Ecclesiastes 2 Cross References - MSB

¹ I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile. ² I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” ³ I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. ⁴ I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. ⁵ I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees. ⁶ I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me, ⁸ and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men—many concubines. ⁹ So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me. ¹⁰ Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. ¹¹ Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun. ¹² Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished? ¹³ And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness: ¹⁴ The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both. ¹⁵ So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile. ¹⁶ For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool! ¹⁷ So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind. ¹⁸ I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. ²⁰ So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun. ²¹ When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil. ²² For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³ Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile. ²⁴ Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. ²⁵ For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment? ²⁶ To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

³ And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. ⁴ “Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

⁷ Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

⁵ “Go now,” said the king of Aram, “and I will send you with a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman departed, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing.

⁶ He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.”

¹ For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.

⁸ My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek.

⁶ In prosperity I said, “I will never be shaken.” ⁷ O LORD, You favored me; You made my mountain stand strong. When You hid Your face, I was dismayed.

¹⁶ I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷ So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁵ So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.

¹⁷ I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.” ¹⁸ I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.”

⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

¹⁵ So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

⁹ Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.

⁵ Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.

⁵ The Lord GOD has opened My ears, and I have not been rebellious, nor have I turned back.

¹¹ Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who array yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and of the firebrands you have lit! This is what you will receive from My hand: You will lie down in a place of torment.

¹⁹ Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

¹⁹ Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.

²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

³ For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today and tomorrow let us go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”

¹ Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.

⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter.

⁷ As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’ ⁸ Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”

¹³ Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in sorrow.

² It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart. ³ Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart. ⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. ⁵ It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. ⁶ For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

¹² On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth. ¹³ But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

³ You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence. ⁴ You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall. ⁵ You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments. ⁶ You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

² Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God. ³ For we have spent enough of our past lifetime carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. ⁴ Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you.

⁹ “My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”

³⁶ When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light.

¹⁴ When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.

⁹ For all our days decline in Your fury; we finish our years with a sigh. ¹⁰ The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. ¹¹ Who knows the power of Your anger? Your wrath matches the fear You are due. ¹² So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.

¹ Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

²⁹ Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? ³⁰ Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. ³¹ Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. ³² In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. ³³ Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities. ³⁴ You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast: ³⁵ “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”

⁴ It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, ⁵ lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice.

¹⁷ So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.

²⁴ Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

¹² I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live, ¹³ and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

¹² For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

¹⁸ It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.

²⁵ I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.

¹³ When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

²⁴ No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

¹⁵ What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” ¹⁷ “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

⁴ “Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses in which to dwell, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all that you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

¹⁸ During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.

¹ Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace. ² He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams. ³ The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars—forty-five beams, fifteen per row. ⁴ There were three rows of high windows facing one another in three tiers. ⁵ All the doorways had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers. ⁶ Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico. ⁷ In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling. ⁸ And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married. ⁹ All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard. ¹⁰ The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long. ¹¹ Above these were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. ¹² The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.

¹ Now when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all that he had desired to do,

¹⁹ The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest. ²⁰ Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.

¹⁹ “Let there be a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

²⁷ Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards. Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats.

¹ Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own palace, ² Solomon rebuilt the cities Hiram had given him and settled Israelites there. ³ Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it. ⁴ He built Tadmor in the wilderness, in addition to all the store cities that he had built in Hamath. ⁵ He rebuilt Upper and Lower Beth-horon as fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, ⁶ as well as Baalath, all the store cities that belonged to Solomon, and all the cities for his chariots and horses—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.

¹¹ Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, “My wife must not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.”

¹⁰ Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.

¹¹ Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes.

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 to see if the vine has budded, if the blossom has opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom—there I will give you my love.

¹¹ Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver. ¹² But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.

¹ I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.

³⁰ the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

⁸ And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹² My sister, my bride, you are a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed.

² My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.

⁴ When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and they went out along the route to the Arabah.

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

¹⁴ Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to get through;

³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.

⁴ Your neck is like a tower made of ivory; your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus.

⁸ He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

² And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.

¹⁴ And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan.

³ Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

¹² Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring. ¹³ Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant.

²³ ten fat oxen, twenty range oxen, and a hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened poultry.

²⁰ As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)— ²¹ their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day. ²² But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry.

⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

²⁹ Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon. Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys. ³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels. Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys. ³¹ Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks. All these officials were in charge of King David’s property.

