Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

¹⁵ I have seen everything during my ^[k](W)lifetime of futility; there is ^(X)a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is ^(Y)a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. ¹⁶ Do not be excessively ^(Z)righteous and do not ^(AA)be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? ¹⁷ Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you ^(AB)die before your time? ¹⁸ It is good that you grasp one thing and also not ^[l]let go of the other; for the one who ^(AC)fears God comes forth with ^[m]both of them.

^19 (AD)Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. ²⁰ Indeed, ^(AE)there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. ²¹ Also, do not ^[n]take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant ^(AF)cursing you. ²² For ^[o]you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.

²³ I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” ^(AG)but it was far from me. ²⁴ What has been is remote and ^(AH)exceedingly ^[p]mysterious. ^(AI)Who can discover it? ²⁵ I ^[q](AJ)directed my ^[r]mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. ²⁶ And I discovered more ^(AK)bitter than death the woman whose heart is ^(AL)snares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^(AM)One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but ^(AN)the sinner will be captured by her.

²⁷ “Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, ²⁸ which ^[s]I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a ^(AO)woman among all these. ²⁹ Behold, I have found only this, that ^(AP)God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”

Obey Rulers

8 Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom ^(AQ)illumines ^[t]him and causes his ^(AR)stern face to ^[u]beam.

² I say, “Keep the ^[v]command of the king because of the ^(AS)oath ^[w]before God. ³ Do not be in a hurry ^[x](AT)to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.” ⁴ Since the word of the king is authoritative, ^(AU)who will say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵ He who ^(AV)keeps a royal command ^(AW)experiences no ^[y]trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. ⁶ For ^(AX)there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man’s trouble is heavy upon him. ⁷ If no one ^(AY)knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen? ^8 (AZ)No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and ^(BA)evil will not deliver ^[z]those who practice it. ⁹ All this I have seen and applied my ^[aa]mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised ^(BB)authority over another man to his hurt.

¹⁰ So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are ^(BC)soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility. ¹¹ Because the ^(BD)sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore ^(BE)the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. ¹² Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may ^(BF)lengthen his life, still I know that it will be ^(BG)well for those who fear God, who fear ^[ab]Him openly. ¹³ But it will ^(BH)not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a ^(BI)shadow, because he does not fear God.

¹⁴ There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are ^(BJ)righteous men to whom it ^[ac]happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are ^(BK)evil men to whom it ^[ad]happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. ¹⁵ So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for ^(BL)a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his ^[ae]toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶ When I ^(BM)gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should ^[af](BN)never sleep day or night), ¹⁷ and I saw every work of God, I concluded that ^(BO)man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and ^(BP)though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover.

Men Are in the Hand of God

9 For I have taken all this to my heart and explain ^[ag]it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are ^(BQ)in the hand of God. ^(BR)Man does not know whether it will be ^(BS)love or hatred; anything ^[ah]awaits him.

^2 (BT)It is the same for all. There is ^(BU)one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who ^[ai]is afraid to swear. ³ This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is ^(BV)one fate for all men. Furthermore, ^(BW)the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and ^(BX)insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. ⁴ For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵ For the living know they will die; but the dead ^(BY)do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their ^(BZ)memory is forgotten. ⁶ Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a ^(CA)share in all that is done under the sun.

⁷ Go then, ^(CB)eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. ⁸ Let your ^(CC)clothes be white all the time, and let not ^(CD)oil be lacking on your head. ⁹ Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your ^[aj](CE)fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun^[ak]; for this is your ^(CF)reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, ^(CG)do it with all your might; for there is no ^(CH)activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in ^(CI)Sheol where you are going.

¹¹ I again saw under the sun that the ^(CJ)race is not to the swift and the ^(CK)battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor ^(CL)wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and ^(CM)chance overtake them all. ¹² Moreover, man does not ^(CN)know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and ^(CO)birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ^(CP)ensnared at an evil time when it ^(CQ)suddenly falls on them.

¹³ Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and ^[al]it impressed me. ¹⁴ There ^(CR)was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it. ¹⁵ But there was found in it a ^(CS)poor wise man and he ^[am]delivered the city ^(CT)by his wisdom. Yet ^(CU)no one remembered that poor man. ¹⁶ So I said, “^(CV)Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded. ¹⁷ The ^(CW)words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. ^18 (CX)Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but ^(CY)one sinner destroys much good.

A Little Foolishness

10 Dead flies make a ^(CZ)perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor. ² A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish ^(DA)man’s heart directs him toward the left. ³ Even when the fool walks along the road, his ^[an]sense is lacking and he ^[ao](DB)demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. ⁴ If the ruler’s ^[ap]temper rises against you, ^(DC)do not abandon your position, because ^(DD)composure allays great offenses.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler— ^6 (DE)folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. ⁷ I have seen ^(DF)slaves riding ^(DG)on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

^8 (DH)He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a ^(DI)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 ^[aq]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must ^[ar]exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. ¹¹ If the serpent bites ^[as](DJ)before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer. ^12 (DK)Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a ^(DL)fool consume him; ¹³ the beginning of ^[at]his talking is folly and the end of ^[au]it is wicked ^(DM)madness. ¹⁴ Yet the ^(DN)fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him ^(DO)what will come after him? ¹⁵ The toil of ^[av]a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city. ¹⁶ Woe to you, O land, whose ^(DP)king is a lad and whose princes ^[aw]feast in the morning. ¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for ^(DQ)drunkenness. ¹⁸ Through ^(DR)indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks. ¹⁹ Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and ^(DS)wine makes life merry, and ^(DT)money ^[ax]is the answer to everything. ²⁰ Furthermore, ^(DU)in your bedchamber do not ^(DV)curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

11 ^(A)Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you ^(B)will find it ^[a]after many days. ^2 (C)Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what ^(D)misfortune may occur on the earth. ³ If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it ^[b]lies. ⁴ He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. ⁵ Just as you do not ^(E)know ^[c]the path of the wind and ^(F)how bones are formed in the womb of the ^[d]pregnant woman, so you do not ^(G)know the activity of God who makes all things.

⁶ Sow your seed ^(H)in the morning and do not ^[e]be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether ^[f]morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.