Ecclesiastes 2 Cross References - ISV

¹ A Testimony to Self-IndulgenceI told myself, “I will test you with pleasure, so enjoy yourself.” But this was pointless. ² “Senseless,” said I concerning laughter and pleasure, “How practical is this?” ³ I decided to indulge in wine, while still remaining committed to wisdom. I also tried to indulge in foolishness, just enough to determine whether it was good for human beings under heaven given the short time of their lives.
⁴ A Testimony to Extravagant WorksWith respect to my extravagant works, I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself. ⁵ I constructed gardens and orchards for myself, and within them I planted all kinds of fruit trees. ⁶ I built for myself water reservoirs to irrigate forests that produce trees.
⁷ A Testimony to Extravagant PossessionsI acquired male and female slaves, and had other slaves born in my house. I also acquired for myself increasing numbers of herds and flocks—more than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. ⁸ I also accumulated silver, gold, and the wealth of kings and their kingdoms. I gathered around me both male and female singers, along with what delights a man—all sorts of mistresses.
⁹ A Testimony to Extravagant PositionSo I became great, greater than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. Throughout all of this, I remained wise. ¹⁰ Whenever I wanted something I had seen, I never refused that desire. Instead, I enjoyed everything I did, and this became the reward in what I had undertaken. ¹¹ Then I examined all of my accomplishments that I had brought about by my own efforts, including the work that I had labored so hard to complete—and it was all pointless, like chasing after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained on earth.
¹² Next I turned to examine wisdom, insanity, and foolishness, because what can a person do who succeeds the king except what has already been accomplished? ¹³ I concluded that wisdom is more useful than foolishness, just as light is more useful than darkness. ¹⁴ The wise use their eyes, but the fool walks in darkness. I also perceived that the same outcome affects them all.
¹⁵ The Pointlessness of LifeThen I told myself, “Whatever happens to the fool will happen also to me. Therefore what’s the point in being so wise?” And I told myself that this also is pointless. ¹⁶ For neither the wise nor the fool will be long remembered, since in days to come everything will be forgotten. The wise man dies the same way as the fool, does he not? ¹⁷ So I hated life, because whatever is done on earth causes me trouble—it’s all pointless, like chasing after the wind.
¹⁸ The Pointlessness of LaborThen I despised everything I had worked for on earth, that is, the things that I will leave to the person who will succeed me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Either way, he will take possession of everything that I have done on earth, especially where I have excelled. This also is pointless. ²⁰ So I came to be in despair about everything I had accomplished on earth. ²¹ For sometimes people who strive to obtain wisdom, knowledge, and equity leave everything as an inheritance to a person who never worked for it. This, too, is pointless and greatly troublesome.
²² For what does a person gain from everything that he accomplishes and from his inner life struggles that he undergoes while working on earth? ²³ Indeed, all of his days are filled with sorrow, and his struggles bring grief. In fact, his mind remains restless throughout the night. This is pointless, too!
²⁴ The Central Point of LifeThe only worthwhile thing for a human being is to eat, drink, and enjoy life’s goodness that he finds in what he accomplishes. This, I observed, is also from the hand of God himself, ²⁵ for who can eat or enjoy life apart from him? ²⁶ After all, to the person who is good in God’s sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner he gives the troublesome task of acquiring and accumulating in order to leave it to someone who is good in the sight of God. This also is pointless and chasing after the wind.

³ They told each other, “Come on! Let’s burn bricks thoroughly.” They used bricks for stone and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come on! Let’s build ourselves a city and a tower, with its summit in the heavens, and let’s make a name for ourselves so we won’t be scattered over the surface of the whole earth.”

⁷ Come on! Let’s go down there and confuse their language, so that they won’t understand each other’s speech.”

⁵ The king of Aram replied, “Go now, and I’ll send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he left and took with him ten talents of silver and 6,000 units of gold, along with ten sets of clothing.

⁶ They say to themselves, “We will not be moved throughout all time, and we will not experience adversity.”

¹ To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
The Fool and God’s Response Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.” They are corrupt and commit evil deeds; not one of them practices what is good.

⁸ My mind recalls your word, “Seek my face,” so your face, LORD, I will seek.

⁶ As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I will never be moved.” ⁷ By your favor, LORD, you established me as a strong mountain; Then you hid your face, and I was dismayed.

¹⁶ I told myself, “I have become greater and wiser than anyone who ruled before me in Jerusalem—yes, I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷ So I dedicated myself to learn about wisdom and knowledge, and about insanity and foolishness. And I discovered that this is also like chasing after the wind.

¹⁵ The Pointlessness of LifeThen I told myself, “Whatever happens to the fool will happen also to me. Therefore what’s the point in being so wise?” And I told myself that this also is pointless.

¹⁷ I told myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked, because there is a time set to judge every event and every work.”
¹⁸ “As for human beings,” I told myself, “God puts them to the test, that they might see themselves as mere animals.”

⁴ For the wise person thinks carefully when in mourning, but fools focus their thoughts on pleasure.

¹⁵ So then I recommended enjoyment of life, because it is better on earth for a man to eat, drink, and be happy, since this will stay with him throughout his struggle all the days of his life, which God grants him on earth.

⁹ So enjoy yourself in your youth, young man, and be encouraged during your younger days. Live as you like, consistent with your world view, but keep in mind that God will bring you to account for everything.

⁵ “Now, let me tell you, won’t you please, what I’m going to do to my vineyard. “I’m going to take away its protective hedge, and it will be devoured; I’ll break down its wall, and it will be trampled.

⁵ My Lord GOD has opened my ears, and I did not rebel; I did not shrink back.

¹¹ Look! All those who light a fire, who surround yourselves with flaming torches— walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have set ablaze! This is what you will receive from my hand: you will lie down in torment.

¹⁹ Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up plenty of good things for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’

¹⁹ The Rich Man and Lazarus“Once there was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and live in great luxury every day.

²³ In the afterlife, where he was in constant torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus by his side.

³ After all, we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and misled. We were slaves to many kinds of lusts and pleasures, spending our days in malice and jealousy. We were despised, and we hated one another.

¹³ Do Not Boast about Future PlansNow listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money.”

¹ Advice for Rich PeopleNow listen, you rich people! Cry and moan over the miseries that are overtaking you.

⁵ You have lived in luxury and pleasure on earth. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter.

⁷ Just as she glorified herself and lived in luxury, inflict on her just as much torture and misery. In her heart she says, ‘I am a queen on a throne, not a widow. I will never see misery.’ ⁸ For this reason, her diseases that result in death, misery, and famine will come in a single day. She will be burned up in a fire, because powerful is the Lord God who judges her.”