²⁷ Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles. ²⁸ He also made storehouses for the harvest of grain and new wine and oil, stalls for all kinds of livestock, and pens for the flocks. ²⁹ He made cities for himself, and he acquired herds of sheep and cattle in abundance, for God gave him very great wealth.

⁵⁸ The temple servants and descendants of the servants of Solomon numbered 392 in all.

⁵⁷ The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Perida,

³ and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.

¹² So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

³⁵ I am now eighty years old. Can I discern what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of singing men and women? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

¹⁴ And Hiram had sent the king 120 talents of gold.

²⁸ They sailed to Ophir and imported gold from there—420 talents—and delivered it to Solomon.

¹⁰ Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was such an abundance of spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁴ The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents,

²¹ All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

²¹ Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. ²² And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done.

²⁷ Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.

¹ Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service:

⁶ All these were under the direction of their fathers for the music of the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the direction of the king.

¹¹ The king made the algum wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had anything like them been seen in the land of Judah.)

¹⁵ King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield. ¹⁶ He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁷ Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest. ¹⁹ Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom. ²⁰ All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. ²¹ For the king had the ships of Tarshish that went with Hiram’s servants, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

⁶⁵ in addition to their 7,337 menservants and maidservants, as well as their 200 male and female singers.

¹¹ They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about, ¹² singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.

³ Praise Him with the sound of the horn; praise Him with the harp and lyre. ⁴ Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute. ⁵ Praise Him with clashing cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals.

⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

⁷ Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

¹⁵ Now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the statue I have made. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”

⁵ You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.

¹² behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has never been nor will ever be another like you.

⁷ But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard.

²³ So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

²⁵ The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal majesty such as had not been bestowed on any king in Israel before him.

¹ Now Solomon son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and highly exalted him.

²² So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. ²³ All the kings of the earth sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.

¹⁶ I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

² the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.

² So he returned and told his father and mother, “I have seen a daughter of the Philistines in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”

¹ “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?

³⁷ Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.

² For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.

⁵ When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

²² For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?

²² I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?

¹⁸ Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.

⁹ Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

⁹ Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.

¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

³¹ And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

⁴³ And Moses inspected all the work and saw that they had accomplished it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.

³ What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?

¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁷ So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind. ¹⁸ I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. ²⁰ So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun. ²¹ When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil. ²² For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³ Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

¹³ Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?

⁶ Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.

¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

⁹ What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. ¹⁰ Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

¹³⁰ The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple.

⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them. ⁶ Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you. ⁷ Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.

¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. ¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.

¹⁶ How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.

¹¹ Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun. ¹² For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

¹⁹ Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.

¹⁶ And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

⁷ Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.

¹⁸ So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

²³ But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

³⁴ The eye is the lamp of the body. So when your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness. ³⁵ Be careful, then, that the light within you is not darkness.

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

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

¹⁰ For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.

⁸ The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.

²⁴ Wisdom is the focus of the discerning, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.

¹⁹ For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile.

⁶ even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

² It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.

¹ Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.

¹ So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate. ² It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow. ³ This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

¹¹ I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.

² A wise man’s heart inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left. ³ Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he shows everyone that he is a fool.

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

² “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

¹⁸ For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.

¹⁶ For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!

⁸ What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?

⁶ Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,

⁸ Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt.

³³ And the king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner die the death of a fool?

¹² Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

¹⁶ when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.

¹¹ There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.

¹⁴ The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.

⁵ For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.

¹⁶ At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.

²⁷ Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,

¹⁵ If this is how You are going to treat me, please kill me right now—if I have found favor in Your eyes—and let me not see my own wretchedness.”

⁴ while he himself traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

²⁰ Why is light given to the miserable, and life to the bitter of soul, ²¹ who long for death that does not come, and search for it like hidden treasure, ²² who rejoice and greatly exult when they can find the grave?

¹⁵ so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body. ¹⁶ I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

¹³ If only You would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until Your anger has passed! If only You would appoint a time for me and then remember me!

⁴⁷ Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!

¹¹ Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

¹⁶ Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

² So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.

¹⁴ Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed. ¹⁵ Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, saying, “A son is born to you,” bringing him great joy. ¹⁶ May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon, ¹⁷ because he did not kill me in the womb so that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb forever enlarged. ¹⁸ Why did I come out of the womb to see only trouble and sorrow, and to end my days in shame?

¹⁴ So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.

³ And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

⁸ As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint and wished to die, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

³ Why do You make me see iniquity? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict abounds.

