That the generation to come might know them, that the children still to be born
May arise and recount them to their children,

O God, the nations have invaded [the land of Your people] Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your sacred temple;
They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

O do not remember against us the sins and guilt of our forefathers.
Let Your compassion and mercy come quickly to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.

Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power keep safe those who are doomed to die.

Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power
And come to save us!

Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him and cringe before Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.

They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation;
Let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

All nations whom You have made shall come and kneel down in worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.

Let my prayer come before You and enter into Your presence;
Incline Your ear to my cry!

You have put my friends far from me;
You have made me an object of loathing to them.
I am shut up and I cannot go out.

But I have cried out to You, O Lord, for help;
And in the morning my prayer will come to You.

A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But danger will not come near you.

No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.

O come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with songs.

O come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and prayer].

Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name;
Bring an offering and come into His courts.

Before the Lord, for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples in His faithfulness.

Light is sown [like seed] for the righteous and illuminates their path,
And [irrepressible] joy [is spread] for the upright in heart [who delight in His favor and protection].

Serve the Lord with gladness and delight;
Come before His presence with joyful singing.

I will behave wisely and follow the way of integrity.
When will You come to me?
I will walk in my house in integrity and with a blameless heart.

Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry for help come to You!

You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
For it is time to be gracious and show favor to her;
Yes, the appointed time [the moment designated] has come.

They staggered and trembled like a drunken man,
And were at their wits’ end [all their wisdom was useless].

The wicked will see it and be angered,
He will gnash his teeth and melt away [in despair and death];
The desire of the wicked will perish and come to nothing.

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord [you who come into His sanctuary under His guardianship].

Vav.
May Your lovingkindness also come to me, O Lord,
Your salvation according to Your promise;

Let Your compassion come to me that I may live,
For Your law is my delight.

Tav.
Let my [mournful] cry come before You, O Lord;
Give me understanding [the ability to learn and a teachable heart] according to Your word [of promise].

Let my supplication come before You;
Deliver me according to Your word.

I will lift up my eyes to the hills [of Jerusalem]—
From where shall my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

He who goes back and forth weeping, carrying his bag of seed [for planting],
Will indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

It is like the dew of [Mount] Hermon
Coming down on the hills of Zion;
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing: life forevermore.

“Those who surround me raise their heads;
May the mischief of their own lips come upon them.

Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.

If they say, “Come with us;
Let us lie in wait to shed blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

I also will laugh at your disaster;
I will mock when your dread and panic come,

When your dread and panic come like a storm,
And your disaster comes like a whirlwind,
When anxiety and distress come upon you [as retribution].

For the Lord gives [skillful and godly] wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Do not be afraid of sudden fear
Nor of the storm of the wicked when it comes [since you will be blameless];

Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,”
When you have it with you.

Let your way [in life] be far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house [avoid even being near the places of temptation],

And you will groan when your life is ending,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;

So your poverty will come like an approaching prowler who walks [slowly, but surely]
And your need [will come] like an armed man [making you helpless].

Therefore [the crushing weight of] his disaster will come suddenly upon him;
Instantly he will be broken, and there will be no healing or remedy [because he has no heart for God].

“Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
Let us console and delight ourselves with love.

He has taken a bag of money with him,
And he will come home on the appointed day.”

“Come, eat my food
And drink the wine I have mixed [and accept my gifts].

What the wicked fears will come upon him,
But the desire of the righteous [for the blessings of God] will be granted.

The hope of the righteous [those of honorable character and integrity] is joy,
But the expectation of the wicked [those who oppose God and ignore His wisdom] comes to nothing.

When pride comes [boiling up with an arrogant attitude of self-importance], then come dishonor and shame,
But with the humble [the teachable who have been chiseled by trial and who have learned to walk humbly with God] there is wisdom and soundness of mind.

When the wicked man dies, his expectation will perish;
And the hope of [godless] strong men perishes.

He who diligently seeks good seeks favor and grace,
But he who seeks evil, evil will come to him.

An evil man is [dangerously] ensnared by the transgression of his lips,
But the righteous will escape from trouble.

A man will be satisfied with good from the fruit of his words,
And the deeds of a man’s hands will return to him [as a harvest].