¹³ Even in laughter there may be heartache, and at the end of joy there may be grief.

² It’s better to attend a funeral than to attend a banquet, for everyone dies eventually, and the living will take this to heart. ³ Sorrow is better than laughter, because the heart is made better through trouble. ⁴ For the wise person thinks carefully when in mourning, but fools focus their thoughts on pleasure. ⁵ It is better to listen to a wise person’s rebuke than to listen to the praise of fools. ⁶ For as thorns burn to heat a pot, so also is the laughter of the fool— even this is pointless.

¹² On that day the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies called for weeping and mourning, for shaving heads and wearing sackcloth. ¹³ But look! There is joy and festivity, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating meat and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, you say, because we die tomorrow.”

³ “Disbelieving that a day of evil will come, embracing opportunities to commit violence, ⁴ lying on ivory beds, stretching out on your couches, eating lambs from the flock, and fattened calves from the stall, ⁵ chanting to the sound of stringed instruments as if they were David, composing songs to themselves as if they were musicians, ⁶ drinking wine from bowls, anointing themselves with the choicest of oils, but not grieving on the occasion of Joseph’s ruin—

² so that he can live the rest of his mortal life guided, not by human desires, but by the will of God. ³ For you spent enough time in the past doing what the gentiles like to do, living in sensuality, sinful desires, drunkenness, wild celebrations, drinking parties, and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They insult you now because they are surprised that you are no longer joining them in the same excesses of wild living.

⁹ “I’m 130 years old,” Jacob replied. “My years have turned out to be few and unpleasant, but I haven’t yet reached the age my ancestors did during their travels on earth.”

³⁶ Nabal’s DeathAbigail returned to Nabal, and he was there in his house holding a festival like the festival of a king. Nabal’s heart was glad, and he was very drunk, so she didn’t tell him anything at all until morning.

¹⁴ If a human being dies, will he live again? I will endure the entire time of my assigned service, until I am changed.

⁹ All our days pass away in your wrath; our years fade away and end like a sigh. ¹⁰ We live for 70 years, or 80 years if we’re healthy, yet even in the prime years there are troubles and sorrow. They pass by quickly and we fly away. ¹¹ Who can know the intensity of your anger? Because our fear of you matches your wrath, ¹² teach us to keep account of our days so we may develop inner wisdom.

¹ Advice on How to Live Wine causes mocking, and beer causes fights; everyone led astray by them lacks wisdom.

²⁹ On SobrietyWho has woe? Who has grief? Who has contention? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has bloodshot eyes? ³⁰ Those who linger over their wine, who consume mixed drinks. ³¹ Don’t stare into red wine, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. ³² Eventually it will bite like a snake and sting like a serpent. ³³ Your eyes will see strange things, and with slurred words you’ll speak what you really believe. ³⁴ You will be like someone who lies down in the sea, or like someone who sleeps on top of a mast. ³⁵ “They struck me,” you will say, “but I never felt it. They beat me, but I never knew it When will I wake up? I want another drink.”

⁴ It is not for kings, Lemuel— Not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire liquor. ⁵ Otherwise, they may drink and forget what has been ordained, perverting justice for all the oppressed.

¹⁷ So I dedicated myself to learn about wisdom and knowledge, and about insanity and foolishness. And I discovered that this is also like chasing after the wind.

²⁴ The Central Point of LifeThe only worthwhile thing for a human being is to eat, drink, and enjoy life’s goodness that he finds in what he accomplishes. This, I observed, is also from the hand of God himself,

¹² I have concluded that the only worthwhile thing for them is to take pleasure in doing good in life; ¹³ moreover, every person should eat, drink, and enjoy the benefits of everything that he undertakes, since it is a gift from God.

¹² Who knows what is best for people in this life, every day of their pointless lives that they pass through like a shadow? Who informs people on earth what will come along after them?

¹⁸ It is good for you to grab hold of this and not let go, because whoever fears God will escape all of these extremes.

²⁵ I committed myself to understand, to learn, to search for wisdom and explanations, and to understand both the evil that is foolishness and the stupidity that is delusion.

¹³ Let the conclusion of all of these thoughts be heard: Fear God and obey his commandments, for this is what it means to be human.

²⁴ God and Riches
“No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches!”

¹⁵ What harmony exists between the Messiah and Beliar, or what do a believer and an unbeliever have in common? ¹⁶ What agreement can a temple of God make with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said: “I will live and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ¹⁷ Therefore, “Get away from them and separate yourselves from them,” declares the Lord, “and don’t touch anything unclean. Then I will welcome you.

¹⁸ Stop getting drunk with wine, which leads to wild living, but keep on being filled with the Spirit.

⁴ Then they said, “Come on! Let’s build ourselves a city and a tower, with its summit in the heavens, and let’s make a name for ourselves so we won’t be scattered over the surface of the whole earth.”

¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you have built beautiful houses and lived in them, ¹³ when your cattle and oxen multiply, when your silver and gold increase, ¹⁴ then you will become arrogant. You’ll neglect the LORD your God,

¹⁸ While Absalom had been living, he had erected a pillar as a monument to himself in King’s Valley because he had been telling himself, “I don’t have a son to carry on my family name.” So he named the pillar after himself—it’s called Absalom’s Monument even today.

¹ Solomon’s PalaceBut Solomon took thirteen years to build his own palace, and finally finished it. ² He built his own palace out of timber supplied from the forest of Lebanon. It was 100 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 20 cubits tall, and was constructed on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams interlocking the pillars. ³ There were 45 pillars paneled with cedar above the side chambers, with rows of fifteen pillars, ⁴ with three rows of framed windows facing each other in three ranks. ⁵ All the doorways and doorposts had rectangular frames, with the doorways facing each other in three tiers. ⁶ There was also a hall of pillars 50 cubits long and 30 cubits wide, and a porch in front with pillars, and a canopy in front of the pillars. ⁷ He constructed the Judgment Hall for the throne room where he would be ruling, paneling it with cedar from floor to ceiling. ⁸ Solomon’s personal dwelling quarters, a separate court behind the hall, was of similar workmanship. Solomon also built a house similar to this for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Solomon had married.
⁹ All of these were made with expensive stones, pre-cut according to specifications, hand-sawed inside and out from the foundation to the coping, including from inside to the great court. ¹⁰ The foundation was made of expensive stone, including large stones ten cubits long and stones eight cubits long. ¹¹ Above these were expensive stones cut according to specifications, and cedar. ¹² So the great court was surrounded by three rows of cut stone, along with a row of cedar beams, just like the inner court of the LORD’s Temple and the porch surrounding the Temple.

