For He knows what we are made of,
remembering that we are dust.

wine that makes man’s heart glad—
making his face shine with oil—
and bread that sustains man’s heart.

The trees of the Lord flourish,
the cedars of Lebanon that He planted.

All this happened
so that they might keep His statutes
and obey His instructions.
Hallelujah!

so that I may enjoy the prosperity
of Your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of Your nation,
and boast about Your heritage.

So He raised His hand against them with an oath
that He would make them fall in the desert

Save us, Yahweh our God,
and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to Your holy name
and rejoice in Your praise.

Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim
that He has redeemed them from the hand of the foe

He spoke and raised a tempest
that stirred up the waves of the sea.

They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.

Save with Your right hand and answer me
so that those You love may be rescued.

so they may know that this is Your hand
and that You, Lord, have done it.

All that He does is splendid and majestic;
His righteousness endures forever.

Why was it, sea, that you fled?
Jordan, that you turned back?

Mountains, that you skipped like rams?
Hills, like lambs?

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.

You have commanded that Your precepts
be diligently kept.

I have treasured Your word in my heart
so that I may not sin against You.

ג GimelDeal generously with Your servant
so that I might live;
then I will keep Your word.

Open my eyes so that I may contemplate
wonderful things from Your instruction.

Help me understand
the meaning of Your precepts
so that I can meditate on Your wonders.

It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I could learn Your statutes.

י YodYour hands made me and formed me;
give me understanding
so that I can learn Your commands.

I know, Lord, that Your judgments are just
and that You have afflicted me fairly.

May Your compassion come to me
so that I may live,
for Your instruction is my delight.

May my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes
so that I will not be put to shame.

Depart from me, you evil ones,
so that I may obey my God’s commands.

Sustain me so that I can be safe
and always be concerned about Your statutes.

I am Your servant; give me understanding
so that I may know Your decrees.

Long ago I learned from Your decrees
that You have established them forever.

What misery that I have stayed in Meshech,
that I have lived among the tents of Kedar!

The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not apply their hands to injustice.

May the Lord bless you from Zion,
so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life

But with You there is forgiveness,
so that You may be revered.

Rise up, Lord, come to Your resting place,
You and Your powerful ark.

If your sons keep My covenant
and My decrees that I will teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”

For I know that Yahweh is great;
our Lord is greater than all gods.

Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said
that day at Jerusalem:
“Destroy it! Destroy it
down to its foundations!”

I know that the Lord upholds
the just cause of the poor,
justice for the needy.

Free me from prison
so that I can praise Your name.
The righteous will gather around me
because You deal generously with me.

Lord, what is man, that You care for him,
the son of man, that You think of him?

Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters, like corner pillars
that are carved in the palace style.

When his breath leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.

He set them in position forever and ever;
He gave an order that will never pass away.

lightning and hail, snow and cloud,
powerful wind that executes His command,

wild animals and all cattle,
creatures that crawl and flying birds,

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.
Hallelujah!

my son, don’t travel that road with them
or set foot on their path,

so that He may guard the paths of justice
and protect the way of His loyal followers.

Listen, my sons, to a father’s discipline,
and pay attention so that you may gain understanding,

so that you may maintain discretion
and your lips safeguard knowledge.

She doesn’t consider the path of life;
she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.

arrogant eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,

a heart that plots wicked schemes,
feet eager to run to evil,

It is by me that kings reign
and rulers enact just law;

when He set a limit for the sea
so that the waters would not violate His command,
when He laid out the foundations of the earth.

But he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Be assured that the wicked
will not go unpunished,
but the offspring of the righteous will escape.

There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.

The tongue that heals is a tree of life,
but a devious tongue breaks the spirit.

A man takes joy in giving an answer;
and a timely word—how good that is!

For the discerning the path of life leads upward,
so that he may avoid going down to Sheol.

One who listens to life-giving rebukes
will be at home among the wise.

There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.

A violent man lures his neighbor,
leading him in a way that is not good.

A gossip’s words are like choice food
that goes down to one’s innermost being.

Listen to counsel and receive instruction
so that you may be wise later in life.

The lamp that guides the wicked—
haughty eyes and an arrogant heart—is sin.

I have instructed you today—even you—
so that your confidence may be in the Lord.

in order to teach you true and reliable words,
so that you may give a dependable report
to those who sent you?

Don’t move an ancient boundary marker
that your fathers set up.

don’t desire his choice food,
for that food is deceptive.

realize that wisdom is the same for you.
If you find it, you will have a future,
and your hope will never fade.

The man who boasts about a gift that does not exist
is like clouds and wind without rain.

A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like lame legs that hang limp.

A person who is passing by and meddles in a quarrel that’s not his
is like one who grabs a dog by the ears.

A gossip’s words are like choice food
that goes down to one’s innermost being.

Be wise, my son, and bring my heart joy,
so that I can answer anyone who taunts me.

A destitute leader who oppresses the poor
is like a driving rain that leaves no food.

A greedy man is in a hurry for wealth;
he doesn’t know that poverty will come to him.

The one who robs his father or mother
and says, “That’s no sin,”
is a companion to a man who destroys.

There is a generation that curses its father
and does not bless its mother.

There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
yet is not washed from its filth.

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.

The words of King Lemuel,
an oracle that his mother taught him:

Let him drink so that he can forget his poverty
and remember his trouble no more.

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

She sees that her profits are good,
and her lamp never goes out at night.

I applied my mind to seek and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.

All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.

When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.

The wise man has eyes in his head,
but the fool walks in darkness.

Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.

So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies just like the fool?

Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

For what does a man get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?