deeper, to searching harder for wisdom and the reasons things are as they are. I applied myself to understanding the connection between wickedness and folly, between folly and madness. 26 Along this journey, I discovered something more bitter than death—a seductive woman. Her heart is a trap and net. Her hands shackle your wrists. Those who seek to please God will escape her clutches, but sinners will be caught in her trap. 27 Look at this! After investigating the matter thoroughly to find out why things are as they are, 28 I realize that although I kept on searching, I have not found what I am looking for. Only one man in a thousand have I found, but I could not find a single woman among all of these who knows this. 29 Here is what I have figured out: God made humanity for good, but we humans go out and scheme our way into trouble.
8 Teacher: How rare to find one who is truly wise,
one who knows how to interpret this or solve that!
Wisdom brightens the countenance of the face,
and softens hard lines etched in the face.
2 Here’s my advice: keep what comes from the king’s mouth; after all, this matter is really an oath from God. 3 Don’t be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence or throw your support behind a bad cause, because the king can do whatever he wishes. 4 Since the king has the power to enforce his word, who dares ask him, “What are you doing?” 5 Whoever does what the king commands will stay out of trouble, and the wise heart will figure out the proper time and proper way to proceed. 6 Yes, there is a time and a way to deal with every situation, even when a person’s troubles are on the rise. 7 For no one knows what is going to happen, so who can warn him before it does? 8 No one can master the wind and contain it—it blows as it will. No one has power over the day of death—it comes as it will. No soldier is discharged in the heat of battle, and certainly wickedness will not release those entangled in it. 9 I have witnessed all of this as I have focused my attention on all that is done under the sun: whenever one person oppresses another to lift himself up, it only hurts him in the end.
10 I have witnessed the wicked buried with honor because during their lifetimes they would go in and out of the temple, and soon their crimes were forgotten in the very city where they committed them. This, too, is fleeting.[b] 11 When the penalty for a crime is not carried out quickly, then people start scheming to commit their own crimes. 12 Although a wicked person commits a hundred sins and still lives a long life, I am confident it will go better for those who worship the one True God and stand in awe before Him, 13 and it will not go well for the wicked nor will their days grow long like evening shadows because they do not stand in awe of God.
14 Here is another example of the fleeting nature of our world: there are just people who get what the wicked deserve; there are wicked people who get what the just deserve. I say this, too, is fleeting. 15 And so I heartily recommended that you pursue joy, for the best a person can do under the sun is to enjoy life. Eat, drink, and be happy. If this is your attitude, joy will carry you through the toil every day that God gives you under the sun.
16 When I applied myself to the study of wisdom and reflected on the kinds of tasks that occupy people’s attention on earth, I noticed how little sleep they generally get, whether day or night. 17 I saw all the works and ways of God, and it became clear to me that no one is able to grasp fully this mystery called life. Try as we might, we cannot discover what has been done under the sun. Even if the wise claim to know, they really haven’t discovered it.
9 Teacher: So I set my mind on all of this, examined it thoroughly, and here’s what I think: The righteous and the wise and all their deeds are in God’s hands. Whether they are destined to be loved or hated, no one but God knows. 2 Everyone shares a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good [and the bad],[c] the clean and the unclean, those who sacrifice and those who neglect the sacrifices. The good and the faithful are treated no differently than the sinner. Those who take an oath are treated no differently than those afraid to commit. Such a great injustice! 3 Here is an evil that pervades all that is done under the sun: the same destiny happens to us all. Human hearts are inclined toward evil; madness runs deep throughout our lives. And then what happens? We die. 4 So long as we are alive, we have hope; it is better to be a living dog, you see, than a dead lion. 5 At least the living know they will die; the dead don’t know anything. No future, no reward is awaiting them, and one day they will be completely forgotten. 6 All of their love and hate and envy die with them; then it is too late to share in the human struggle under the sun.
