God has spoken in his holiness, "I will exult, I will divide up Shechem, and portion out the valley of Succoth.

Yahweh has sworn and he will not change [his mind], "You [are] a priest forever according to the manner of Melchizedek."

He has made his wonders {to be remembered}; Yahweh [is] gracious and compassionate.

He has declared the power of his works for his people, by giving to them [the] inheritance of [the] nations.

He has sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever; holy and fearful [is] his name.

The heavens [are] Yahweh's heavens, but the earth he has given to [the] children of humankind.

I love [him], because Yahweh has heard {the voice of my supplications}.

Because he has inclined his ear to me, I will call {all my days}.

Return, O my soul, to your repose, for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you.

Yah [is] my strength and [my] song, and he has become my salvation.

[The] sound of rejoicing and salvation [is] in [the] tents of [the] righteous; the right hand of Yahweh [has] done valiantly.

The right hand of Yahweh [has] exalted; the right hand of Yahweh [has] done valiantly.

Yah has disciplined me severely, but he did not consign me to death.

[The] stone the builders rejected has become [the] chief cornerstone.

This [is] the day Yahweh has worked; let us rejoice and be glad in him.

Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind [the] festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

This has been mine, that I have kept your precepts.

Too long my soul has had its dwelling near [one who] hates peace.

For long enough our soul has had its fill of the derision of the self-confident, the contempt of [the] arrogant.

Blessed [be] Yahweh, who has not made us prey for their teeth.

Our soul has escaped like a bird from [the] snare of fowlers. The snare [is] broken, and we have escaped.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing. Then they said among the nations, "Yahweh has done great [things] for these [people]."

Yahweh has done great [things] for us; we are glad.

Yahweh [is] righteous. He has cut [the] ropes of [the] wicked.

For Yahweh has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation.

For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his special possession.

For [the] enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground. He has made me dwell in dark places like [those] long dead.

He has not done so for any nation, and they do not know [his] ordinances. Praise Yah.

And he has raised high a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful-- for the children of Israel, a people close to him. Praise Yah.

she who forsakes the partner of her youth and has forgotten the covenant of her God,

It has no chief, officer, or ruler.

For there is no man in his home; he has gone on a {long journey}.

For many slain she has laid low, and countless [are] all of her killings.

Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars.

She has slaughtered her slaughtering, mixed her wine, [and] also set her table.

She has sent her servant girls, she calls upon the wings of the high places of town,

On the lips of one who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod [is] for the back of one who lacks {sense}.

He who conceals hatred [has] lips of deceit, and he who utters slander--he is a fool.

There is one who acts rich but {has nothing}; another who pretends to be poor but [has] wealth.

He who despises his neighbor is a sinner, but he who has mercy on the poor blesses him.

[He who is] slow to anger [has] great understanding, but the hasty of spirit exalts folly.

He who oppresses the poor insults him who made him, but he who has mercy on the poor honors him.

In the heart of him who has understanding, wisdom rests, but [even] in the midst of fools it becomes known.

The path of life [leads] upward for him who has insight, in order to turn away from Sheol below.

All Yahweh has made [is] for his purpose, and even the wicked for the day of trouble.

The ear that hears and the eye that sees, Yahweh has made {them both}.

Take his garment, for he has given security [to] a stranger, and on behalf of a foreigner--take it as pledge.

He who loves purity of heart [and has]{gracious speech}, his friend [is the] king.

Do not say, "Just as he has done to me, so shall I do to him; I will pay back the man according to his deed."

A breached city [where] there is no wall [is like] a man who {has no} self-control for his spirit.

A man of faithfulness [has] abundant blessings, but he who hurries to become rich will not go unpunished.

Who has ascended [to] heaven and come down? Who has gathered [the] wind in the hollow of his hand? Who has wrapped water in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What [is] his name and what is the name of his child? For [surely] you know.

Or else he will drink and forget what has been decreed, and he will pervert the rights of all the {afflicted}.

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

I applied my mind to seek and to search by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. It [is] a grievous task God has given to {humans}.

{I said to myself}, "Look! I have become great and have increased [in] wisdom more than anyone who {has preceded} me over Jerusalem. {I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge}."