¹ God Appears to Solomon
Later, after Solomon had finished building the LORD’s Temple, the royal palace, and everything else that Solomon wanted to do,

¹⁹ Six steps led up to the throne, which had a round canopy fastened to the rear of the throne and armrests on each side of the seat and two lions standing on either side of each armrest. ²⁰ Twelve lions were placed on both sides of the six steps leading to the throne, and nothing comparable was made for any other kingdoms.

¹⁹ “Let’s make a treaty between you and me,” he said, “just like the one between my father and your father. Notice that I’ve sent you silver and gold to break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he’ll retreat from his attack on me.”

²⁷ Shimei the Ramathite supervised the vineyards. In charge over the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite.

¹ Solomon’s Accomplishments
It took Solomon 20 years to build the LORD’s Temple and his own palace. ² During this time, he also rebuilt the towns that Hiram had restored to him, and he settled Israelis in them. ³ After this, Solomon traveled to Hamath-zobah and captured it. ⁴ Then he rebuilt Tadmor in the desert, along with supply centers that he had built in Hamath. ⁵ He also built upper and lower Beth-horon as fortified cities, installing walls, gates, and bars, ⁶ and he rebuilt Baalath and its supply centers that belonged to Solomon, along with all the cities that he utilized to garrison his chariots and cavalry forces. Solomon was pleased also to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in every territory that he controlled.

¹¹ Later, Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David to the palace that he had constructed to house her, because he reasoned, “My wife isn’t going to live in the palace where King David of Israel lived, because wherever the ark of the LORD entered is holy.”

¹⁰ He also built watchtowers in the wilderness and had many cisterns hewed out, since he also possessed large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the midland plains. He had many farmers and vinedressers throughout the hills and fertile lands because he loved farming.

¹¹ Their inner thoughts are on their homes forever; their dwellings from generation to generation. They even name their lands after themselves.

¹⁴ My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.

¹² Let us go early to the vineyards, let us see whether the vine has budded, whether the blossom has opened, whether the pomegranates have bloomed. There I’ll give you my love.

¹¹ Solomon has a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers— each one is to bring 1,000 pieces of silver in exchange for its fruit. ¹² My vineyard belongs to me and is at my disposal. The 1,000 are for you, Solomon, and 200 are for those who take care of its fruit.

¹ The LORD’s Vineyard I will sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: “The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.

³⁰ he commented to himself, “Isn’t Babylon great? I’ve built a royal palace in it by my own might and power, for the sake of my majesty.”

⁸ The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east, where he placed the man whom he had formed. ⁹ The LORD God caused every tree that is both beautiful and suitable for food to spring up out of the ground. The tree of life was also in the middle of the garden, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹² My sister, my bride, is a locked garden a locked rock garden, a sealed up spring.

² The Loved OneMy beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to graze his flock in the gardens and gather lilies.

⁴ When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled and went out of the city at night through the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls. Then he went out on the road toward the Arabah.

²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed all of them. ²⁸ So it was in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed all of them.

¹⁴ I proceeded to the Fountain Gate, and then to the King’s Pool, but there wasn’t sufficient clearance for the animal I was riding to pass.

³ He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither. He will prosper in everything he does.

⁴ Your neck is like a tower of ivory. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon, beside the gate of Beth-rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, which faces Damascus.

⁸ He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by a stream. He won’t fear when the heat comes, and his leaves will be green. In a year of drought he won’t be concerned, nor will he stop producing fruit.”

² Now Abram had become quite wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold.

¹⁴ When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he gathered together 318 of his trained men, who had been born in his household, and they went out in pursuit as far as Dan.

³ Look!” Abram said, “You haven’t given me any offspring, so a servant born in my house is going to be my heir.”

¹² Generation after generation, every male among you is to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, including the servant born in your house or the one purchased from a foreigner, who is not of your offspring. ¹³ The servant born in your house or the one purchased with money is to be circumcised. My covenant is to remain in your flesh as an eternal covenant.

²³ ten fattened oxen, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and domestic poultry.

²⁰ The people who survived from the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not related to the Israelis, ²¹ and whose descendants had survived them and continued to live in the land because the Israelis were unable to completely eliminate them, Solomon placed under conscripted labor, a situation that remains in effect to this day. ²² However, Solomon did not force Israelis into conscripted labor, but they did serve as his soldiers, servants, princes, captains, chariot commanders, and cavalry.

⁴ Moab Rebels against IsraelMeanwhile, Moab’s king Mesha was a sheep breeder. He used to pay 100,000 lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams to the king of Israel as tribute.

²⁹ Shitrai the Sharonite supervised the herds that were pastured in Sharon. Adlai’s son Shaphat supervised the herds in the valleys. ³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite supervised the camels. Jehdeiah the Meronothite supervised the donkeys. Jaziz the Hagrite supervised the flocks. ³¹ All of these served as stewards over King David’s property.

²⁷ Hezekiah’s Wealth and Accomplishments
Hezekiah received immense wealth and honor. He built treasuries for himself to store silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all sorts of valuable items, ²⁸ along with storage facilities for grain, wine, oil, stalls for all sorts of cattle, and sheepfolds for his flocks. ²⁹ He also built cities for himself and stored up flocks and herds in abundance, because God had given him great riches.

⁵⁸ All of the Temple Servants and descendants of Solomon’s servants numbered 392.

⁵⁷ The Descendants of Solomon’s Servants:
Descendants of Sotai, Sophereth, and Perida,

³ His livestock included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and many servants. Indeed, the man’s stature greatly exceeded that of many people who lived in the East.

¹² The LORD blessed Job during the latter part of his life more than the former, since he owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys.

³⁵ I’m now 80 years old! I can hardly tell the difference between what tastes good or bad! I can’t tell what I eat or drink! I can’t hear the voice of men and women when they sing! So why should your servant be an added burden to your majesty the king?

¹⁴ Then Hiram paid the king 120 talents of gold.

²⁸ They sailed as far as Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold for Solomon.

¹⁰ Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a vast quantity of spices, and precious stones. No spices ever came again that were comparable to those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁴ Solomon’s Wealth
Solomon’s annual revenue was 666 talents of gold,

²¹ All of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were made of gold, and all the vessels in his palace in the Lebanon forest were made of pure gold. None were of silver, because silver was never considered to be valuable during Solomon’s lifetime,

²¹ Rehoboam Reigns over Judah
Meanwhile, Solomon’s son Rehoboam reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city where the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to place his Name. His mother was an Ammonite named Naamah. ²² Judah practiced what the LORD considered to be evil. They did more to provoke him to jealousy than their ancestors had ever done by committing the sins that they committed.

