If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.

When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.

Correct your son, and he will give you comfort;
Yes, he will delight your soul.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Many are seeking the face of a ruler, And from Jehovah is the judgment of each.

I have not learned [skillful and godly] wisdom,
Nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One [who is the source of wisdom].

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?

All the words of God are pure and clean, for he is a shield unto all them that put their trust in him.

Don’t add to His words,
or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.

Two things, have I asked of thee, withhold them not from me, ere yet I die:

Vanity and a lying word put far from me, Poverty or wealth give not to me, Cause me to eat the bread of my portion,

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.

Do not slander a servant to his master, or else he will curse you and you will be guilty.

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:

There be three things that are never satisfied, and the fourth sayeth never, "Hoo." The hell, a woman's womb, and the earth hath never water enough. As for fire, it sayeth never, "Hoo."

There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

For three things the earth is moved, and there are four which it will not put up with:

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

The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;

You may grasp the lizard with your hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:

a horse girt in the loins; or the he-goat; and a king, against whom none can rise up.

If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.

These are the words of king Lemuel, and the Prophecy that his mother taught him.

Do not give your [generative] strength to women [neither foreign wives in marriages of alliances, nor concubines],
Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes to say , Where is strong drink?

Or else he will drink and forget what has been decreed, and he will pervert the rights of all the {afflicted}.

Give strong drink, to him that is perishing, and wine, to such as are embittered in soul:

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

Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And administer justice for the afflicted and needy.

An excellent woman [one who is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous], who is he who can find her?
Her value is more precious than jewels and her worth is far above rubies or pearls.

The heart of her husband trusts in her [with secure confidence],
And he will have no lack of gain.

She riseth ere day and giveth meat to her household, and food to her maidens.

She considers a field before she buys or accepts it [expanding her business prudently];
With her profits she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard.

She draws on her strength
and reveals that her arms are strong.

She sees that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out, but it burns continually through the night [she is prepared for whatever lies ahead].

She opens and extends her hand to the poor,
And she reaches out her filled hands to the needy.

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

Ornamental coverings she hath made for herself, Silk and purple are her clothing.

Her husband is known at the city gates,
where he sits among the elders of the land.

She makes [fine] linen garments and sells them;
And supplies sashes to the merchants.

Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

Many are the daughters who have done worthily, Thou hast gone up above them all.'

Charm and grace are deceptive, and [superficial] beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord [reverently worshiping, obeying, serving, and trusting Him with awe-filled respect], she shall be praised.

These are the words of the Preacher, the son of David, king of Jerusalem.

All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.

The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

All the streams are going unto the sea, and the sea is not full; unto a place whither the streams are going, thither they are turning back to go.

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

Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were 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 gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man 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.

I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom above all that were before me in Jerusalem; yea, my heart hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.

for thereunto I applied my mind: that I might know what were wisdom and understanding, what were error and foolishness. And I perceived that this also was but a vexation of mind:

For where much wisdom is, there is also great travail and disquietness; and the more knowledge a man hath, the more is his care.

I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

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 made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared;

I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:

So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

And look whatsoever mine eyes desired, I let them have it: and wherein soever my heart delighted, or had any pleasure, I withheld it not from it. Thus my heart rejoiced in all that I did, and this I took for the portion of all my travail.

Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: "All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless -- like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth."

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.

So I thought to myself, "The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?" So I lamented to myself, "The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!"

That there is no remembrance to the wise -- with the fool -- to the age, for that which is already, in the days that are coming is all forgotten, and how dieth the wise? with the fool!

So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile -- like chasing the wind.

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.

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

For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?

He giveth unto man, what it pleaseth him; whether it be wisdom, understanding, or gladness. But unto the sinner he giveth weariness and sorrow, that he may gather and heap together the thing, that afterward shall be given unto him whom it pleaseth God. This is now a vain thing, yea a very disquietness and vexation of mind.

There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven—

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God.

I know that all God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of Him.

Whatever is has been before, and what is to be is now; because God makes search for the things which are past.

I also examined on earth: where the halls of justice were supposed to be, there was lawlessness; and where the righteous were supposed to be, there was lawlessness. 17I told myself, "God will judge both the righteous and the wicked, because there is a time set to judge every event and every work."

I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

For the fate of {humans} and the fate of the beast is {the same}. The death of the one is like the death of the other, for {both are mortal}. Man has no advantage over the beast, for both are fleeting.

All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Who is certain that the spirit of the sons of men goes up to heaven, or that the spirit of the beasts goes down to the earth?

So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.

But better off than either of them is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches. For whom then,'saith he , do I labor, and deprive my soul of good? This also is vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

So again, if two are sleeping together they are warm, but how may one be warm by himself?

And two attacked by one would be safe, and three cords twisted together are not quickly broken.

I saw all the living that walk under the sun, that they were with the youth, the second, that stood up in his stead.

there is no end to all the people, to all who were before them; also, the latter rejoice not in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Guard your steps and focus on what you are doing as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the [careless or irreverent] sacrifice of fools; for they are too ignorant to know they are doing evil.

Do not be hasty with your mouth [speaking careless words or vows] or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.

Just as dreams come when there are many cares, so the rash vow of a fool occurs when there are many words.

When you make a vow or a pledge to God, do not put off paying it; for God takes no pleasure in fools [who thoughtlessly mock Him]. Pay what you vow.

Do not allow your speech to cause you to sin, and do not say before the messenger (priest) of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry because of your voice (words) and destroy the work of your hands?