Old/New Testament
A Collection of Wise Teachings
7 A good reputation is better than expensive pleasures.[a]
The day someone dies is better than the day they were born.
2 It is better to go to a funeral than to a party,
because everyone must die,
and the living need to remember this.
3 Sorrow is even better than laughter,
because when our face is sad, our heart becomes good.
4 A wise person thinks about death,
but a fool thinks only about having a good time.
5 It is better to be criticized by the wise
than praised by the foolish.
6 The laughter of fools is such a waste.
It is like thorns burning under a pot.
The thorns burn so quickly
that the pot does not get hot.[b]
7 Even the wise will forget their wisdom,
if someone pays them enough.
That money destroys their understanding.
8 It is better to finish something
than to start it.
It is better to be gentle and patient
than to be proud and impatient.
9 Don’t become angry quickly,
because anger is foolish.
10 Don’t say, “Life was better in the ‘good old days.’
What happened?”
Wisdom does not lead us to ask that question.
11 Wisdom is better if you also have property. Wise people[c] will get more than enough wealth. 12 Wisdom and money can protect you. But knowledge gained through wisdom is even better—it can save your life.
13 Look at what God has made. 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 that God gives us good times and hard times. And no one knows what will happen in the future.
People Cannot Really Be Good
15 In my short life, I have seen everything. I have seen good people die young, and I have seen evil people live long lives. 16-17 So why ruin your life? Don’t be too good or too bad, and don’t be too wise or too foolish. Why should you die before your time?
18 Try to be a little of this and a little of that.[d] Even God’s followers will do some good things and some bad things. 19-20 Surely there is no one on earth who always does good and never sins. But wisdom can make one person stronger than ten leaders in a city.
21 Don’t listen to everything people say. You might hear your own servant saying bad things about you. 22 And you know that many times you too have said bad things about other people.
23 I used my wisdom and thought about all these things. I wanted to be wise, but I couldn’t do it. 24 I cannot understand why things are as they are. It is too hard for anyone to understand. 25 I studied and I tried very hard to find true wisdom. I tried to find a reason for everything.
I did learn that it is foolish to be evil, and it is crazy to act like a fool. 26 I also found that some women are dangerous like traps. Their hearts are like nets, and their arms are like chains. It is worse than death to be caught by these women. God’s followers should run away from them. Let the sinners be caught by them.
27-28 The Teacher says, “I added all this together to see what answer I could find. I am still looking for answers, but I did find this: I found one good man in a thousand. But I did not find even one good woman.
29 “There is one other thing I have learned. God made people good, but they have found many ways to be bad.”
Wisdom and Power
8 No one can understand and explain things the way wise people can. Their wisdom makes them happy. It changes a sad face into a happy one.
2 I say you should always obey the king’s command. Do this because you made a promise to God. 3 Don’t be afraid to give suggestions to the king, and don’t support something that is wrong. But remember, the king gives the commands that please him. 4 He has the authority to give commands, and no one can tell him what to do. 5 People will be safe if they obey his command. But wise people know the right time to do this, and they also know when to do the right thing.
6 There is a right time and a right way to do everything. You must decide what you should do, even when it might cause problems 7 and you are not sure what will happen. No one can tell you what will happen in the future.
8 No one has the power to keep their spirit from leaving or to stop their death. During war, no soldier has the freedom to go wherever he wants. In the same way evil does not allow anyone who does wrong to go free.
9 I saw all this. I thought very hard about the things that happen in this world. I saw that people always struggle for the power to rule others, and this is bad for them.
10 I also saw great and beautiful funerals for evil people. While the people were going home after the funeral services, they said good things about the evil people who had died. This happened even in the same towns where the evil people had done many bad things. This is senseless.
Justice, Rewards, and Punishment
11 Sometimes people are not immediately punished for the bad things they do. Their punishment is slow to come, and that makes other people want to do bad things too.
12 A sinner might do a hundred evil things and still live a long time. But I know that it is still better to obey and respect God. 13 Evil people don’t respect God, so they will not get good things or live long lives. Their lives will not be like the shadows that become longer and longer as the sun goes down.
14 There is something else that happens on earth that does not seem fair. Bad things should happen to bad people, and good things should happen to good people. But sometimes bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. This is not fair. 15 So I decided it was more important to enjoy life because the best thing people can do in this life[e] is to eat, drink, and enjoy life. At least that will help people enjoy the hard work God gave them to do during their life on earth.