²⁷ King Rehoboam made shields out of bronze to take their place, and then committed them to the care and custody of the commanders of those who guarded the entrance to the royal palace.

¹ The MusiciansAlong with officers in his army, David consecrated to assist in service to the descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun those who prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals.
The list of those who participated in this service included:

⁶ They were all under their father’s supervision regarding music in the Temple of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of the Temple of God.
Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under command of the king.

¹¹ The king used the algum wood to have steps made for the LORD’s Temple and for the royal palace, as well as lyres and harps for the choir, and nothing like that wood had been seen before in the territory of Judah.

¹⁵ King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, overlaying each shield with the gold from 600 gold pieces, ¹⁶ and 300 shields from beaten gold, overlaying each shield with the gold from 300 gold pieces. The king put them in his palace in the Lebanon forest. ¹⁷ The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸ Six steps led up to the throne. A golden footstool was attached to the throne, which had armrests on each side of the seat and two lions standing on either side of each armrest. ¹⁹ Twelve lions were placed on both sides of the six steps leading to the throne, and nothing comparable was made for any other kingdom. ²⁰ All of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were made of gold, and all the vessels in his palace in the Lebanon forest were made of pure gold. Silver was never considered to be valuable during the lifetime of Solomon, ²¹ because the king had ships that sailed to Tarshish accompanied by Hiram’s servants. Once every three years ships from Tarshish returned, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

⁶⁵ not including 7,337 male and female servants, along with 200 singing men and women.

¹¹ They release their children to play like sheep; their young ones dance about, ¹² singing with tambourines and lyres as they rejoice to the sound of flutes.

³ Praise him with trumpet sounding. Praise him with stringed instrument and harp. ⁴ Praise him with tambourine and dancing. Praise him with stringed and wind instruments. ⁵ Praise him with loud cymbals. Praise him with reverberating cymbals.

⁵ Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that was set up by King Nebuchadnezzar.

⁷ Therefore, when all of the people “heard the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other instruments,” all the “people, nations, and languages” began to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

¹⁵ Now, if you are ready at this very moment to obey ‘the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp,’ and worship the image that I have made… If you do not so worship, you will immediately have cast yourselves into the middle of the blazing fire, and what god is there who can deliver you from my power?”

⁵ chanting to the sound of stringed instruments as if they were David, composing songs to themselves as if they were musicians,

¹² look how I’m going to do precisely what you asked. I’m giving you a wise and discerning mind, so that there will have been no one like you before you and no one will arise after you like you.

⁷ “but I didn’t believe it at first! But then I came here and I’ve seen it for myself! It’s amazing! I wasn’t told half of what’s really great about your wisdom. You’re far better in person than what the reports have said about you!

²³ As a result, King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in regards to wealth and wisdom.

²⁵ and the LORD exalted Solomon magnificently in the sight of all Israel, bestowing upon him royal majesty such as had not been given to any king in Israel before him.

¹ The Beginnings of Solomon’s Administration
As David’s son Solomon consolidated his administration, the LORD his God was with him to make him very successful.

²² As a result, King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in regards to wealth and wisdom. ²³ All the kings of the earth continued to seek audiences with Solomon so they could hear the wise things that God had put in his heart.

¹⁶ I told myself, “I have become greater and wiser than anyone who ruled before me in Jerusalem—yes, I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”

⁶ When the woman saw that the tree produced good food, was attractive in appearance, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate some, too.

² some divine beings noticed how attractive human women were, so they took wives for themselves from a selection that pleased them.

² Then he returned and told his father and mother, “In Timnah I saw a woman of Philistine origin.” He ordered them, “Get her for me as a wife. Now!”

¹ Job Asserts His Moral Innocence “I made a covenant with my eyes; how, then, can I focus my attention on a virgin?

³⁷ Turn my eyes away from gazing at worthless things, and revive me by your ways.

² You will eat from the work of your hands; you will be happy, and it will go well for you.

⁵ When you fix your gaze on it, it’s gone, for it sprouts wings for itself and flies to the sky like an eagle.

²² For what does a person gain from everything that he accomplishes and from his inner life struggles that he undergoes while working on earth?

²² I concluded that it is worthwhile for people to find joy in their accomplishments, because that is their inheritance, since who can see what will exist after them?

¹⁸ The Use and Abuse of AccomplishmentLook! I observed that it is good and prudent to eat, drink, and enjoy all that is good of a person’s work that he does on earth during the limited days of his life, which God gives him, for this is his allotment.

⁹ It is better to focus on what you can see than to meander after your self-interest; this also is pointless and a chasing after wind.

⁹ Find joy in living with your wife whom you love every day of your pointless life that God gave you on earth, because this is your life assignment and your work to do on earth.

¹⁶ For everything that is in the world—the desire for fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world.

³¹ Now God saw all that he had made, and indeed, it was very good! The twilight and the dawn were the sixth day.

⁴³ Moses blessed them when he saw all the work and that they had completed it. They had done it just as the LORD had commanded.

³ What does a man gain from all of the work that he undertakes on earth?

¹⁴ I observed every activity done on earth. My conclusion: all of it is pointless—like chasing after the wind.

¹⁷ So I hated life, because whatever is done on earth causes me trouble—it’s all pointless, like chasing after the wind.
¹⁸ The Pointlessness of LaborThen I despised everything I had worked for on earth, that is, the things that I will leave to the person who will succeed me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Either way, he will take possession of everything that I have done on earth, especially where I have excelled. This also is pointless. ²⁰ So I came to be in despair about everything I had accomplished on earth. ²¹ For sometimes people who strive to obtain wisdom, knowledge, and equity leave everything as an inheritance to a person who never worked for it. This, too, is pointless and greatly troublesome.
²² For what does a person gain from everything that he accomplishes and from his inner life struggles that he undergoes while working on earth? ²³ Indeed, all of his days are filled with sorrow, and his struggles bring grief. In fact, his mind remains restless throughout the night. This is pointless, too!

¹³ Is it not because of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies that people grow tired putting out fires, and nations weary themselves over nothing?

⁶ Of course, godliness with contentment does bring a great profit.

¹⁶ For everything that is in the world—the desire for fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world and its desires are fading away, but the person who does God’s will remains forever.

⁹ Whatever has happened, will happen again; whatever has been done, will be done again. There is nothing new on earth. ¹⁰ Does anything exist about which someone might say, “Look at this! Is this new?” It happened ages ago; it existed before we did.

¹⁰⁵ Nun
God’s Word a LightYour word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my pathway.

¹³⁰ The disclosure of your words illuminates, providing understanding to the simple.

