Old/New Testament
Chapter 10
1 Dead flies corrupt and spoil the perfumer’s oil;
more weighty than wisdom or wealth is a little folly![a]
2 The wise heart turns to the right;
the foolish heart to the left.[b]
3 Even when walking in the street the fool, lacking understanding, calls everyone a fool.[c]
4 Should the anger of a ruler burst upon you, do not yield your place; for calmness[d] abates great offenses.
5 I have seen under the sun another evil, like a mistake that proceeds from a tyrant: 6 a fool put in high position, while the great and the rich sit in lowly places. 7 I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes[e] went on foot like slaves.
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it,(A)
and whoever breaks through a wall, a snake may bite.
9 Whoever quarries stones may be hurt by them,
and whoever chops wood[f] is in danger from it.
10 If the ax becomes dull, and the blade is not sharpened, then effort must be increased. But the advantage of wisdom is success.
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed,
then there is no advantage in a charmer.[g]
12 Words from the mouth of the wise win favor,
but the lips of fools consume them.
13 (B)The beginning of their words is folly,
and the end of their talk is utter madness;
14 yet fools multiply words.
No one knows what is to come,
for who can tell anyone what will be?(C)
15 The toil of fools wearies them,
so they do not know even the way to town.
No One Knows What Evil Will Come
16 Woe to you, O land, whose king is a youth,[h]
and whose princes feast in the morning!
17 Happy are you, O land, whose king is of noble birth,
and whose princes dine at the right time—
for vigor[i] and not in drinking bouts.
18 Because of laziness, the rafters sag;
when hands are slack, the house leaks.
19 A feast is made for merriment
and wine gives joy to the living,
but money answers[j] for everything.
20 Even in your thoughts do not curse the king,
nor in the privacy of your bedroom curse the rich;
For the birds of the air may carry your voice,
a winged creature[k] may tell what you say.
Chapter 11
1 [l]Send forth your bread upon the face of the waters;
after a long time you may find it again.
2 Make seven, or even eight portions;
you know not what misfortune may come upon the earth.
No One Knows What Good Will Come
3 [m]When the clouds are full,
they pour out rain upon the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
wherever it falls, there shall it lie.
4 One who pays heed to the wind will never sow,
and one who watches the clouds will never reap.
5 Just as you do not know how the life breath
enters the human frame in the mother’s womb,
So you do not know the work of God,
who is working in everything.(D)
6 In the morning sow your seed,
and at evening do not let your hand be idle:
For you do not know which of the two will be successful,
or whether both alike will turn out well.
Poem on Youth and Old Age. 7 [n]Light is sweet! and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. 8 However many years mortals may live, let them, as they enjoy them all, remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that is to come is vanity.
9 Rejoice, O youth, while you are young
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart,
the vision of your eyes;
Yet understand regarding all this
that God will bring you to judgment.
10 Banish misery from your heart
and remove pain from your body,
for youth and black hair are fleeting.[o]
Chapter 12
1 [p]Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the evil days come
And the years approach of which you will say,
“I have no pleasure in them”;
2 Before the sun is darkened
and the light and the moon and the stars
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 [q]When the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men are bent;
When the women who grind are idle because they are few,
and those who look through the windows grow blind;
4 When the doors to the street are shut,
and the sound of the mill is low;
When one rises at the call of a bird,
and all the daughters of song are quiet;
5 When one is afraid of heights,
and perils in the street;
When the almond tree blooms,
and the locust grows sluggish
and the caper berry is without effect,
Because mortals go to their lasting home,
and mourners go about the streets;
6 [r]Before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden bowl is broken,
And the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the pulley is broken at the well,
7 And the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the life breath returns to God who gave it.[s](E)
8 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
all things are vanity!(F)
Epilogue. 9 [t]Besides being wise, Qoheleth taught the people knowledge, and weighed, scrutinized and arranged many proverbs. 10 Qoheleth sought to find appropriate sayings, and to write down true sayings with precision. 11 The sayings of the wise are like goads; like fixed spikes are the collected sayings given by one shepherd.[u] 12 (G)As to more than these,[v] my son, beware. Of the making of many books there is no end, and in much study there is weariness for the flesh.
13 [w](H)The last word, when all is heard: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this concerns all humankind; 14 (I)because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad.
I. Address
Chapter 1
Greeting.[a] 1 (A)Paul, an apostle[b] not from human beings nor through a human being but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead,(B) 2 [c]and all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: 3 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 [d]who gave himself for our sins that he might rescue us from the present evil age in accord with the will of our God and Father,(C) 5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.(D)
II. Loyalty to the Gospel[e]
6 (E)I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you[f] by [the] grace [of Christ] for a different gospel 7 (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 (F)But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach [to you] a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed![g] 9 As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed!
10 (G)Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.[h]
III. Paul’s Defense of His Gospel and His Authority[i]
His Call by Christ. 11 (H)Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.[j]
13 [k]For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it,(I) 14 and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions.(J) 15 But when [God], who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased(K) 16 to reveal his Son to me,(L) so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood,[l] 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; rather, I went into Arabia[m] and then returned to Damascus.
18 [n]Then after three years[o] I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days.(M) 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles,(N) only James the brother of the Lord.[p] 20 (As to what I am writing to you, behold, before God, I am not lying.)(O) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.(P) 22 And I was unknown personally to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; 23 they only kept hearing that “the one who once was persecuting us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”(Q) 24 So they glorified God because of me.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.