No harm befalls the righteous,
But the wicked are filled with trouble.

The one who guards his mouth [thinking before he speaks] protects his life;
The one who opens his lips wide [and chatters without thinking] comes to ruin.

A righteous man hates lies,
But a wicked man is loathsome, and he acts shamefully.

Through pride and presumption come nothing but strife,
But [skillful and godly] wisdom is with those who welcome [well-advised] counsel.

Poverty and shame will come to him who refuses instruction and discipline,
But he who accepts and learns from reproof or censure is honored.

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
But much revenue [because of good crops] comes by the strength of the ox.

The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the instruction for wisdom [its starting point and its essence];
And before honor comes humility.

The plans and reflections of the heart belong to man,
But the [wise] answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

When the wicked man comes [to the depth of evil], contempt [of all that is pure and good] also comes,
And with inner baseness (dishonor) comes outer shame (scorn).

Before disaster the heart of a man is haughty and filled with self-importance,
But humility comes before honor.

The first one to plead his case seems right,
Until another comes and cross-examines him.

Listen to counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction,
That you may be wise in the time to come.

Do not love [excessive] sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes [so that you can do your work] and you will be satisfied with bread.

He who oppresses or exploits the poor to get more for himself
Or who gives to the rich [to gain influence and favor], will only come to poverty.

For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And the drowsiness [of overindulgence] will clothe one with rags.

Then your poverty will come as a robber,
And your want like an armed man.

Take away the dross from the silver,
And there comes out [the pure metal for] a vessel for the silversmith [to shape].

For it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,”
Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince,
Whom your eyes have seen.

Oil and perfume make the heart glad;
So does the sweetness of a friend’s counsel that comes from the heart.

He who has an evil and envious eye hurries to be rich
And does not know that poverty will come upon him.

Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure;
And she smiles at the future [knowing that she and her family are prepared].

One generation goes and another generation comes,
But the earth remains forever.

All the rivers flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
There they flow again.

There is no remembrance of earlier things,
Nor also of the later things that are to come;
There will be for them no remembrance
By generations who will come after them.

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure and gratification; so enjoy yourself and have a good time.” But behold, this too was vanity (futility, meaninglessness).

For there is no [more] lasting remembrance of the wise man than of the fool, since in the days to come all will be long forgotten. And how does the wise man die? Even as the fool!

I have seen that every [effort in] labor and every skill in work comes from man’s rivalry with his neighbor. This too is vanity (futility, false pride) and chasing after the wind.

for the poor youth has [used his wisdom and] come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.

There is no end to all the people; to all who were before them. Yet those who come later will not be happy with him. Surely this also is vanity (emptiness) and chasing after the wind.

For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of the fool through many words.

for the miscarriage comes in futility (in vain) and passes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity.

It is good that you take hold of one thing (righteousness) and also not let go of the other (wisdom); for the one who fears and worships God [with awe-filled reverence] will come forth with both of them.

So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out of the holy place [but did not thereby escape their doom], and they are [praised in spite of their evil and] soon forgotten in the city where they did such things. This too is futility (vanity, emptiness).

It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers sacrifices and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as he who swears an oath is, so is he who is afraid to swear an oath.

This evil is in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they go to the dead.

Give a portion to seven, or even [divide it] to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.

Just as you do not know the way and path of the wind or how the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

Yes, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that is to come will be futility.

Remember [thoughtfully] also your Creator in the days of your youth [for you are not your own, but His], before the evil days come or the years draw near when you will say [of physical pleasures], “I have no enjoyment and delight in them”;

(The Shulammite Bride)
“Listen! My beloved!
Behold, he comes,
Climbing on the mountains,
Leaping and running on the hills!

“My beloved speaks and says to me,
‘Arise, my love, my fair one,
And come away.

‘The flowers appear on the earth once again;
The time for singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

‘The fig tree has budded and ripens her figs,
And the vines are in blossom and give forth their fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
And come away [to climb the rocky steps of the hillside].’”

(The Shulammite Bride)
“What is this coming up from the wilderness
Like [stately] pillars of smoke
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the fragrant powders of the merchant?”