Do not be troubled because of evil-doers, or have envy of sinners:

My son, go in fear of the Lord and the king: have nothing to do with those who are in high positions:

These are more sayings of the wise: To have respect for a person's position when judging is not good.

But those who say sharp words to him will have delight, and a blessing of good will come on them.

It is the glory of God to keep a thing secret: but the glory of kings is to have it searched out.

For it is better to have it said to you, Come up here; than for you to be put down in a lower place before the ruler.

Do not be quick to go to law about what you have seen, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbour has put you to shame?

Have a talk with your neighbour himself about your cause, but do not give away the secret of another:

If you have honey, take only as much as is enough for you; for fear that, being full of it, you may not be able to keep it down.

Have you seen a man who seems to himself to be wise? There is more hope for the foolish than for him.

When he says fair words, have no belief in him; for in his heart are seven evils:

A false tongue has hate for those who have clean hearts, and a smooth mouth is a cause of falling.

He who gives a blessing to his friend with a loud voice, getting up early in the morning, will have it put to his account as a curse.

Whoever keeps a fig-tree will have its fruit; and the servant waiting on his master will be honoured.

The underworld and Abaddon are never full, and the eyes of man have never enough.

Take care to have knowledge about the condition of your flocks, looking well after your herds;

Those who have no respect for the law give praise to the evil-doer; but such as keep the law are against him.

Evil men have no knowledge of what is right; but those who go after the Lord have knowledge of all things.

Anyone causing the upright to go wandering in an evil way, will himself go down into the hole he has made; but the upright will have good things for their heritage.

The prince who has no sense is a cruel ruler; but he who has no desire to get profit for himself will have long life.

By ploughing his land a man will have bread in full measure; but he who goes after good-for-nothing persons will be poor enough.

A man of good faith will have great blessing, but one attempting to get wealth quickly will not go free from punishment.

It is not good to have respect for a man's position: for a man will do wrong for a bit of bread.

He who says words of protest to a man will later have more approval than one who says smooth words with his tongue.

When the upright have power, the people are glad; when an evil man is ruler, grief comes on the people.

When evil men are in power, wrongdoing is increased; but the upright will have pleasure when they see their downfall.

Have you seen a man who is quick with his tongue? There is more hope for a foolish man than for him.

The fear of man is a cause of danger: but whoever puts his faith in the Lord will have a safe place on high.

The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, from Massa. The man says: I am full of weariness, O God, I am full of weariness; O God, I have come to an end:

For I am more like a beast than any man, I have no power of reasoning like a man:

I have not got wisdom by teaching, so that I might have the knowledge of the Holy One.

Who has gone up to heaven and come down? who has taken the winds in his hands, prisoning the waters in his robe? by whom have all the ends of the earth been fixed? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if you are able to say?

I have made request to you for two things; do not keep them from me before my death:

This is the way of a false wife; she takes food, and, cleaning her mouth, says, I have done no wrong.

The locusts have no king, but they all go out in bands;

If you have done foolishly in lifting yourself up, or if you have had evil designs, put your hand over your mouth.

For fear that through drinking they may come to have no respect for the law, wrongly judging the cause of those who are in trouble.

Let him have drink, and his need will go from his mind, and the memory of his trouble will be gone.

Let your mouth be open for those who have no voice, in the cause of those who are ready for death.

The heart of her husband has faith in her, and he will have profit in full measure.

Unnumbered women have done well, but you are better than all of them.

Give her credit for what her hands have made: let her be praised by her works in the public place.

There is no memory of those who have gone before, and of those who come after there will be no memory for those who are still to come after them.

I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.

I said to my heart, See, I have become great and am increased in wisdom more than any who were before me in Jerusalem--yes, my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.

Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.

Of the wise man, as of the foolish man, there is no memory for ever, seeing that those who now are will have gone from memory in the days to come. See how death comes to the wise as to the foolish!