We Cannot Understand All God Does
16 I carefully studied the things people do in this life. I saw how busy people are. They work day and night, and they almost never sleep. 17 I also saw that no one can understand all that God does. People can try and try to understand the things that happen here on earth, but they cannot. There may be wise people who claim to understand the meaning of these things, but they are wrong. No one can understand it all.
Is Death Fair?
9 I thought about all this very carefully. I saw that God controls what happens to the good and wise people and what they do. People don’t know if they will be loved or hated, and they don’t know what will happen in the future.
2 But, there is one thing that happens to everyone—we all die! Death comes to good people and bad people. Death comes to those who are pure and to those who are not pure. Death comes to those who give sacrifices and to those who don’t give sacrifices. Good people will die just as sinners do. Those who make promises to God will die just as those who are afraid to make those promises.
3 Of all the things that happen in this life, the worst thing is that all people end life the same way. But it is also very bad that people always think evil and foolish thoughts. And those thoughts lead to death. 4 There is hope for those who are still alive—it does not matter who they are. But this saying is true:
A living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 The living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. They have no more reward. People will soon forget them. 6 After people are dead, their love, hate, and jealousy are all gone. And they will never again share in what happens on earth.
Enjoy Life While You Can
7 So go and eat your food now and enjoy it. Drink your wine and be happy. It is all right with God if you do these things. 8 Wear nice clothes and make yourself look good. 9 Enjoy life with the wife you love. Enjoy every day of your short life. God has given you this short life on earth—and it is all you have. So enjoy the work you have to do in this life. 10 Every time you find work to do, do it the best you can. In the grave there is no work. There is no thinking, no knowledge, and there is no wisdom. And we are all going to the place of death.
Life Is Not Fair
11 I also saw other things in this life that were not fair. The fastest runner does not always win the race; the strongest soldier does not always win the battle; wise people don’t always get the food; smart people don’t always get the wealth; educated people don’t always get the praise they deserve. When the time comes, bad things can happen to anyone!
12 You never know when hard times will come. Like fish in a net or birds in a snare, people are often trapped by some disaster that suddenly falls on them.
The Power of Wisdom
13 I also saw a person doing a wise thing in this life, and it seemed very important to me. 14 There was a small town with a few people in it. A great king fought against that town and put his armies all around it. 15 But there was a wise man in that town. He was poor, but he used his wisdom to save his town. After everything was finished, the people forgot about the poor man. 16 But I still say that wisdom is better than strength. They forgot about the poor man’s wisdom, and the people stopped listening to what he said. But I still believe that wisdom is better.
17 Words spoken by the wise are heard more clearly
than those shouted by a leader among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one fool[f] can destroy much good.
Final Warnings and Greetings
13 This will be my third time to visit you. And remember, “For every complaint there must be two or three people to say that they know it is true.”[a] 2 When I was with you the second time, I gave a warning to those who had sinned. I am not there now, but I am giving another warning to them and to anyone else who has sinned: When I come to you again, I will punish you. 3 You want proof that Christ is speaking through me. My proof is that he is not weak in dealing with you but is showing his power among you. 4 It is true that Christ was weak when he was killed on the cross, but he lives now by God’s power. It is also true that we share his weakness, but in dealing with you, we will be alive in him by God’s power.
5 Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith. Don’t you realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Of course, if you fail the test, he is not in you. 6 But I hope you will see that we have not failed the test. 7 We pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Our concern here is not for people to see that we have passed the test in our work with you. Our main concern is that you do what is right, even if it looks as if we have failed the test. 8 We cannot do anything that is against the truth but only what promotes the truth. 9 We are happy to be weak if you are strong. And this is what we pray—that your lives will be made completely right again. 10 I’m writing this before I come so that when I am there I will not have to use my authority to punish you. The Lord gave me that authority to make you stronger, not to destroy you.
11 Now, brothers and sisters, be filled with joy. Try to make everything right, and do what I have asked you to do. Agree with each other, and live in peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Give each other the special greeting of God’s people.[b] All of God’s holy people here send you their greetings.
13 I pray that you will enjoy the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship[c] of the Holy Spirit.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International