Old/New Testament

The Folly of a Simpleminded Fool

10 Dead flies make a ^(A)perfumer’s oil stink, so a little simpleminded folly is weightier than wisdom and honor. ² A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish ^(B)man’s heart directs him toward the left. ³ Even when the simpleminded fool walks along the road, his heart lacks wisdom, and he ^(C)says to all that he is a simpleminded fool. ⁴ If the ruler’s ^[a]temper rises against you, ^(D)do not abandon your position, because ^(E)calmness causes great offenses to be abandoned.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake which goes forth from the one in power— ^6 [b](F)folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. ⁷ I have seen ^(G)slaves riding ^(H)on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

^8 (I)He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a ^(J)serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. ⁹ He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. ¹⁰ If the ^[c]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must ^[d]exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. ¹¹ If the serpent bites ^[e](K)before being charmed, there is no advantage for the charmer. ^12 (L)Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, but the lips of a ^(M)fool swallow him up; ¹³ the beginning of the words of his mouth is simpleminded folly, and the end of what comes from his mouth is evil ^(N)madness. ¹⁴ Yet the ^(O)simpleminded fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him ^(P)what will come after him? ¹⁵ The labor of ^[f]a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city. ¹⁶ Woe to you, O land, whose ^(Q)king is a young man and whose princes ^[g]eat in the morning. ¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for might and not for ^(R)drinking. ¹⁸ Through ^(S)indolence the beams sag, and through slack hands the house leaks. ¹⁹ Men prepare bread for laughter, and ^(T)wine makes life glad, and ^(U)money ^[h]is the answer to everything. ²⁰ Furthermore, ^(V)in your bedchamber do not ^(W)curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the sky will bring the sound and the winged creature will tell the matter.

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

11 ^(X)Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you ^(Y)will find it ^[i]after many days. ^2 (Z)Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what ^(AA)calamity may occur on the earth. ³ If the clouds are full, they empty the rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it ^[j]lies. ⁴ He who ^[k]watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. ⁵ Just as you do not ^(AB)know ^[l]the path of the wind and ^(AC)how bones are formed in the womb of the ^[m]pregnant woman, so you do not ^(AD)know the work of God who works all things.

⁶ Sow your seed ^(AE)in the morning and do not put your hands down in the evening, for you do not know whether ^[n]morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

⁷ The light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to ^(AF)see the sun. ⁸ Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him ^(AG)be glad in them all, and let him remember the ^(AH)days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be vanity.

⁹ Be glad, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be merry during the days of young manhood. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the ^(AI)sights of your eyes. Yet know that ^(AJ)God will bring you to judgment for all these things. ¹⁰ So, remove vexation from your heart and put away ^(AK)evil from your flesh because childhood and the prime of life are vanity.

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

12 ^(AL)Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the ^(AM)evil days happen and the years draw near in which you will say, “I have no delight in them”; ² before the ^(AN)sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; ³ in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and valiant men ^(AO)bend down, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and ^(AP)those who look through ^[o]windows grow dark; ⁴ and the doors on the street are shut as the ^(AQ)sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the ^(AR)daughters of song will ^[p]sing softly. ⁵ Furthermore, ^[q]men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blooms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal ^(AS)home, but the ^(AT)mourners go about in the street. ⁶ Remember Him before the silver ^[r]cord is ^[s]snapped and the ^(AU)golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is broken and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; ⁷ then the ^(AV)dust will return to the earth as it was, and the ^[t](AW)spirit will return to ^(AX)God who gave it. ⁸ “^(AY)Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

⁹ In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and ^[u]arranged ^(AZ)many proverbs. ¹⁰ The Preacher sought to find ^(BA)delightful words and ^(BB)words of truth written uprightly.

¹¹ The ^(BC)words of wise men are like ^(BD)goads, and masters of these collections are like ^[v]well-driven ^(BE)nails; they are given by one Shepherd. ¹² But in addition to this, my son, be warned: the making of ^(BF)many books is endless, and much ^(BG)devotion to books is wearying to the flesh.

¹³ The end of the matter, all that has been heard: ^(BH)fear God and ^(BI)keep His commandments, because this is the end of the matter for ^(BJ)all mankind. ¹⁴ For ^(BK)God will bring every work to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Greetings and Grace

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle—^(B)not sent from men nor through man, but ^(C)through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who ^(D)raised Him from the dead— ² and all ^(E)the brothers who are with me,

To ^(F)the churches of Galatia:

^3 (G)Grace to you and peace from ^[a]God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who ^(H)gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from ^(I)this present evil ^[b]age, according to the will of ^(J)our God and Father, ^5 (K)to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Distorting the Gospel

⁶ I marvel that you are so quickly deserting ^(L)Him who called you ^[c]by the grace of Christ for a ^(M)different gospel, ⁷ which is really not another, only there are some who are ^(N)disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we, or ^(O)an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel ^[d]contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be ^[e](P)accursed! ⁹ As we ^(Q)have said before, so I say again now, ^(R)if any man is proclaiming to you a gospel ^[f]contrary to what you received, let him be ^[g](S)accursed!

¹⁰ For am I now ^(T)seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a ^(U)slave of Christ.

Paul Called by God

¹¹ For ^(V)I make known to you, brothers, that the gospel which I am proclaiming as good news is ^(W)not according to man. ¹² For ^(X)I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a ^(Y)revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For you have heard of ^(Z)my former conduct in Judaism, how I ^(AA)used to persecute ^(AB)the church of God beyond measure and ^(AC)tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ And I ^(AD)was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being far more zealous for the traditions of my ^(AE)fathers. ¹⁵ But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and ^(AF)called me through His grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me so that I might ^(AG)proclaim Him as good news among the Gentiles, ^(AH)I did not immediately consult with ^[h](AI)flesh and blood, ^17 (AJ)nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to ^(AK)Damascus.

¹⁸ Then ^(AL)three years later I went up ^(AM)to Jerusalem to ^[i]become acquainted with ^(AN)Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I did not see any other of the apostles except ^[j](AO)James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ (Now in what I am writing to you, ^[k]I assure you ^(AP)before God that I am not lying!) ²¹ Then ^(AQ)I went into the regions of ^(AR)Syria and ^(AS)Cilicia. ²² And I was still unknown by ^[l]sight to ^(AT)the churches of Judea which are ^(AU)in Christ; ²³ but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of ^(AV)the faith which he once ^(AW)tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they ^(AX)were glorifying God ^[m]because of me.