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

One who rebukes a person will later find more favor
than one who flatters with his tongue.

A greedy person provokes conflict,
but whoever trusts in the Lord will prosper.

The one who trusts in himself is a fool,
but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.

The one who gives to the poor
will not be in need,
but one who turns his eyes away
will receive many curses.

One who becomes stiff-necked,
after many reprimands
will be shattered instantly—
beyond recovery.

If a wise man goes to court with a fool,
there will be ranting and raving but no resolution.

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

A king who judges the poor with fairness—
his throne will be established forever.

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

Discipline your son, and it will bring you peace of mind
and give you delight.

Without revelation people run wild,
but one who listens to instruction will be happy.

A slave pampered from his youth
will become arrogant later on.

A person’s pride will humble him,
but a humble spirit will gain honor.

To be a thief’s partner is to hate oneself;
he hears the curse but will not testify.

Don’t add to His words,
or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.

Don’t slander a servant to his master
or he will curse you, and you will become guilty.

Otherwise, they will drink,
forget what is decreed,
and pervert justice for all the oppressed.

The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will not lack anything good.

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

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.

There is no remembrance of those who came before;
and of those who will come after
there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.

I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile.

Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the man be like who comes after the king? He will do what has already been done.

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?

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.

I know that all God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of Him.

Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. God repeats what has passed.

I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.

This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind?

God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy.

For who knows what is good for man in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?

In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me.

And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, her heart a net, and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her.

Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, and don’t persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants.

The one who keeps a command will not experience anything harmful, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.

Yet no one knows what will happen because who can tell him what will happen?

No one has authority over the wind to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death; there is no furlough in battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape.

Although a sinner commits crime a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people, for they are reverent before Him.

However, it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, for they are not reverent before God.

So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten.

Yet the fool multiplies words.
No one knows what will happen,
and who can tell anyone what will happen after him?

If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain on the earth;
whether a tree falls to the south or the north,
the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

One who watches the wind will not sow,
and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.

In the morning sow your seed,
and at evening do not let your hand rest,
because you don’t know which will succeed,
whether one or the other,
or if both of them will be equally good.

Indeed, if a man lives many years,
let him rejoice in them all,
and let him remember the days of darkness, since they will be many.
All that comes is futile.

Rejoice, young man, while you are young,
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
And walk in the ways of your heart
and in the sight of your eyes;
but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.

So remember your Creator in the days of your youth:

Before the days of adversity come,
and the years approach when you will say,
“I have no delight in them”;

Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road;
the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper loses its spring,
and the caper berry has no effect;
for man is headed to his eternal home,
and mourners will walk around in the street;

For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

Take me with you—let us hurry.
Oh, that the king would bring me to his chambers.

Y We will rejoice and be glad for you;
we will praise your love more than wine.

W It is only right that they adore you.

We will make gold jewelry for you,
accented with silver.

Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.

I will arise now and go about the city,
through the streets and the plazas.
I will seek the one I love.
I sought him, but did not find him.

Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field:
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.

Before the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.

Y Where has your love gone,
most beautiful of women?
Which way has he turned?
We will seek him with you.

I said, “I will climb the palm tree
and take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes,
and the fragrance of your breath like apricots.

Let’s go early to the vineyards;
let’s see if the vine has budded,
if the blossom has opened,
if the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.

B Our sister is young;
she has no breasts.
What will we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?

If she is a wall,
we will build a silver parapet on it.
If she is a door,
we will enclose it with cedar planks.

When you lift up your hands in prayer,
I will refuse to look at you;
even if you offer countless prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.

“Come, let us discuss this,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they will be as white as snow;
though they are as red as crimson,
they will be like wool.

If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land.

But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Therefore the Lord God of Hosts,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah, I will gain satisfaction from My foes;
I will take revenge against My enemies.

I will turn My hand against you
and will burn away your dross completely;
I will remove all your impurities.

I will restore your judges to what they once were,
and your advisers to their former state.
Afterward you will be called the Righteous City,
a Faithful City.”

Zion will be redeemed by justice,
her repentant ones by righteousness.

But both rebels and sinners will be destroyed,
and those who abandon the Lord will perish.

Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred trees
you desired,
and you will be embarrassed because of the gardens
you have chosen.

For you will become like an oak
whose leaves are withered,
and like a garden without water.

The strong one will become tinder,
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the flames.

In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
All nations will stream to it,

and many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about His ways
so that we may walk in His paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He will settle disputes among the nations
and provide arbitration for many peoples.
They will turn their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,
and they will never again train for war.

Human pride will be humbled,
and the loftiness of men will be brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

For a day belonging to the Lord of Hosts is coming
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—it will be humbled—

So human pride will be brought low,
and the loftiness of men will be humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

The idols will vanish completely.

People will go into caves in the rocks
and holes in the ground,
away from the terror of the Lord
and from His majestic splendor,
when He rises to terrify the earth.

On that day people will throw
their silver and gold idols,
which they made to worship,
to the moles and the bats.

They will go into the caves of the rocks
and the crevices in the cliffs,
away from the terror of the Lord
and from His majestic splendor,
when He rises to terrify the earth.

“I will make youths their leaders,
and the unstable will govern them.”

The people will oppress one another,
man against man, neighbor against neighbor;
the youth will act arrogantly toward the elder,
and the worthless toward the honorable.

A man will even seize his brother
in his father’s house, saying:
“You have a cloak—you be our leader!
This heap of rubble will be under your control.”

On that day he will cry out, saying:
“I’m not a healer.
I don’t even have food or clothing in my house.
Don’t make me the leader of the people!”

Tell the righteous that it will go well for them,
for they will eat the fruit of their labor.

Woe to the wicked—it will go badly for them,
for what they have done will be done to them.

the Lord will put scabs on the heads
of the daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will shave their foreheads bare.

On that day the Lord will strip their finery: ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents,

Instead of perfume there will be a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of beautifully styled hair, baldness;
instead of fine clothes, sackcloth;
instead of beauty, branding.

Your men will fall by the sword,
your warriors in battle.