Old/New Testament
On the Abuse of Authority
4 Next I turned to consider all kinds of oppression that exists on earth.
Look at the tears of the oppressed—
there is no one to comfort them.
Power is on the side of their oppressors;
so they have no comforters.
2 So I commended the dead who had already died as being happier than the living who are still alive. 3 Better than both of them is someone who has not yet been born,[a] because he hasn’t experienced evil on earth. 4 Then I examined all sorts of work, including all kinds of excellent achievements that create envy in others.[b] This also is pointless and chasing after the wind. 5 The fool crosses his arms[c] and starves himself.[d] 6 It’s better to have one handful of tranquility than to have two handfuls of trouble and to chase after the wind.
On Aloneness and Companionship
7 Then I turned to re-examine something else that is pointless on earth: 8 Consider someone who is alone, having neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his work, and he is[e] never satisfied with wealth. “So for whom do I work,” he asks,[f] “and deprive myself of pleasure?” This, too, is pointless and a terrible tragedy.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. 10 If they stumble, the first will lift up his friend—but woe to anyone who is alone when he falls and there is no one to help him get up. 11 Again, if two lie close together, they will keep warm, but how can only one stay warm? 12 If someone attacks one of them, the two of them together will resist. Furthermore, the tri-braided cord is not soon broken.
There’s No Fool Like an Old Fool
13 A poor but wise youth is better
than an old but foolish king
who will no longer accept correction.
14 The former can come out of prison to reign,
while the latter, even if born to[g] kingship, may become poor.
15 I observed everyone who lives and walks on earth, along with the youth[h] who will take the king’s[i] place. 16 There was no end to all of his subjects[j] or to all of the people who had come before them. But those who come along afterward will not be happy with him. This is also pointless and a chasing after wind.
Advice in Worship
5 [k]Watch your step whenever you visit God’s house, and come more ready to listen than to offer a fool’s sacrifice, since fools[l] never think they’re doing evil.
2 [m]Don’t be impulsive with your mouth
nor be in a hurry to talk in God’s presence.
Since God is in heaven
and you’re on earth,
keep your speech short.
3 Too many worries lead to nightmares,
and a fool is known from talking too much.
Keep Your Promises to God
4 When you make a promise to God, don’t fail to keep it, since he isn’t pleased with fools. Keep what you promise— 5 it’s better that you don’t promise than that you do promise and not follow through.[n] 6 Never let your mouth cause you[o] to sin and don’t proclaim in the presence of the angel,[p] “My promise[q] was a mistake,” for why should God be angry at your excuse[r] and destroy what you’ve undertaken? 7 In spite of many daydreams, pointless actions, and empty words, it is more important to fear God.
The Use and Abuse of Wealth
8 Don’t be surprised when you see the poor oppressed and the violent perverting both justice and verdicts[s] in a province, for one high official watches another, and there are ones higher still over them. 9 Also, the increase of the land belongs to everyone; the king himself is served by his[t] field.
10 Whoever loves money will never have enough money.
Whoever loves luxury will not be content with abundance.
This also is pointless.
11 When possessions increase,
so does the number of consumers;
therefore what good are they to their owners,
except to look at them?
12 Sweet is the sleep of a working man,
whether he eats a little or a lot,
but the excess wealth of the rich
will not allow him to rest.
13 I have observed a painful tragedy on earth:
Wealth hoarded by its owner harms him,
14 and that wealth is lost in troubled circumstances.
Then a son is born,
but there is nothing left for him.[u]
15 Just as he came naked from his mother’s womb,
he will leave[v] as naked as he came;
he will receive no profit from his efforts—
he cannot carry away even a handful.
16 This is also a painful tragedy:
However a person comes, he also departs;
so what does he gain as he labors after the wind?
17 Furthermore, all his days he lives[w] in darkness
with great sorrow, anger, and affliction.