Next, I considered wisdom, as well as delusion and folly. What can anyone [do] who will come after the king that has not already been done?

I realized that wisdom has an advantage over folly, just as light has an advantage over darkness.

For although a person may toil with great wisdom and skill, he must leave his reward to someone who has not toiled for it. This also [is] vanity and a great calamity.

He has made everything suitable in its time. He also has put {the past} in their hearts, yet no one can grasp what God does from the beginning to the end.

What is--it already was, and what will be--it already is, for {God will do what he has done.}

So I said {to myself}, "God will surely judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time [of judgment] for every deed and every work."

For the fate of {humans} and the fate of the beast is {the same}. The death of the one is like the death of the other, for {both are mortal}. Man has no advantage over the beast, for both are fleeting.

But better [off] than both of them is the one who has not yet been born and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

{The fool refuses to work with his hands, so he has nothing to eat except his own skin}!

Sometimes a man is all alone with no companion; he also has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eye is not satisfied with wealth. [He laments,] "For whom am I toiling and depriving {myself} of pleasure?" This also [is] vanity--it is an unhappy business!

That wealth was lost in a bad venture. Although he has borne a child, {he has nothing to leave to him}.

He has neither seen nor known the sun, yet he has more rest than him.

Whatever is--it was already determined, {what will be--it has already been decided}. As for man, he cannot argue against what is more powerful than him.

{For wisdom offers protection like money offers protection}. But knowledge [has] an advantage--wisdom restores life to its possessor.

Whoever is joined to all the living has hope. After all, even a live dog is better than a dead lion!

What they loved and hated, as well as what they desired, has already perished. They no longer have any share in what is done under the sun.

Go--eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart! For God already has approved your deeds.

Now that all has been heard, here is the final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commandments, for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.

Do not gaze at me because I am black, because the sun has stared [at] me. The sons of my mother were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, [but] my own "vineyard" I did not keep.

For look! The winter is over; {the rainy season} {has turned and gone away}.

The blossoms {appear} {in the land}; {the time of singing has arrived}; the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned that we may seek him with you?

My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the garden bed of the spice, to pasture his flock and to gather lilies in the garden.

Let us rise early [to go] to the vineyards; let us see whether the vine has budded, [whether] the grape blossom has opened, and [whether] the pomegranates {are in bloom}; there I will give my love to you.

Hear, heavens, and listen, earth, for Yahweh has spoken: "I reared children and I brought [them] up, but they rebelled against me.

But if you refuse and you rebel, you shall be devoured [by the] sword. For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken."

How has a faithful city become like a whore? Full of justice, righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

Your silver has become [as] dross; Your wine [is] diluted with waters.

Turn away from humanity, who [has] breath in its nostrils, for by what [is] it esteemed?

For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen because their speech and their deeds [are] against Yahweh, defying the eyes of his glory.

when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the blood of Jerusalem from her midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.

Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat, and it has opened wide its mouth without limit, and her nobles will go down, and her multitude, her tumult and those who revel in her.

And he touched my mouth, and he said, "Look! This has touched your lips and has removed your guilt, and your sin is annulled."

Because Aram has plotted evil against you [with] Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying,

Then Yahweh said to me, "Take yourself a large tablet and write on it with a common stylus pen: Maher-Halal-Hash-Baz.

And I approached the prophetess, and she conceived, and she gave birth to a son. And Yahweh said to me, "Call his name Maher-Halal-Hash-Baz.

"Because this people has refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices [over] Rezin and the son of Remaliah,

Look! I and the children whom Yahweh has given to me [are] like signs and portents in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, the one who dwells on the mountain of Zion.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; light has shined on those who lived in a land of darkness.

For a child has been born for us; a son has been given to us. And the dominion will be on his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The Lord has sent out a word against Jacob, and it fell on Israel.

Aram from [the] east and Philistines from [the] west-- and they devoured Israel with the whole mouth. He has not turned away his anger in all of this, and his hand is still stretched out.

Manasseh [devoured] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they [were] against Judah. In all of this his anger has not turned away, and still his hand [is] stretched out.

{save that they bow down under the prisoners and fall under the slain}? In all of this his anger has not turned away, and still his hand [is] stretched out.