⁵ Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget or turn aside from the words of my mouth! ⁶ Do not abandon her, and she will protect you. Love her, and she will watch over you. ⁷ Wisdom is of utmost importance, therefore get wisdom, and with all your effort work to acquire understanding.

¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that grows brighter until the full light of day. ¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness, and they do not know what they are stumbling over.

¹⁶ How much better than gaining gold is the acquisition of wisdom, the attainment of wisdom better than silver!

¹¹ Wise use of possessions is good; it brings benefit to the living. ¹² Indeed, wisdom gives protection, just like money does, but it’s better to know that wisdom gives life, to those who have mastered it.

¹⁹ Wisdom given as strength to a wise person is better than having ten powerful men in the city.

¹⁶ So I concluded, “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless, the wisdom of the poor is rejected—his words are never heard.”

¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, and a single sinner can destroy a lot of good.

⁷ Preparing for Old AgeHow sweet is the daylight, and how pleasant it is for someone’s eyes to behold the sunshine!

¹⁸ When you return, you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, and between the one who serves God and the one who does not.”

²³ But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. Therefore, if the light within you has turned into darkness, how great is that darkness!”

³⁴ Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light. But when it’s evil, your body is full of darkness. ³⁵ Therefore, be careful that the light in you isn’t darkness.

⁸ For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light,

¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, even much fine gold. They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb.

¹⁰ Indeed, he will see wise people die; the stupid and the senseless will meet their doom and leave their wealth to others.

⁸ The wisdom of the prudent helps him know how to live, but a fool’s stupidity deceives him.

²⁴ A person with understanding has wisdom as his objective, but a fool looks only to earthly goals.

¹⁹ For what happens to people also happens to animals—a single event happens to them: just as someone dies, so does the other. In fact, they all breathe the same way, so that a human being has no superiority over an animal. All of this is pointless.

⁶ Even if he lives a thousand years twice over without experiencing the best—aren’t all of them going to the same place?

² It’s better to attend a funeral than to attend a banquet, for everyone dies eventually, and the living will take this to heart.

¹ The Wise Use of Power Who is really wise? Who knows how to interpret this saying: “A person’s wisdom improves his appearance, softening a harsh countenance.”

¹ God’s SovereigntyIn light of all of this, I committed myself to explain it this way: the righteous and the wise, along with everything they do, are in the hands of God. Furthermore, as to love and hate, no human being knows everything concerning them. ² Everyone shares the same experience: a single event affects the righteous, the wicked, the good, the clean, the unclean, whoever sacrifices, and whoever does not sacrifice. As it is with the good person, so also it is with the sinner; as it is with someone who takes an oath, so also it is with someone who fears taking an oath.
³ The Universality of DeathThere is a tragedy that infects everything that happens on earth: a common event happens to everyone. In fact, the hearts of human beings are full of evil. Madness remains in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they join the dead.

¹¹ I considered and observed on earth the following: The race doesn’t go to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor food to the wise, nor wealth to the smart, nor recognition to the skilled. Instead, timing and circumstances meet them all.

² A wise man’s heart tends toward his right, but a fool’s heart tends toward his left. ³ Furthermore, the way a fool lives shows he has no sense; he proclaims to everyone that he’s a fool.

¹¹ But the person who hates his brother is in the darkness and lives in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

² “Utterly pointless,” says the Teacher. “Absolutely pointless; everything is pointless.”

¹⁸ For with much wisdom there is much sorrow; the more someone adds to knowledge, the more someone adds to grief.

¹⁶ For neither the wise nor the fool will be long remembered, since in days to come everything will be forgotten. The wise man dies the same way as the fool, does he not?

⁸ For what advantage has the wise person over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have in knowing how to face life?

⁶ Then Joseph, all his brothers, and that entire generation died.

⁸ The Israelis Become SlavesEventually a new king who was unacquainted with Joseph came to power in Egypt.

³³ The king composed this mourning song for Abner: “Should Abner’s death be like a fool’s?

¹² Can your awesome deeds be known in darkness or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

¹⁶ but when the wind blows through it, it withers away and no one remembers where it was.

¹¹ No one remembers those in the past, nor will they be remembered by those who come after them.

¹⁴ The wise use their eyes, but the fool walks in darkness. I also perceived that the same outcome affects them all.

⁵ At least the living know they will die, but the dead know nothing; they no longer have a reward, since memory about them has been forgotten.

¹⁶ The Repentance of the RighteousThen those who feared the LORD talked with each other. The LORD listened and took note, and a scroll of remembrance was written in his presence about those who fear the LORD and honor His name.

²⁷ Indeed, just as people are destined to die once and after that to be judged,

¹⁵ If this is how you treat me, please kill me right now, if I’ve found favor in your eyes, because I don’t want to keep staring at all of this misery!”

⁴ and ran for a day’s journey deep into the wilderness. He found a juniper tree, sat down under it, and prayed that he could die. He asked God, “Enough! LORD! Take my life, because I’m not better than my ancestors!”

²⁰ “Why does God give light to the sufferer or life to the bitter person: ²¹ To those who are longing for death— even though it does not come? To those who search for it more than for hidden treasure? ²² To those who are happy beyond measure when they reach their graves?

¹⁵ I would rather die by strangulation than continue living. ¹⁶ I hate the thought of living forever! Leave me alone, because my days are pointless.”

¹³ There is Life after Death“Won’t you keep me safe in the afterlife? Conceal me until your anger subsides. Set an appointment for me, then remember me.

⁴⁷ Remember how short my lifetime is! How powerless have you created all human beings!

¹¹ Then I examined all of my accomplishments that I had brought about by my own efforts, including the work that I had labored so hard to complete—and it was all pointless, like chasing after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained on earth.

¹⁶ From Dust to DustI also examined on earth: where the halls of justice were supposed to be, there was lawlessness; and where the righteous were supposed to be, there was lawlessness.

² So I commended the dead who had already died as being happier than the living who are still alive.

¹⁴ Jeremiah Curses the Day of His BirthLet the day on which I was born be cursed. Don’t let the day on which my mother gave birth to me be blessed. ¹⁵ Cursed is the person who brought the good news to my father, “A baby boy has been born to you,” making him very happy. ¹⁶ May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. Let him hear a cry in the morning, and a battle cry at noon, ¹⁷ because he didn’t kill me in the womb, so that my mother would have been my grave and her womb forever pregnant. ¹⁸ Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow, and to finish my life living in shame?

¹⁴ Ezekiel Addresses the IsraelisThen the Spirit lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly with an angry attitude as the hand of the LORD rested on me.

³ Therefore, LORD, please kill me, because it’s better for me to die than to live!”

⁸ When the sun rose, God prepared a harsh east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head, he became faint, and he begged to die. “It is better for me to die than to live!” he said.

³ Why are you forcing me to look at iniquity and to stare at wickedness? Social havoc and oppression are all around me; there are legal conflicts, and disputes abound.

²³ Indeed, I cannot decide between the two. I have the desire to leave this life and be with the Messiah, for that is far better. ²⁴ But for your sake it is better that I remain alive.
²⁵ Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will continue to live and be with all of you, so you will mature in the faith and know joy in it.

¹¹ so the LORD told Solomon, “Because you have done this and haven’t kept my covenant and statutes that I commanded you, I’m going to tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. ¹² I’m not going to do this during your lifetime, for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of your son’s control. ¹³ For the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, I won’t tear away the entire kingdom. I’ll leave one tribe for your son to govern.”

¹⁴ from men, LORD, by your hand— from men who belong to this world, whose reward is only in this life. But as for your treasured ones, may their stomachs be full, may their children have an abundance, and may they leave wealth to their offspring.

⁶ In fact, people walk around as shadows. Surely, they busy themselves for nothing, heaping up possessions but not knowing who will get them.

¹³ I dedicated myself to using wisdom for study and discovery of everything that is done under heaven. God uses terrible things so human beings will struggle with life.

⁴ A Testimony to Extravagant WorksWith respect to my extravagant works, I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself. ⁵ I constructed gardens and orchards for myself, and within them I planted all kinds of fruit trees. ⁶ I built for myself water reservoirs to irrigate forests that produce trees.
⁷ A Testimony to Extravagant PossessionsI acquired male and female slaves, and had other slaves born in my house. I also acquired for myself increasing numbers of herds and flocks—more than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. ⁸ I also accumulated silver, gold, and the wealth of kings and their kingdoms. I gathered around me both male and female singers, along with what delights a man—all sorts of mistresses.
⁹ A Testimony to Extravagant PositionSo I became great, greater than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. Throughout all of this, I remained wise.

²⁶ After all, to the person who is good in God’s sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner he gives the troublesome task of acquiring and accumulating in order to leave it to someone who is good in the sight of God. This also is pointless and chasing after the wind.

³ Better than both of them is someone who has not yet been born, because he hasn’t experienced evil on earth.

¹³ I have observed a painful tragedy on earth: Wealth hoarded by its owner harms him, ¹⁴ and that wealth is lost in troubled circumstances. Then a son is born, but there is nothing left for him.

²⁰ But God told him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you. Now who will get the things you’ve accumulated?’

²⁷ “The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house— ²⁸ because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t end up in this place of torture, too.’

²⁹ I know that when I’m gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock. ³⁰ Indeed, some of your own men will arise and distort the truth in order to lure the disciples into following them.

¹⁰ The Messiah is Our FoundationAs an expert builder using the grace that God gave me, I laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it.

¹⁴ Instead, Rehoboam spoke to them along the lines of what the younger men suggested. He told them “My father burdened you heavily, but I will add to that burden. If my father disciplined you with whips, I’m going to discipline you with scorpions!”
¹⁵ The king would not listen to the people, because the turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill his prediction that the LORD spoke by means of Ahijah the Shilonite to Nebat’s son Jeroboam ¹⁶ When all of Israel saw that the king wasn’t listening to them, the people responded to the king’s message, “What’s the point in following David? We have no inheritance in the descendants of Jesse. Let’s go home, Israel! David, take care of your own household!’ So Israel left for home. ¹⁷ And so Rehoboam ruled over the Israelis who lived in the cities of Judah.
¹⁸ King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of conscripted labor, but all of Israel stoned him to death, and King Rehoboam had to jump in his chariot and flee back in a hurry to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ That’s how Israel came to be in rebellion against David’s dynasty to this day.
²⁰ Jeroboam Reigns over Israel
Now when all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him and invited him to visit their assembly, where they installed him as king over all of Israel. Nobody (with the sole exception of the tribe of Judah) would align with David’s dynasty.

²⁵ As a result, during the fifth year of the reign of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt invaded and attacked Jerusalem. ²⁶ He stripped the LORD’s Temple and the royal palace of their treasures. He took everything, even the gold shields that Solomon had made. ²⁷ King Rehoboam made shields out of bronze to take their place, and then committed them to the care and custody of the commanders of those who guarded the entrance to the royal palace. ²⁸ Whenever the king entered the LORD’s Temple, the guards would carry them to and from the guard’s quarters.

¹³ But the king answered them strictly and ignored the counsel of his elders. ¹⁴ Instead, Rehoboam spoke to them along the lines of what the younger men suggested. He told them “My father burdened you heavily, but I will add to that burden. If my father disciplined you with whips, I will, too—with scorpions!”
¹⁵ The king would not listen to the people because the turn of events was from God, so that the LORD might fulfill his prediction that he spoke through Nebat’s son Ahijah the Shilonite. ¹⁶ All of Israel—since the king wasn’t going to listen to them—the people responded to the king, “What’s the point in following David? We have no inheritance in the descendants of Jesse. Let’s go home, Israel! David, take care of your own household!’ So all of Israel left for home.

⁹ So King Shishak of Egypt invaded Jerusalem and looted the treasure stores in the LORD’s Temple and in the royal palace. He took everything, including the golden shields that Solomon had made. ¹⁰ After this, King Rehoboam made shields out of bronze to take their place, committing them to the care and custody of the commanders of those who guarded the entrance to the royal palace.

¹³ Wisdom Surpasses FoolishnessI also observed this example of wisdom on earth, and it seemed important to me:

⁸ The master praised the dishonest servant manager for being so clever, because worldly people are more clever than enlightened people in dealing with their own.

¹⁷ Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow.

¹⁷ However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of compassion and good deeds, and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.

¹⁴ and may God Almighty cause the man to show compassion toward you. May he send all of you back, including your other brother and Benjamin. Now as for me, if I lose my children, I lose them.”

¹¹ My days are passed; my plans have been shattered; along with my heart’s desires. ¹² They have transformed night into day— ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is about to become dark.’ ¹³ “If my hope were that my house is the afterlife itself, if I were to make my bed in darkness, ¹⁴ if I call out to the Pit, ‘You’re my father!’ or say to the worm, ‘My mother!’ or ‘My sister!’ ¹⁵ where would my hope be? “And speaking of my hope, who would notice it?

⁶ In fact, people walk around as shadows. Surely, they busy themselves for nothing, heaping up possessions but not knowing who will get them. ⁷ How long, LORD, will I wait expectantly? I have placed my hope in you.

¹⁹ If we have set our hopes on the Messiah in this life only, we deserve more pity than any other people.

⁸ How God Rescued PaulFor we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about the suffering we experienced in Asia. We were so crushed beyond our ability to endure that we even despaired of living. ⁹ In fact, we felt that we had received a death sentence so we would not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has rescued us from a terrible death, and he will continue to rescue us. Yes, he is the one on whom we have set our hope, and he will rescue us again,

³ so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions, for which you are aware that we were destined. ⁴ In fact, when we were with you, we told you ahead of time that we were going to suffer persecution. And as you know, that is what happened.

²⁰ Hezekiah did this throughout all of Judah, and he acted well, doing what the LORD his God considered to be right and true. ²¹ Everything that Hezekiah began in the service of God’s Temple was done according to the Law and to the commandments as he sought his God, worked with all of his heart, and became successful.

² But he practiced what the LORD considered to be evil by behaving detestably, as did the nations whom the LORD expelled in front of the Israelis.
³ The Sins of ManassehHe re-established the high places that his father Hezekiah had demolished, he built altars to the Baals, erected Asherim, and worshipped and served the armies of heaven. ⁴ He also built altars in the LORD’s Temple, about which the LORD had spoken “My name will reside in Jerusalem forever.” ⁵ He built altars for all the armies of heaven in the two courtyards of the LORD’s Temple. ⁶ He burned his sons as an offering in the Ben-hinnom Valley, practiced fortune-telling, witchcraft, sorcery, and communicated with mediums and separatists. He did a lot of things that the LORD considered to be evil, thus provoking him. ⁷ He also placed an image that he had carved in God’s Temple, the place about which God had told to David and to his son Solomon, “I will place my name in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel,” ⁸ and “I won’t let Israel’s foothold slip on the land that I’ve given to your ancestors, if only they will be careful to keep everything that I commanded them in the Law, in the statutes, and in the ordinance through Moses.” ⁹ This is how Manasseh deceived Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to practice more evil than the nations whom the LORD had eliminated in front of the Israelis.

² He practiced what the LORD considered to be right, following the example of his ancestor David, turning neither to the right nor to the left.

¹⁸ There had not been a Passover celebration like it in Israel since Samuel the prophet was alive, nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated a Passover like Josiah did at that time with the priests, the descendants of Levi, everyone from Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

⁵ Jehoiakim’s Reign; Nebuchadnezzar’s First Capture of JerusalemJehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem, but he practiced what the LORD his God considered to be evil. ⁶ As a result, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him, bound him in bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. ⁷ Nebuchadnezzar also took articles from the LORD’s Temple to Babylon and placed them in his temple in Babylon. ⁸ The rest of Jehoiakim’s accomplishments—along with the detestable things that he did that were recorded in his disfavor—are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin became king to replace him.
⁹ Jechoiachin’s Reign; Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Capture of JerusalemJehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months and ten days in Jerusalem, all the while doing what the LORD considered to be evil. ¹⁰ At the beginning of the next year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, along with valuable articles from the LORD’s Temple, and he installed Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah as king over Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁷ So I hated life, because whatever is done on earth causes me trouble—it’s all pointless, like chasing after the wind.
¹⁸ The Pointlessness of LaborThen I despised everything I had worked for on earth, that is, the things that I will leave to the person who will succeed me.

¹⁵ Are you a king because you try to outdo everyone with cedar? Your father ate and drank and upheld justice and righteousness, did he not? And then it went well for him.

¹⁷ But your eyes and heart are on nothing but your dishonest gain, shedding the blood of innocent people, and practicing oppression and extortion.”

² It is useless to get up early and to stay up late, eating the food of exhausting labor— truly he gives sleep to those he loves.

²⁶ The appetite of the laborer motivates him; indeed, his hunger drives him on.

⁹ The Purpose of LifeWhat benefit does the worker gain from what he undertakes?

⁶ It’s better to have one handful of tranquility than to have two handfuls of trouble and to chase after the wind.

⁸ Consider someone who is alone, having neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his work, and he is never satisfied with wealth. “So for whom do I work,” he asks, “and deprive myself of pleasure?” This, too, is pointless and a terrible tragedy.

¹⁰ Whoever loves money will never have enough money. Whoever loves luxury will not be content with abundance. This also is pointless. ¹¹ When possessions increase, so does the number of consumers; therefore what good are they to their owners, except to look at them?

¹⁷ Furthermore, all his days he lives in darkness with great sorrow, anger, and affliction.

⁷ Every person works for his own self-interests, but his desires remain unsatisfied. ⁸ For what advantage has the wise person over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have in knowing how to face life?

¹¹ Give us today our daily bread,

²⁵ Stop Worrying
“That’s why I’m telling you to stop worrying about your life—what you will eat or what you will drink—or about your body—what you will wear. Life is more than food, isn’t it, and the body more than clothing?

³⁴ So never worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

²⁶ because what profit will a person have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?

²² Stop Worrying
Then Jesus told his disciples, “That’s why I’m telling you to stop worrying about your life—what you will eat—or about your body—what you will wear,

²⁹ “So stop concerning yourselves about what you will eat or what you will drink, and stop being distressed,

⁶ Never worry about anything. Instead, in every situation let your petitions be made known to God through prayers and requests, with thanksgiving.

⁸ With food to eat and clothes to wear; content we are in everything.

⁷ Throw all your worry on him, because he cares for you.

¹ Haman’s Plan Begins to UnravelThat night the king could not sleep, so he gave instructions to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read to the king.

⁷ But mankind is born headed for trouble, just as sparks soar skyward.”

¹³ For I’ve said, ‘My bed will comfort me; my couch will ease my burdens while I complain.’ ¹⁴ But then you scared me with dreams; you terrified me with visions.

¹ Human Beings Live and DieHuman beings born by women are short-lived and full of trouble.

⁶ I am weary from my groaning. Every night my couch is drenched with tears, my bed is soaked through. ⁷ My eyesight has faded because of grief, it has dimmed because of all my enemies.

⁴ For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; my strength was exhausted as in a summer drought. Interlude

² When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; my hands were raised at night and they did not grow weary. I refused to be comforted. ³ I remember God, and I groan; I meditate, while my spirit grows faint. Interlude ⁴ You kept my eyes open; I was troubled and couldn’t speak.

⁷ Indeed, we are consumed by your anger and terrified by your wrath. ⁸ You have set our iniquities before you, what we have concealed in the light of your presence. ⁹ All our days pass away in your wrath; our years fade away and end like a sigh. ¹⁰ We live for 70 years, or 80 years if we’re healthy, yet even in the prime years there are troubles and sorrow. They pass by quickly and we fly away.

¹⁵ Cause us to rejoice throughout the time when you have afflicted us, the years when we have known trouble.