The Use and Abuse of Accomplishment
18 Look! I observed that it is good and prudent to eat, drink, and enjoy all that is good of a person’s[x] work that he does on earth during the limited days of his life, which God gives him, for this is his allotment. 19 Furthermore, for every person to whom God has given wealth, riches, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept this allotment, and to rejoice in his work—this is a gift from God. 20 For he will not brood much over the days of his life, since God will keep him occupied with the joys of his heart.
Enjoyment of Life as a Gift from God
6 There exists another misfortune that I have observed on earth, and it is a heavy burden upon human beings: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, riches, and honor, so that he lacks none of his heart’s desires—but God does not give him the capability to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger consumes them. This is pointless and a grievous affliction.
3 A man might father a hundred children,[y] and live for many years, so that the length of his life[z] is long—but if his life does not overflow with goodness, and he doesn’t receive a proper[aa] burial, I maintain that stillborn children[ab] are better off than he is, 4 because stillborn children[ac] arrive in pointlessness, leave in darkness, and their names are covered in darkness. 5 Furthermore, though they never saw the sun nor learned anything,[ad] they are more content than the other. 6 Even if he lives a thousand years twice over without experiencing the best—aren’t all of them going to the same place?
7 Every person works for his own self-interests,[ae]
but his desires remain unsatisfied.
8 For what advantage has the wise person over the fool?
What advantage does the poor man have
in knowing how to face life?[af]
9 It is better to focus on what you can see
than to meander after your self-interest;
this also is pointless and a chasing after wind.
10 Whatever exists has been named already;[ag]
people know what it means[ah] to be human—
and a person cannot defeat one who is more powerful than he.
11 Because many words lead to pointlessness,
how do people benefit from this?
12 Who knows what is best for people in this life, every day of their pointless lives that they pass through[ai] like a shadow? Who informs people on earth what will come along after them?
Paul’s Thorn
12 I must boast, although it does not do any good. Let’s talk about visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man who belongs to the Messiah.[a] Fourteen years ago—whether in his body or outside of his body, I do not know, but God knows—that man was snatched away to the third heaven. 3 I know that this man—whether in his body or outside of his body, I do not know, but God knows— 4 was snatched away to Paradise and heard things that cannot be expressed in words, things that no human being has a right even to mention.
5 I will boast about this man, but as for myself I will boast only about my weaknesses. 6 However, if I did want to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I am not going to do it in order to keep anyone from thinking more of me than what he sees and hears about me.
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of the exceptional nature of these revelations, a thorn[b] was given to me and placed in my body.[c] It was Satan’s messenger to keep on tormenting me so that I would not become conceited.
8 I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me, 9 but he has told me, “My grace is all you need, because my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most happily boast about my weaknesses, so that the Messiah’s[d] power may rest on me. 10 That is why I take such pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for the Messiah’s[e] sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Concern for the Corinthians
11 I have become a fool. You forced me to be one. Really, I should have been commended by you, for I am not in any way inferior to your “super-apostles,” even if I am nothing. 12 The signs of an apostle were performed among you with utmost patience—signs, wonders, and powerful actions. 13 How were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I did not bother you for help? Forgive me for this wrong! 14 Now I’m ready to visit you for a third time, and I will not bother you for help. I do not want your things, but rather you yourselves. Children should not have to support[f] their parents, but parents their children. 15 I will be very glad to spend my money and myself for you. Do you love me less because I love you so much?
16 Granting that I have not been a burden to you, was I a clever schemer who trapped you by some trick? 17 I did not take advantage of you through any of the men I sent you, did I? 18 I encouraged Titus to visit you, and I sent along with him the brother you know so well. Titus didn’t take advantage of you, did he? We conducted ourselves with the same spirit, didn’t we? We took the very same steps, didn’t we?
19 Have you been thinking all along that we are trying to defend ourselves before you? We are speaking before God in the authority of[g] the Messiah,[h] and everything, dear friends, is meant to build you up. 20 I am afraid that I may come and somehow find you not as I want to find you, and that you may find me not as you want to find me. Perhaps there will be quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly conduct. 21 I am afraid that when I come my God may again humble me before you and that I may have to grieve over many who formerly lived in sin and have not repented of their impurity, sexual immorality, and promiscuity that they once practiced.
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