Do not withhold discipline from a child; even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.

If you strike him with the rod, you will deliver him from death.

My child, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad;

my soul will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly; whoever fathers a wise child will have joy in him.

Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will speak perverse things.

And you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging.

You will say, "They have struck me, but I am not harmed! They beat me, but I did not know it! When will I awake? I will look for another drink."

The one who plans to do evil will be called a scheming person.

If you say, "But we did not know about this," does not the one who evaluates hearts consider? Does not the one who guards your life know? Will he not repay each person according to his deeds?

Likewise, know that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Although a righteous person may fall seven times, he gets up again, but the wicked will be brought down by calamity.

for the evil person has no future, and the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

for suddenly their destruction will overtake them, and who knows the ruinous judgment both the Lord and the king can bring?

The one who says to the guilty, "You are innocent," peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him.

But there will be delight for those who convict the guilty, and a pleasing blessing will come on them.

Do not say, "I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will pay him back according to what he has done."

and your poverty will come like a bandit, and your need like an armed robber."

Remove the dross from the silver, and material for the silversmith will emerge;

remove the wicked from before the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

Do not go out hastily to litigation, or what will you do afterward when your neighbor puts you to shame?

lest the one who hears it put you to shame and your infamy will never go away.

for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, so is the person passing by who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own.

Though his hatred may be concealed by deceit, his evil will be uncovered in the assembly.

The one who digs a pit will fall into it; the one who rolls a stone -- it will come back on him.

If someone blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse to him.

The one who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever takes care of his master will be honored.

the lambs will be for your clothing, and the goats will be for the price of a field.

And there will be enough goat's milk for your food, for the food of your household, and for the sustenance of your servant girls.

The one who leads the upright astray in an evil way will himself fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.

The one who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy.

Blessed is the one who is always cautious, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into evil.

The prince who is a great oppressor lacks wisdom, but the one who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

The one who is tormented by the murder of another will flee to the pit; let no one support him.

The one who walks blamelessly will be delivered, but whoever is perverse in his ways will fall at once.

The one who works his land will be satisfied with food, but whoever chases daydreams will have his fill of poverty.

A faithful person will have an abundance of blessings, but the one who hastens to gain riches will not go unpunished.

To show partiality is terrible, for a person will transgress over the smallest piece of bread.

The stingy person hastens after riches and does not know that poverty will overtake him.

The one who reproves another will in the end find more favor than the one who flatters with the tongue.

The greedy person stirs up dissension, but the one who trusts in the Lord will prosper.

The one who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but the one who walks in wisdom will escape.

The one who gives to the poor will not lack, but whoever shuts his eyes to them will receive many curses.

The one who stiffens his neck after numerous rebukes will suddenly be destroyed without remedy.

If a ruler listens to lies, all his ministers will be wicked.

If a king judges the poor in truth, his throne will be established forever.

When the wicked increase, transgression increases, but the righteous will see their downfall.

Discipline your child, and he will give you rest; he will bring you happiness.

If someone pampers his servant from youth, he will be a weakling in the end.

A person's pride will bring him low, but one who has a lowly spirit will gain honor.

The fear of people becomes a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be set on high.

The eye that mocks at a father and despises obeying a mother -- the ravens of the valley will peck it out and the young vultures will eat it.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.

All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again.

What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.

No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations.

I thought to myself, "Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile." But I found that it also is futile.

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!"

For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies -- just like the fool!

Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!

I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.

I thought to myself, "God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.

For if they fall, one will help his companion up, but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.

There is no end to all the people nor to the past generations, yet future generations will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like chasing the wind.

The one who loves money will never be satisfied with money, he who loves wealth will never be satisfied with his income. This also is futile.

The sleep of the laborer is pleasant -- whether he eats little or much -- but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

Just as he came forth from his mother's womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.

This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

For no one knows what is best for a person during his life -- during the few days of his fleeting life -- for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.

It is best to take hold of one warning without letting go of the other warning; for the one who fears God will follow both warnings.

Whoever obeys his command will not experience harm, and a wise person knows the proper time and procedure.

Surely no one knows the future, and no one can tell another person what will happen.

Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes and still live a long time, yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people -- for they stand in fear before him.

But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.

So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.

So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated -- no one knows what lies ahead.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything; they have no further reward -- and even the memory of them disappears.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.

yet a fool keeps on babbling. No one knows what will happen; who can tell him what will happen in the future?

Send your grain overseas, for after many days you will get a return.

If the clouds are full of rain, they will empty themselves on the earth, and whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, the tree will lie wherever it falls.

He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap.

Sow your seed in the morning, and do not stop working until the evening; for you do not know which activity will succeed -- whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally.

So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many -- all that is about to come is obscure.

Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions.

So remember your Creator in the days of your youth -- before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no pleasure in them";

For God will evaluate every deed, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Draw me after you; let us hurry! May the king bring me into his bedroom chambers! The Maidens to the Lover: We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. The Beloved to Her Lover: How rightly the young women adore you!

We will make for you gold ornaments studded with silver.

"I will arise and look all around throughout the town, and throughout the streets and squares; I will search for my beloved." I searched for him but I did not find him.

Until the dawn arrives and the shadows flee, I will go up to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

The Beloved to the Maidens: O maidens of Jerusalem, I command you -- If you find my beloved, what will you tell him? Tell him that I am lovesick!

Let us rise early to go to the vineyards, to see if the vines have budded, to see if their blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom -- there I will give you my love.

If she is a wall, we will build on her a battlement of silver; but if she is a door, we will barricade her with boards of cedar.

If you have a willing attitude and obey, then you will again eat the good crops of the land.

But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.

Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, the powerful ruler of Israel, says this: "Ah, I will seek vengeance against my adversaries, I will take revenge against my enemies.