I am greatly afflicted;
Renew and revive me [giving me life], O Lord, according to Your word.

I am Your servant; give me understanding [the ability to learn and a teachable heart]
That I may know Your testimonies.

The unfolding of Your [glorious] words give light;
Their unfolding gives understanding to the simple (childlike).

Your righteous testimonies are everlasting;
Give me understanding [the ability to learn and a teachable heart] that I may live.

Hear my voice according to Your [steadfast] lovingkindness;
O Lord, renew and refresh me according to Your ordinances.

Plead my cause and redeem me;
Revive me and give me life according to [the promise of] Your word.

Great are Your tender mercies and steadfast love, O Lord;
Revive me and give me life according to Your ordinances.

Consider how I love Your precepts;
Revive me and give me life, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.

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].

What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?—

To which the [twelve] tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord,
[As was decreed as] an ordinance for Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.

Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to be torn by their teeth.

It is vain for you to rise early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of anxious labors—
For He gives [blessings] to His beloved even in his sleep.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness endures forever.

Who gives food to all flesh,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

Give thanks to the God of heaven,
For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O Lord,
When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].

I said to the Lord, “You are my God;
Listen to the voice of my supplications, O Lord.

Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The upright will dwell in Your presence.

Lord, I call upon You; hurry to me.
Listen to my voice when I call to You.

“Bring my soul out of prison (adversity),
So that I may give thanks and praise Your name;
The righteous will surround me [in triumph],
For You will look after me.”

Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Listen to my supplications!
Answer me in Your faithfulness, and in Your righteousness.

Who gives salvation to kings,
Who sets David His servant free from the evil sword.

The eyes of all look to You [in hopeful expectation],
And You give them their food in due time.

Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets free the prisoners.

He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens that for which they cry.

He gives [to the earth] snow like [a blanket of] wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.

He has not dealt this way with any [other] nation;
They have not known [understood, appreciated, heeded, or cherished] His ordinances.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

That prudence (good judgment, astute common sense) may be given to the naive or inexperienced [who are easily misled],
And knowledge and discretion (intelligent discernment) to the youth,

“If you will turn and pay attention to my rebuke,
Behold, I [Wisdom] will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.

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

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

Though He scoffs at the scoffers and scorns the scorners,
Yet He gives His grace [His undeserved favor] to the humble [those who give up self-importance].

For I give you good doctrine;
Do not turn away from my instruction.

“She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty and glory.”

Or you will give your honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one,

My son, if you have become surety (guaranteed a debt or obligation) for your neighbor,
If you have given your pledge for [the debt of] a stranger or another [outside your family],

Give no [unnecessary] sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;

My son, be guided by your father’s [God-given] commandment (instruction)
And do not reject the teaching of your mother;

But when he is found, he must repay seven times [what he stole];
He must give all the property of his house [if necessary to meet his fine].

Suddenly he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter [not knowing the outcome],
Or as one in stocks going to the correction [to be given] to a fool,

Give instruction to a wise man and he will become even wiser;
Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

Desire realized is sweet to the soul;
But it is detestable to fools to turn away from evil [which they have planned].

The ear that listens to and learns from the life-giving rebuke (reprimand, censure)
Will remain among the wise.

Understanding (spiritual insight) is a [refreshing and boundless] wellspring of life to those who have it,
But to give instruction and correction to fools is foolishness.

An evildoer listens closely to wicked lips;
And a liar pays attention to a destructive and malicious tongue.

A bribe is like a bright, precious stone in the eyes of its owner;
Wherever he turns, he prospers.

A man lacking common sense gives a pledge
And becomes guarantor [for the debt of another] in the presence of his neighbor.

Many will seek the favor of a generous and noble man,
And everyone is a friend to him who gives gifts.

He who is gracious and lends a hand to the poor lends to the Lord,
And the Lord will repay him for his good deed.

He craves all the day long [and does no work],
But the righteous [willingly] gives and does not withhold [what he has].

He who is generous will be blessed,
For he gives some of his food to the poor.

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.

To let you know the certainty of the words of truth,
That you may give a correct answer to him who sent you?