²³ I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. ²⁴ But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,

¹¹ Then the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. ¹² Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

¹⁴ from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.

⁶ Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.

¹³ And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!

⁴ I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. ⁵ I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees. ⁶ I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me, ⁸ and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men—many concubines. ⁹ So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me.

²⁶ To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

³ But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

¹³ There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, ¹⁴ or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.

²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

²⁷ ‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’

²⁹ For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. ³⁰ Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.

¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.

¹⁴ and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite. ¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home, ¹⁷ but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent out Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David. ²⁰ When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.

²⁵ In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. ²⁶ He seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made. ²⁷ Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. ²⁸ And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards would bear the shields, and later they would return them to the guardroom.

¹³ And the king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders ¹⁴ and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from God, in order that the LORD might fulfill the word that He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. ¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So all the Israelites went home,

⁹ So King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made. ¹⁰ Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.

¹³ I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:

⁸ The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.

¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

¹⁴ May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

¹¹ My days have passed; my plans are broken off—even the desires of my heart. ¹² They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness. ¹³ If I look for Sheol as my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness, ¹⁴ and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’ ¹⁵ where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?

⁶ Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away. ⁷ And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.

¹⁹ If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.

⁸ We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He continues to deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,

³ so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this. ⁴ Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass.

²⁰ So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God. ²¹ He was diligent in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law and the commandments, in order to seek his God. And so he prospered.

² And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. ³ For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he raised up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. And he worshiped and served all the host of heaven. ⁴ Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” ⁵ In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven. ⁶ He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger. ⁷ Manasseh even took the carved image he had made and set it up in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever. ⁸ I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to leave the land that I assigned to your fathers, if only they are careful to do all that I have commanded them through Moses—all the laws, statutes, and judgments.” ⁹ So Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

² And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

¹⁸ No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem.

⁵ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God. ⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jehoiakim and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. ⁷ Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon some of the articles from the house of the LORD, and he put them in his temple in Babylon. ⁸ As for the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations he committed, and all that was found against him, they are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And his son Jehoiachin reigned in his place. ⁹ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. ¹⁰ In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Jehoiachin and brought him to Babylon, along with the articles of value from the house of the LORD. And he made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁷ So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind. ¹⁸ I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.

¹⁵ Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.

¹⁷ “But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”

² In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.

²⁶ A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger drives him onward.

⁹ What does the worker gain from his toil?

⁶ Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.

⁸ There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.

¹⁰ He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile. ¹¹ When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?

¹⁷ Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.

⁷ All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. ⁸ What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

²⁵ Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about the things of itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

²⁶ What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

²² Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.

²⁹ And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it.

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

⁷ Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

¹ That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him.

⁷ Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.

¹³ When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, ¹⁴ then You frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions,

¹ “Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.

⁶ I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. ⁷ My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes.

⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah

² In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted. ³ I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah ⁴ You have kept my eyes from closing; I am too troubled to speak.

⁷ For we are consumed by Your anger and terrified by Your wrath. ⁸ You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence. ⁹ For all our days decline in Your fury; we finish our years with a sigh. ¹⁰ The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil.

¹⁸ For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.

¹² The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.

¹⁸ Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.

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

¹² And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

¹⁸ Instead, you must eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in all you do,

¹⁰ Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

¹⁸ Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot. ¹⁹ Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.

² God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

⁷ Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works: ⁸ Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head. ⁹ Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.

⁹ Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. ¹⁰ So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.

² If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart.

¹⁹ Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

¹⁷ Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

³² If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

¹⁷ Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in the living God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

²¹ And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. ²² Solomon’s provisions for a single day were thirty cors of fine flour, sixty cors of meal, ²³ ten fat oxen, twenty range oxen, and a hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened poultry. ²⁴ For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates—over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza—and he had peace on all sides.

¹ I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile. ² I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” ³ I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. ⁴ I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. ⁵ I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees. ⁶ I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me, ⁸ and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men—many concubines. ⁹ So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me. ¹⁰ Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. ¹¹ Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun. ¹² Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished?

¹ Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

¹⁶ Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay, ¹⁷ what he lays up, the righteous will wear, and his silver will be divided by the innocent.

⁸ But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

¹³ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who acquires understanding, ¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold. ¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her. ¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. ¹⁷ All her ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful. ¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed.

²² A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.

⁸ He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.

¹⁰ Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor. ¹¹ Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.

⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.

²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For whoever serves Christ in these things is pleasing to God and approved by men.

³⁰ It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

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

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to the Lord. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.