Old/New Testament
Wisdom and Folly Contrasted
7 Better is a (A)good name than good oil,
And better is the (B)day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.
2 Better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting
Because [a]that is the (C)end of all mankind,
And the living (D)puts this in his heart.
3 (E)Better is vexation than laughter,
For (F)when a face is sad a heart may be merry.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.
5 Better to (G)listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling sound of (H)thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the (I)laughter of the fool;
And this too is vanity.
7 For (J)oppression gives a wise man over to madness,
And a (K)bribe [b]destroys the heart.
8 Better is the (L)end of a matter than its beginning;
(M)Better is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit.
9 Do not be [c](N)eager in your spirit to be vexed,
For vexation rests in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good
And an (O)advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For (P)wisdom is a (Q)shadow of protection as money is a shadow of protection,
And the advantage of knowledge is that (R)wisdom preserves the lives of its masters.
13 See the (S)work of God,
For who is (T)able to straighten what He has bent?
14 (U)In the day when there is good be of good cheer,
But (V)in the day when there is evil see—
God has made the one as well as the other
So that man will (W)not find out anything that will be after him.
15 I have seen everything during my (X)days of vanity; there is (Y)a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is (Z)a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Do not be excessively (AA)righteous, and do not (AB)be overly wise. Why should you make yourself desolate? 17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a simpleminded fool. Why should you (AC)die before your time? 18 It is good that you seize one thing and also not [d]let go of the other; for the one who (AD)fears God comes forth with [e]both of them.
19 (AE)Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten men with power who are in a city. 20 Indeed, (AF)there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. 21 Also, do not give your heart to all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your slave (AG)cursing you. 22 For your heart also knows that you likewise have many times cursed others.
23 I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” (AH)but it was far from me. 24 What has been is far away and (AI)exceedingly deep. (AJ)Who can find it? 25 I (AK)turned my heart to know, to explore, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the wickedness of foolishness and the simpleminded folly of madness. 26 And I found more (AL)bitter than death the woman whose heart is (AM)snares and nets, whose hands are chains. (AN)One who is good before God will escape from her, but (AO)the sinner will be captured by her.
27 “See, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28 which my soul still seeks but has not found. I have found one man out of a thousand, but I have not found a (AP)woman among all these. 29 See, I have found only this, that (AQ)God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”
Keep the Command of the King
8 Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom (AR)illumines his face and causes his (AS)stern face to [f]beam.
2 I say, “Keep the [g]command of the king because of the (AT)sworn oath [h]before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry (AU)to go from his presence. Do not stand in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.” 4 Since the word of the king is powerful, (AV)who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 He who (AW)keeps a royal command (AX)experiences no evil thing, for a wise heart knows the proper time and custom. 6 For (AY)there is a proper time and custom for every [i]matter, though a man’s trouble is multiplied upon him. 7 If no one (AZ)knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen? 8 (BA)There is no man who has power to restrain the wind with the wind, and there is none who has power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and (BB)wickedness will not provide escape to its masters. 9 All this I have seen and given my heart to every work that has been done under the sun wherein a man has (BC)power over another man to his calamity.
10 So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are (BD)soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is vanity. 11 Because the (BE)sentence against an evil work is not executed quickly, therefore (BF)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 (BG)prolong his life, still I know that it will be (BH)well for those who fear God, who fear [j]Him openly. 13 But it will (BI)not be well for the wicked man, and he will not prolong his days like a (BJ)shadow, because he does not fear [k]God openly.
14 There is vanity which is done on the earth, that is, there are (BK)righteous men to whom it [l]happens according to the works of the wicked. On the other hand, there are (BL)wicked men to whom it [m]happens according to the works of the righteous. I say that this too is vanity. 15 So I laud gladness, for there is nothing good for (BM)a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to [n]be merry, and this will join with him in his labor throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
16 When I (BN)gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the endeavor which has been done on the earth (even though one (BO)never sees sleep with his eyes day or night), 17 and I saw every work of God, I concluded that (BP)man cannot find out the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not find it out; and (BQ)though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot find it out.
Mankind Is in the Hand of God
9 For I have given all this to my heart and explain [o]it that righteous men, wise men, and their service are (BR)in the hand of God. (BS)Man does not know whether it will be (BT)love or hatred; anything may be before him.
2 (BU)It is the same for all. There is (BV)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 [p]is afraid to swear. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is (BW)one fate for all. Furthermore, (BX)the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and (BY)madness is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. 4 For whoever is joined with all the living, there is confidence; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know they will die; but the dead (BZ)do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for the (CA)memory of them is forgotten. 6 Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will never again have a (CB)portion in all that is done under the sun.
7 Go then, (CC)eat your bread in gladness and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. 8 Let your (CD)clothes be white all the time, and let not (CE)oil be lacking on your head. 9 See life with the woman whom you love all the days of your (CF)vain life, which He has given to you under the sun—all the days of your (CG)vanity; for this is your (CH)portion in life and in your labor in which you have labored under the sun.
Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, (CI)do it with all your might; for there is no (CJ)working or explaining or knowledge or wisdom in (CK)Sheol where you are going.
11 I again saw under the sun that the (CL)race is not to the swift and the (CM)battle is not to the mighty, and neither is bread to the wise nor (CN)riches to the discerning nor favor to men who know; for time and (CO)misfortune overtake them all. 12 Moreover, man does not (CP)know his time: like fish seized in an evil net and (CQ)birds seized in a trap, so the sons of men are (CR)ensnared at an evil time when it (CS)suddenly falls on them.
13 Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and [q]it was great to me. 14 There (CT)was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and built large siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it a (CU)poor wise man, and he provided a way of escape for the city (CV)by his wisdom. Yet (CW)no one remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, “(CX)Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard. 17 The (CY)words of the wise heard in restfulness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 (CZ)Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but (DA)one sinner destroys much good.
Examine Yourselves
13 (A)This is the third time I am coming to you. (B)By the mouth of two or three witnesses every [a]matter shall be confirmed. 2 I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have (C)sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that (D)if I come again I will not (E)spare anyone, 3 since you are (F)seeking proof that (G)Christ speaks in me; He is not weak toward you, but (H)mighty in you. 4 For indeed He was (I)crucified because of weakness, yet He lives (J)because of the power of God. For we also are (K)weak [b]in Him, yet (L)we will live with Him because of the power of God toward you.
5 (M)Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; (N)examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you [c](O)fail the test? 6 But I hope that you will realize that we ourselves [d]do not fail the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you do no wrong, not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may [e]appear unapproved. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we rejoice when we ourselves are (P)weak but you are strong. This we also pray for, [f]that you be (Q)restored. 10 For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present (R)I need not use (S)severity, in accordance with the (T)authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.
11 (U)Finally, brothers, [g]rejoice, [h](V)be restored, be comforted, (W)be like-minded, (X)live in peace, and (Y)the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 (Z)Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 (AA)All the [i]saints greet you.
14 (AB)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the (AC)love of God, and the (AD)fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
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