Hate had I for all my work which I had done, because the man who comes after me will have its fruits.

And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

Who may take food or have pleasure without him?

And for every man to take food and drink, and have joy in all his work, is a reward from God.

Because the fate of the sons of men and the fate of the beasts is the same. As is the death of one so is the death of the other, and all have one spirit. Man is not higher than the beasts; because all is to no purpose.

So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work--because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?

And again I saw all the cruel things which are done under the sun; there was the weeping of those who have evil done to them, and they had no comforter: and from the hands of the evil-doers there went out power, but they had no comforter.

So my praise was for the dead who have gone to their death, more than for the living who still have life.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their work.

There was no end of all the people, of all those whose head he was, but they who come later will have no delight in him. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.

When you take an oath before God, put it quickly into effect, because he has no pleasure in the foolish; keep the oath you have taken.

It is good generally for a country where the land is worked to have a king.

There is a great evil which I have seen under the sun--wealth kept by the owner to be his downfall.

This is what I have seen: it is good and fair for a man to take meat and drink and to have joy in all his work under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; that is his reward.

Every man to whom God has given money and wealth and the power to have pleasure in it and to do his part and have joy in his work: this is given by God.

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is hard on men;

A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease.

What have the wise more than the foolish? and what has the poor man by walking wisely before the living?

Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.

In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.

Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.

All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.

Far off is true existence, and very deep; who may have knowledge of it?

Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,

For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen.

This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.

All this have I seen, and have given my heart to all the work which is done under the sun: there is a time when man has power over man for his destruction.

This is evil in all things which are done under the sun: that there is one fate for all, and the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; while they have life their hearts are foolish, and after that--to the dead.

The living are conscious that death will come to them, but the dead are not conscious of anything, and they no longer have a reward, because there is no memory of them.

Their love and their hate and their envy are now ended; and they have no longer a part for ever in anything which is done under the sun.

Have joy with the woman of your love all the days of your foolish life which he gives you under the sun. Because that is your part in life and in your work which you do under the sun.

And again I saw under the sun that the reward goes not to him who is quick, or the fruits of war to the strong; and there is no bread for the wise, or wealth for men of learning, or respect for those who have knowledge; but time and chance come to all.

This again I have seen under the sun as wisdom and it seemed great to me.

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which comes by chance from a ruler:

I have seen servants on horses, and rulers walking on the earth as servants.

Give a part to seven or even to eight, because you have no knowledge of the evil which will be on the earth.

As you have no knowledge of the way of the wind, or of the growth of the bones in the body of her who is with child, even so you have no knowledge of the works of God who has made all.

Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge.

Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;

This is the last word. All has been said. Have fear of God and keep his laws; because this is right for every man.

Let not your eyes be turned on me, because I am dark, because I was looked on by the sun; my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vine-gardens; but my vine-garden I have not kept.

Say, O love of my soul, where you give food to your flock, and where you make them take their rest in the heat of the day; why have I to be as one wandering by the flocks of your friends?

If you have not knowledge, O most beautiful among women, go on your way in the footsteps of the flock, and give your young goats food by the tents of the keepers.

I have made a comparison of you, O my love, to a horse in Pharaoh's carriages.

See, you are fair, my love, you are fair; you have the eyes of a dove.

Take for us the foxes, the little foxes, which do damage to the vines; our vines have young grapes.

The watchmen who go about the town came by me; to them I said, Have you seen him who is my heart's desire?

See, you are fair, my love, you are fair; you have the eyes of a dove; your hair is as a flock of goats, which take their rest on the side of Gilead.

You have taken away my heart, my sister, my bride; you have taken away my heart, with one look you have taken it, with one chain of your neck!

I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; to take my myrrh with my spice; my wax with my honey; my wine with my milk. Take meat, O friends; take wine, yes, be overcome with love.

I have put off my coat; how may I put it on? My feet are washed; how may I make them unclean?