An angry man stirreth up contention, And a furious man is multiplying transgression.

A man's pride shall bring him low; But he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honor.

Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Many seek the ruler's face; but a man's right judgment is from Jehovah.

An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.

A discourse by the faithful collector. This is what this valiant man declared to the God with me, to the God with me, who then prevailed:

Surely I am more brutish and stupid than any man,
And I do not have the understanding of a man [for I do not know what I do not know].

Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Put thou nothing therefore unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found as a liar.

Remove far from me falsehood and lies; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is needful for me:

Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.

There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.

There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:

The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

As for the eye that ridicules a father
and despises obedience to a mother,
may ravens of the valley pluck it out
and young vultures eat it.

There be three things too high for me, and as for the fourth, it passeth my knowledge.

Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

A king there is not to the locust, And it goeth out -- each one shouting,

The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.

There are three things whose steps are good to see, even four whose goings are fair:

A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;

A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.

For as the churning of milk brings forth butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood; so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife."

Do not give your strength to women, or your ways to that which is the destruction of kings.

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted.

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.

Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.

With thy mouth defend the thing that is lawful and right, and the cause of the poor and helpless.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her; as a result, he lacks nothing of value.

She comforts, encourages, and does him only good and not evil
All the days of her life.

She obtains wool and flax, and she is pleased to work with her hands.

She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

Her hands are stretched out to the poor; yes, she is open-handed to those who are in need.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure;
And she smiles at the future [knowing that she and her family are prepared].

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

She is watching the ways of her household, And bread of sloth she eateth not.

Her children stand up and encourage her, as does her husband, who praises her:

“Many daughters have done nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness],
But you excel them all.”

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

What advantage is to man by all his labour that he laboureth at under the sun?

A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth to the age is standing.

Also, the sun hath risen, and the sun hath gone in, and unto its place panting it is rising there.

Going unto the south, and turning round unto the north, turning round, turning round, the wind is going, and by its circuits the wind hath returned.

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

Spake, I, in my heart, saying, As for me, lo! I have become great, and have gathered wisdom, beyond any one who hath been before me over Jerusalem, - and, my heart, hath seen much wisdom and knowledge:

And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.

For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.

I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

I have sought in my heart to draw out with wine my appetite, (and my heart leading in wisdom), and to take hold on folly till that I see where is this -- the good to the sons of man of that which they do under the heavens, the number of the days of their lives.

I acquired male slaves and female slaves, as well as children [born in my] house. I also had livestock, cattle, and flocks more than anyone who [was] before me in Jerusalem.

I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.

So I became great, greater than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. Throughout all of this, I remained wise.

and I have looked on all my works that my hands have done, and on the labour that I have laboured to do, and lo, the whole is vanity and vexation of spirit, and there is no advantage under the sun!

And I turned to see wisdom, and madness, and folly, but what is the man who cometh after the king? that which is already -- they have done it!

Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.

The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.

Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.

Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

And I have hated all my labour that I labour at under the sun, because I leave it to a man who is after me.

And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

So I turned me to refrain my mind from all such travail, as I took under the Sun:

For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

For who could eat and who could enjoy, so well as I?

For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

a time to search and a time to count as lost;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;

What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?

For as touching the travail and carefulness which God hath given unto men, I see that he hath given it them, to be exercised in it.

He has made everything right in its time; but he has made their hearts without knowledge, so that man is unable to see the works of God, from the first to the last.

I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.