Do not even associate with a man given to angry outbursts;
Or go [along] with a hot-tempered man,

For you will put a knife to your throat
If you are a man of great appetite.

My son, give me your heart
And let your eyes delight in my ways,

My son, fear the Lord and the king;
And do not associate with those who are given to change [of allegiance, and are revolutionary],

He kisses the lips [and wins the hearts of people]
Who gives a right and straightforward answer.

Like clouds and wind without rain
Is a man who boasts falsely of gifts [he does not give].

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

Like one who [absurdly] binds a stone in a sling [making it impossible to throw],
So is he who [absurdly] gives honor to a fool.

He who gives to the poor will never want,
But he who shuts his eyes [from their need] will have many curses.

The poor man and the oppressor have this in common:
The Lord gives light to the eyes of both.

The rod and reproof (godly instruction) give wisdom,
But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.

Correct your son, and he will give you comfort;
Yes, he will delight your soul.

An angry man stirs up strife,
And a hot-tempered and undisciplined man commits many transgressions.

Keep deception and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,

The leech has two daughters,
“Give, give!”
There are three things that are never satisfied,
Four that do not say, “It is enough”:

Do not give your [generative] strength to women [neither foreign wives in marriages of alliances, nor concubines],
Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.

Give strong drink [as medicine] to him who is ready to pass away,
And wine to him whose life is bitter.

She equips herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task]
And makes her arms strong.

Give her of the product of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates [of the city].

And I set my mind to seek and explore by [man’s] wisdom all [human activity] that has been done under heaven. It is a miserable business and a burdensome task which God has given the sons of men with which to be busy and distressed.

For to the person who pleases Him God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who pleases God. This too is vanity and chasing after the wind.

I have seen the task which God has given to the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

Guard your steps and focus on what you are doing as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the [careless or irreverent] sacrifice of fools; for they are too ignorant to know they are doing evil.

Behold, here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God gives him—for this is his [allotted] reward.

Also, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, He has also given the power and ability to enjoy them and to receive [this as] his [allotted] portion and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God [to him].

a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not given him the power or capacity to enjoy them [all those things which are gifts from God], but a stranger [in whom he has no interest succeeds him and] enjoys them. This is vanity and it is a [cause of] great distress.

If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he is not respected and is not given a proper burial [he is not laid to rest in the sepulcher of his fathers], then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he,

Also, do not take seriously everything that is said, so that you will not hear your servant cursing you,

There is no man who has power and authority over the wind to restrain the wind,
Nor does he have authority over the day of death;
There is no discharge [from service] during time of war,
And evil will not rescue those who [actively seek to] practice it.

Then I commended pleasure and enjoyment, because a man [without God] has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for this will stand by him in his toil through the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given you under the sun—all the days of vanity and futility. For this is your reward in life and in your work in which you have labored under the sun.

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

The words of the wise are like [prodding] goads, and these collected sayings are [firmly fixed in the mind] like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.

But beyond this my son, [about going further than the words given by one Shepherd], be warned: the writing of many books is endless [so do not believe everything you read], and excessive study and devotion to books is wearying to the body.

‘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].’”

“You have ravished my heart and given me courage, my sister, my [promised] bride;
You have ravished my heart and given me courage with a single glance of your eyes,
With one jewel of your necklace.

(The Chorus)
“What is your beloved more than another beloved,
O most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
That you should so command us to take an oath?”

“Let us go out early to the vineyards;
Let us see whether the vine has budded
And its blossoms have opened,
And whether the pomegranates have flowered.
There I will give you my love.

“The mandrakes give forth fragrance,
And over our doors are all [kinds of] choice fruits,
Both new and old,
Which I have saved up for you, my beloved.

Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth;
For the Lord has spoken:
“I have reared and brought up sons,
But they have rebelled against Me and have broken away.

Hear the word of the Lord [rulers of Jerusalem],
You rulers of [another] Sodom,
Listen to the law and instruction of our God,
You people of [another] Gomorrah.

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).

and because of the abundance of milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left in the land will eat [only] curds and [wild] honey.

“Be broken [in pieces], O peoples, and be shattered!
Listen, all you [our enemies from the] far countries.
Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered;
Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered.