Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are profuse.

A continual dropping in a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike:

Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; And the eyes of man are never satisfied.

For riches are not for ever: And doth the crown endure unto all generations?

The hay is carried, and the tender grass showeth itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.

The lambs are for thy clothing, And the goats are the price of the field;

The wicked flee when no man pursueth; But the righteous are bold as a lion.

For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof; But by men of understanding and knowledge the state thereof'shall be prolonged.

When the righteous are increased, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man beareth rule, the people sigh.

If a ruler hearkeneth to falsehood, All his servants are wicked.

When the wicked are increased, transgression increaseth; But the righteous shall look upon their fall.

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

There is a generation, oh 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 that say not, Enough:

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

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

The ants are a people not strong, Yet they provide their food in the summer;

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

There are three things which are stately in their march, Yea, four which are stately in going:

Open thy mouth for the dumb, In the cause of all such as are left desolate.

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

Strength and dignity are her clothing; And she laugheth at the time to come.

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

There is no remembrance of the former generations ; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come, among those that shall come after.

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

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

For all his days are but'sorrows, and his travail is grief; yea, even in the night his heart taketh no rest. This also is vanity.

I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.

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

Then I returned and saw 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 that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive;

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 labor.

For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, and in many words: but fear thou God.

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they.

When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, save the beholding of them with his eyes?

If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul be not filled with good, and moreover he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he:

Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?

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

Also take not heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee;

And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

For 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 be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them.

For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes 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 falleth suddenly upon them.

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

The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.

The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.

Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;

in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened,

The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are the words of the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

Thy cheeks are comely with plaits of hair , Thy neck with strings of jewels.

Behold, thou art fair, my love; Behold thou art fair; Thine eyes are as doves.

The beams of our house are cedars, And our rafters are firs.

The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs, And the vines are in blossom; They give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, That spoil the vineyards; For our vineyards are in blossom.

Behold, it is the litter of Solomon; Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty men of Israel.

They all handle the sword, and are expert in war: Every man hath his sword upon his thigh, Because of fear in the night.

Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; Thine eyes are as doves behind thy veil. Thy hair is as a flock of goats, That lie along the side of mount Gilead.

Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes that are newly'shorn, Which are come up from the washing, Whereof every one hath twins, And none is bereaved among them.

Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, And thy mouth is comely. Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate Behind thy veil.

Thy two breasts are like two fawns That are twins of a roe, Which feed among the lilies.

Thy lips, O my bride, drop as the honeycomb: Honey and milk are under thy tongue; And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

Thy shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits; Henna with spikenard plants,

His head is as the most fine gold; His locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

His eyes are like doves beside the water-brooks, Washed with milk, and fitly set.

His cheeks are as a bed of spices, As banks of sweet herbs: His lips are as lilies, dropping liquid myrrh.

His hands are as rings of gold set with beryl: His body is as ivory work overlaid with'sapphires.

His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: His aspect is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes, Which are come up from the washing; Whereof every one hath twins, And none is bereaved among them.

Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate Behind thy veil.

There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number.

How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O prince's daughter! Thy rounded thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of a skilful workman.

Thy two breasts are like two fawns That are twins of a roe.

And thy mouth like the best wine, That goeth down smoothly for my beloved, Gliding through the lips of those that are asleep.

Let us get up early to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine hath budded, And its blossom is open, And the pomegranates are in flower: There will I give thee my love.

The mandrakes give forth fragrance; And at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old, Which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

Set me as a seal upon thy heart, As a seal upon thine arm: For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as Sheol; The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of Jehovah.

Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly! they have forsaken Jehovah, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are estranged and gone backward.

Your country is desolate; your cities are burned with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them.

And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are'soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.

and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,

and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,

For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

Moreover Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet;

In that day shall the branch of Jehovah be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

And the harp and the lute, the tabret and the pipe, and wine, are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.

Therefore my people are gone into captivity for lack of knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude are parched with thirst.

And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is humbled, and the eyes of the lofty are humbled:

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;

Therefore is the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them; and the mountains tremble, and their dead bodies are as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses hoofs shall be accounted as flint, and their wheels as a whirlwind:

And if there be yet a tenth in it, it also shall in turn be eaten up: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remaineth, when they are felled; so the holy seed is the stock thereof.