¹⁸ For with much wisdom there is much sorrow; the more someone adds to knowledge, the more someone adds to grief.

¹² Sweet is the sleep of a working man, whether he eats a little or a lot, but the excess wealth of the rich will not allow him to rest.

¹⁸ Then the king retired to his palace to spend the night fasting. He enjoyed no entertainment, and he couldn’t sleep.

²² strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships,” they said, “to get into the kingdom of God.”

¹² “Rejoice in the presence of the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the descendant of Levi who is in your city—for there is no territorial allotment for him as you have.

¹⁸ You’ll eat only in the presence of the LORD your God at the place that he will choose—you, your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the descendant of Levi who is in your cities. Rejoice in the presence of the LORD your God in everything you undertake.

¹⁰ He also told them, “Go eat the best food, drink the best wine, and give something to those who have nothing, since this day is holy to our Lord. Don’t be sorrowful, because the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

¹⁸ The Use and Abuse of AccomplishmentLook! I observed that it is good and prudent to eat, drink, and enjoy all that is good of a person’s work that he does on earth during the limited days of his life, which God gives him, for this is his allotment. ¹⁹ Furthermore, for every person to whom God has given wealth, riches, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept this allotment, and to rejoice in his work—this is a gift from God.

² a man to whom God gives wealth, riches, and honor, so that he lacks none of his heart’s desires—but God does not give him the capability to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger consumes them. This is pointless and a grievous affliction.

⁷ The Fine Art of Enjoying LifeGo ahead and enjoy your meals as you eat. Drink your wine with a joyful attitude, because God already has approved your actions. ⁸ Always keep your garments white, and don’t fail to anoint your head. ⁹ Find joy in living with your wife whom you love every day of your pointless life that God gave you on earth, because this is your life assignment and your work to do on earth.

⁹ So enjoy yourself in your youth, young man, and be encouraged during your younger days. Live as you like, consistent with your world view, but keep in mind that God will bring you to account for everything. ¹⁰ Banish sorrow from your heart, and evil from your body, since both childhood and the prime of life are pointless.

² “If you don’t listen, and if you don’t choose to give honor to my name,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “then I’ll curse both you and your blessings. I’ve even cursed them already, because none of you are taking it to heart.

¹⁹ Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up plenty of good things for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’ ²⁰ But God told him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you. Now who will get the things you’ve accumulated?’

¹⁷ yet he has not abandoned his witness: he continues to do good, to give you rain from heaven, to give you fruitful seasons, and to fill you with food and your hearts with joy.”

³² If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus from merely human motives, what do I get out of it? If the dead are not raised, “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

¹⁷ Advice for the WealthyTell those who are rich in this age not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, let them place their confidence in God, who lavishly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

²¹ Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the territory of the Philistines and south to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon throughout his lifetime. ²² Solomon’s daily provisions were 30 kors of fine flour, 60 kors of meal, ²³ ten fattened oxen, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and domestic poultry. ²⁴ He ruled over everything west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all of the kings west of the Euphrates River, and he enjoyed peace on all sides around him.

¹ A Testimony to Self-IndulgenceI told myself, “I will test you with pleasure, so enjoy yourself.” But this was pointless. ² “Senseless,” said I concerning laughter and pleasure, “How practical is this?” ³ I decided to indulge in wine, while still remaining committed to wisdom. I also tried to indulge in foolishness, just enough to determine whether it was good for human beings under heaven given the short time of their lives.
⁴ A Testimony to Extravagant WorksWith respect to my extravagant works, I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself. ⁵ I constructed gardens and orchards for myself, and within them I planted all kinds of fruit trees. ⁶ I built for myself water reservoirs to irrigate forests that produce trees.
⁷ A Testimony to Extravagant PossessionsI acquired male and female slaves, and had other slaves born in my house. I also acquired for myself increasing numbers of herds and flocks—more than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. ⁸ I also accumulated silver, gold, and the wealth of kings and their kingdoms. I gathered around me both male and female singers, along with what delights a man—all sorts of mistresses.
⁹ A Testimony to Extravagant PositionSo I became great, greater than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. Throughout all of this, I remained wise. ¹⁰ Whenever I wanted something I had seen, I never refused that desire. Instead, I enjoyed everything I did, and this became the reward in what I had undertaken. ¹¹ Then I examined all of my accomplishments that I had brought about by my own efforts, including the work that I had labored so hard to complete—and it was all pointless, like chasing after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained on earth.
¹² Next I turned to examine wisdom, insanity, and foolishness, because what can a person do who succeeds the king except what has already been accomplished?

¹ Entering the ArkThen the LORD told Noah, “Come—you and all your household—into the ark, because I’ve seen that you alone are righteous in this generation.

¹⁶ “Though he hoards silver like dust, and stores away garments like clay, ¹⁷ whatever he stores up, the righteous will wear, and the innocent will inherit that silver!

⁸ However, a spirit exists in mankind, and the Almighty’s breath gives him insight.

¹³ Wisdom More Valuable than RichesHow joyful is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding, ¹⁴ because her profit is better than the profit of silver, and her yield than fine gold. ¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire compares with her. ¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand, and in her left are riches and honor. ¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peaceful. ¹⁸ She is a tree of life for those who embrace her, and whoever clutches her tightly will be joyful.

²² A good person leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, but the wealth of the wicked is reserved for the righteous.

⁸ Whoever gains wealth by charging exorbitant interest collects it for someone who is kind to the poor.

¹⁰ Encouragement to the Righteous“Tell the righteous that things will go well, because they will enjoy the fruit of their actions.”
¹¹ Warning to the Wicked“How terrible it will be for the wicked! Disaster is headed their way, because what they did with their hand will be repaid to them.

⁶ Both of them were righteous before God, having lived blamelessly according to all of the commandments and regulations of the Lord.

²⁴ So far you haven’t asked for anything in my name. Keep asking and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”

¹⁷ For God’s kingdom does not consist of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy produced by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For the person who serves the Messiah in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people.

³⁰ It is because of God that you are in union with the Messiah Jesus, who for us has become wisdom from God, as well as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written, “The person who boasts must boast in the Lord.”

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

⁹ The Messiah is Above AllFor this reason, since the day we heard about this, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will with respect to all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you might live in a manner worthy of the Lord and be fully pleasing to him as you bear fruit while doing all kinds of good things and growing in the full knowledge of God. ¹¹ You are being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, so that you might patiently endure everything with joy ¹² and might thank the Father, who has enabled us to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

¹⁶ Let the word of the Messiah inhabit you richly with wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and singing to God with thankfulness in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether by speech or action, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.