For all this I laid to my heart and indeed to investigate all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; man knoweth neither love nor hatred: 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 taken with the snare, like them are the children of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

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

The words of the wise are heard in quiet more 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 swallow up himself.

Then remove discontent from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for childhood and youth are vanity.

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

and the doors are shut toward the street; when the sound of the grinding is subdued, and they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;

they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;)

The words of the wise are as goads, and the collections of them as nails fastened in: they are given from one shepherd.

Thy cheeks are comely with bead-rows, Thy neck with ornamental chains.

Behold, thou art fair, my love; Behold, thou art fair: thine eyes are doves.

The beams of our houses are cedars, Our rafters are cypresses.

Take us the foxes, The little foxes, that spoil the vineyards; For our vineyards are in bloom.

Behold his couch, Solomon's own: Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty of Israel.

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

Thy teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, Which go up from the washing; Which have all borne twins, And none is barren among them.

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

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

Thy lips, my spouse, 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 a paradise of pomegranates, with precious fruits; Henna with spikenard plants;

His head is as the finest gold; His locks are flowing, black as the raven;

His eyes are like doves by the water-brooks, Washed with milk, fitly set;

His cheeks are as a bed of spices, raised beds of sweet plants; His lips lilies, dropping liquid myrrh.

Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep Which go up from the washing; Which have all borne twins, And none is barren among them.

As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples Behind thy veil.

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

How beautiful are thy footsteps in sandals, O prince's daughter! The roundings of thy thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of an artist.

Thy two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle;

And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine, ... That goeth down smoothly for my beloved, And stealeth over the lips of them that are asleep.

We will go up early to the vineyards, We will see if the vine hath budded, If the blossom is opening, And the pomegranates are in bloom: There will I give thee my loves.

The mandrakes yield fragrance; And at our gates are all choice fruits, new and old: I have laid them up for thee, 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, Flames of Jah.

Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that corrupt themselves! They have forsaken Jehovah; they have despised the Holy One of Israel; they are turned away backward.

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

Your new moons and your set feasts my soul hateth: they are a burden to me; I am wearied 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 presents, and hunteth after rewards; they judge not the fatherless, and the cause of the widow cometh not unto them.

For thou hast cast off thy people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with what comes from the east, and use auguries like the Philistines, and ally themselves with the children of foreigners.

and upon all the lofty mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up;

For Jerusalem stumbleth and Judah falleth, 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. My people! they that guide thee mislead thee, and destroy the way of thy paths.

And Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-out neck and wanton eyes, and go along mincing, and making a tinkling with their feet;

In that day there shall be a sprout of Jehovah for beauty and glory, and the fruit of the earth for excellency and for ornament for those that are escaped of Israel.

And harp and lyre, tambour and flute, and wine are in their banquets; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, nor do they see the operation of his hands.

Therefore my people are led away captive from lack of knowledge, and their nobility die of famine, and their multitude are parched with thirst.

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and intelligent in their own esteem!

Woe unto them that are mighty for drinking wine, and men valiant to mix strong drink;

Therefore is the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people, and he hath stretched out his hand against them and hath smitten them; and the mountains trembled, and their carcases are become as dung in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.

their arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses' hoofs are reckoned as the flint, and their wheels as a whirlwind.

And it was told the house of David saying, Syria is allied with Ephraim. Then his heart and the heart of his people shook, as the trees of the forest are shaken with the wind.

Behold, I and the children that Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel, from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion.

And they shall pass through it, hard pressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass when they are hungry, they will fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and will gaze upward:

The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones; the sycamore trees are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.

For the guides of this people mislead them; and they that are guided by them are swallowed up.

and he snatcheth on the right hand, and is hungry, and eateth on the left hand; and they are not satisfied. They eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

Manasseh, Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together are against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.

For he saith, Are not my princes all kings?

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob shall no more again rely upon him that smote them; but they shall rely upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

They are gone through the pass; they make their lodging at Geba: Ramah trembleth, Gibeah of Saul is fled.

All that are found shall be thrust through; and every one that is in league with them shall fall by the sword.

In their streets they are girded with sackcloth; on their roofs, and in their broadways, every one howleth, melted into tears.

For the waters of Dimon are full of blood, for I will lay yet more upon Dimon: a lion upon them that are escaped of Moab, and upon that which remaineth of the land.

Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the waster. For the extortioner is at an end, the wasting hath ceased, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, he is very proud, of his pride, and his arrogance, and his wrath: his pratings are vain.

The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks; and they shall lie down and there shall be none to make them afraid.

behold, at eventide, trouble; before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

The burden of Egypt. Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt are moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt melteth in the midst of it.

They are but fools, the princes of Zoan, the wise counsellors of Pharaoh: their counsel is become senseless. How say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

Where are they then, thy wise men? Let them now tell thee, and let them make known what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.

The princes of Zoan are become foolish, the princes of Noph are deceived; and the corner-stones of its tribes have caused Egypt to err.

Therefore are my loins filled with pain; anguish hath taken hold upon me, as the anguish of a woman in travail: I am bowed down so as not to hear, I am dismayed so as not to see.

Thou that wast full of stir, a town of tumult, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.

All thy rulers have fled together, they are taken prisoners without the bow: all that are found of thee are made prisoners together; they were fleeing far off.

and ye have seen the breaches of the city of David, that they are many; and ye have gathered together the waters of the lower pool;

Therefore doth the curse devour the earth, and they that dwell therein are held guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are consumed, and few men are left.

Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, inhabitant of the land.

And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the sound of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare; for the windows on high are open, and the foundations of the earth shake.

Jehovah, thou art my God: I will exalt thee; I will celebrate thy name, for thou hast done wonderful things; counsels of old which are faithfulness and truth.

With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

They are dead, they shall not live; deceased, they shall not rise: for thou hast visited and destroyed them, and made all memory of them to perish.

By this, therefore, shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit of the taking away of his sin: when he shall make all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are crumbled in pieces, the Asherahs and the sun-images shall not stand.

When its branches are withered they shall be broken off; women shall come and set them on fire. For it is a people of no intelligence; therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he who formed them will shew them no favour.

Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious adornment, which is on the head of the fat valley of them that are overcome with wine.

But these also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are they gone astray. The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink; they are overpowered by wine, they are gone astray through strong drink; they have erred in vision, they have stumbled in judgment.

For all tables are full of filthy vomit, so that there is no more place.

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand the report? Them that are weaned from the milk, withdrawn from the breasts?

Be astounded and astonished, blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.

Woe unto them that hide deep, far from Jehovah, their counsel! And their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

And they that are of erring spirit shall know understanding, and the disobedient shall learn doctrine.

And therefore will Jehovah wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he lift himself up, that he may have mercy upon you; for Jehovah is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from far, burning with his anger a grievous conflagration; his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a consuming fire;

Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and depend on horses, and confide in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong; and who look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek Jehovah!

And the Egyptians are men, and not God, and their horses flesh, and not spirit; and Jehovah shall stretch forth his hand, and he that helpeth shall stumble, and he that is helped shall fall, and they all shall perish together.

The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

Rise up, ye women that are at ease, hear my voice; ye careless daughters, give ear unto my speech.

Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth on your loins!

Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth the feet of the ox and the ass.

The highways are desolate, the wayfaring man ceaseth. He hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

The land mourneth, it languisheth; Lebanon is ashamed, is withered; the Sharon is become as a desert, and Bashan and Carmel are stripped.