Day 249 of 365

¹A good name is better than fine perfume; and the day of death better than the day of one's birth.

²It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men, and the living should take this to heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made good.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

⁵It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

⁶For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.

⁷Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.

⁸Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

⁹Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For you do not ask wisely about this.

¹¹Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. Yes, it is more excellent for those who see the sun.

¹²For wisdom is a defense, even as money is a defense; but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

¹³Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight, which he has made crooked?

¹⁴In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything after him.

¹⁵All this have I seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in his evildoing.

¹⁶Do not be overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

¹⁷Do not be too wicked, neither be foolish. Why should you die before your time?

¹⁸It is good that you should take hold of this. Yes, also from that do not withdraw your hand; for he who fears God will come forth from them all.

¹⁹Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

²⁰Surely there is not a righteous man on earth, who does good and doesn't sin.

²¹Also do not take heed to all words that are spoken, lest you hear your servant curse you;

²²for often your own heart knows that you yourself have likewise cursed others.

²³All this have I proved in wisdom. I said, "I will be wise;" but it was far from me.

²⁴That which is, is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it out?

²⁵I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.

²⁷Behold, this have I found, says the Preacher, one to another, to find out the scheme;

²⁸which my soul still seeks; but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

²⁹Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they search for many schemes.

¹Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.

²I say, "Keep the king's command!" because of the oath to God.

³Do not be hasty to go out of his presence. Do not persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,

⁴for the king's word is supreme. Who can say to him, "What are you doing?"

⁵Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure.

⁶For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.

⁷For he doesn't know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?

⁸There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.

⁹All this have I seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.

¹⁰So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.

¹¹Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

¹²Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.

¹³But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow; because he doesn't fear God.

¹⁴There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

¹⁵Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (for also there is that neither day nor night sees sleep with his eyes),

¹⁷then I saw all the work of God, that man can't find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won't find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won't be able to find it.

¹For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hatred, man doesn't know it; all is before them.

²All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, to the clean, to the unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who doesn't sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath, as he who fears an oath.

³This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

⁴For to him who is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything, neither do they have any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Also their love, their hatred, and their envy has perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.

⁷Go your way-eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.

⁸Let your garments be always white, and do not let your head lack oil.

⁹Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun.

¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.

¹¹I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.

¹²For man also doesn't know his time. As the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.

¹³I have also seen wisdom under the sun in this way, and it seemed great to me.

¹⁴There was a little city, and few men within it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great siege works against it.

¹⁵Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.

¹⁶Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

¹⁷The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.

¹The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned among the cherubim. Let the earth be moved.

²The Lord is great in Zion. He is high above all the peoples.

³Let them praise your great and awesome name. He is Holy!

⁴The King's strength also loves justice. You do establish equity. You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob.

⁵Exalt the Lord our God. Worship at his footstool. He is Holy!

⁶Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel among those who call on his name; they called on the Lord, and he answered them.

⁷He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud. They kept his testimonies, the statute that he gave them.

⁸You answered them, Lord our God. You are a God who forgave them, although you took vengeance for their doings.

⁹Exalt the Lord, our God. Worship at his holy hill, for the Lord, our God, is holy!

¹The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel:

²to know wisdom and instruction; to discern the words of understanding;

³to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;

⁴to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young man:

⁵that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel:

⁶to understand a proverb, and parables, the words and riddles of the wise.

⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸My son, listen to your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching:

⁹for they will be a garland to grace your head, and chains around your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.

¹¹If they say, "Come with us, Let's lie in wait for blood; let's lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

¹²let's swallow them up alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down into the pit.

¹³We'll find all valuable wealth. We'll fill our houses with spoil.

¹⁴You shall cast your lot among us. We'll all have one purse."

¹⁵My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your foot from their path,

¹⁶for their feet run to evil. They hurry to shed blood.

¹⁷For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird:

¹⁸but these lie in wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.

²⁰Wisdom calls aloud in the street. She utters her voice in the public squares.

²¹She calls at the head of noisy places. At the entrance of the city gates, she utters her words:

²²"How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge?

²³Turn at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make known my words to you.

²⁴Because I have called, and you have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one has paid attention;

²⁵but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof;

²⁶I also will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes you;

²⁷when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when your disaster comes on like a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come on you.

²⁸Then will they call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me;

²⁹because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.

³⁰They wanted none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof.

³¹Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes.

³²For the backsliding of the simple will kill them. The careless ease of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell securely, and will be at ease, without fear of harm."