At best, life is unpredictable. No one knows whether a pleasant or harsh future awaits. Perhaps it is better that way. It would be nice if good actions always guaranteed a pleasant future, but they don’t. Sometimes, in this fallen world, it is just the opposite. One thing is certain, however: everyone faces death. It is the great equalizer. Yet the teacher is assured of something else: those who are right with God and live wisely are in His hands.
Teacher: 7 So here is what you should do: go and enjoy your meals, drink your wine and love every minute of it because God is already pleased with what you do. 8 Dress your best, and don’t forget a splash of scented fragrance. 9 Enjoy life with the woman you love. Cherish every moment of the fleeting life which God has given you under the sun. For this is your lot in life, your great reward for all of your hard work under the sun. 10 Whatever you find to do, do it well because where you are going—the grave—there will be no working or thinking or knowing or wisdom.
11 I turned and witnessed something else under the sun: the race does not always go to the swift, the battle is not always won by the strong, bread does not always fill the table of the wise, wealth does not always accrue to the skillful, and favor is not always granted to the knowledgeable; but time and misfortune happen to them all. 12 A person can’t possibly know when his time will come. Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, without warning the unexpected happens, and people are caught up in an evil time.
When tragedy strikes, neither our wisdom nor our wealth nor our power can spare us from it.
13 I have witnessed an example of wisdom under the sun and admit I found it impressive: 14 Once there was a small town with only a few people in it. One day, out of nowhere, a king and his powerful army marched against it, surrounded it, and besieged it. The villagers didn’t know how to fend off such a powerful enemy. 15 But one man, who was very poor but very wise, rallied the villagers and managed to drive the army away. (The village remains to this day, but no one remembers the name of that one wise man who saved the village.) 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor is despised; nobody listens to their wise counsel.
17 It is better to hear the soft-spoken words of a wise person
than the rant of a tyrant in the company of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
yet one wrongdoer can undo much good.
13 This is my third trip to your city and community. As the Scripture says, “Every charge must be confirmed by two or three witnesses.”[a] 2 As I said before on my second visit, I say now again while absent. Consider this an advance warning, if you wish, to those of you still caught up in your old sins and to all the rest as well: when I come the next time, I will not spare anyone who is out of order. 3 You asked to see evidence that the power of the Anointed One, the Liberating King, is at work in me. Well, you will see it because He won’t be weak in dealing with you. Instead, He will do great things in you. 4 Now it’s true that He was crucified in weakness, but it’s also true that He lives by God’s power. For we who belong to Him are weak in Him, but we will live with Him by God’s power for you.
Weakness looks like failure in the eyes of the world, but for Paul weakness is an avenue to share in Jesus’ death and, therefore, in His life as well. The challenge is to remain faithful even in the difficult times, even when there is no one left to provide support. It is in these times that God’s power and comfort are most evident. This call to embrace weakness and suffering is difficult. It is normal to run from pain. But the examples of Jesus in the Gospels, of Paul in his letters, and of David in the psalms are of finding God’s strength in times of weakness.
5 Examine yourselves. Check your faith! Are you really in the faith? Do you still not know that Jesus the Anointed is in you?—unless, of course, you have failed the test. 6 Surely you will realize we have not failed the test, 7 but we pray to God that you will stay away from evil. What’s important is not whether we appear to have passed the test, but that you do what is right and act honorably, even if it appears that we have failed. 8 For there’s nothing we can do to oppose the truth; all we can do is align ourselves with it. 9 You see, we celebrate when we are weak but you are strong. Our prayer is simple: that you may be whole and complete. 10 How I hope I am saving you by writing this to you in advance; this letter will spare me from using the Lord’s authority to come down on you when I arrive. His intention in giving me this authority is to build you up, not tear you down.
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, keep rejoicing and repair whatever is broken. Encourage each other, think as one, and live at peace; and God, the Author of love and peace, will remain with you. 12 Greet each other with a holy kiss, as brothers and sisters. 13 All the saints here with me send you their greeting.
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus the Anointed, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit remain with you all. [Amen.][b]
Paul ends his letters as he begins them, praying that grace be with those who read this letter. From first to last, the life of faith is framed by grace.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.