Author: Powered by Bible Gateway

1 The most beautiful song of Solomon.

The Young Woman Arrives in Solomon’s Palace

[ BRIDE ]

[ THE CHORUS OF YOUNG WOMEN ]

[ BRIDE ]

[ THE CHORUS OF YOUNG WOMEN ]

Solomon Searches for the Young Woman’s Love

[ GROOM ]

[ THE CHORUS OF YOUNG WOMEN ]

[ BRIDE ]

[ GROOM ]

[ BRIDE ]

[ GROOM ]

[ BRIDE ]

The Young Woman Remembers One Spring Day with Her Beloved

[ BRIDE ]

The Young Woman Dreams about Searching for Her Beloved

[ BRIDE ]

A Description of the Royal Procession

[ THE CHORUS OF YOUNG WOMEN ]

Solomon Is Charmed by the Young Woman

[GROOM ]

[ BRIDE ]

¹⁶ I thank God for making Titus as dedicated to you as I am. ¹⁷ He accepted my request and eagerly went to visit you by his own free will.

¹⁸ With him we have sent our Christian brother whom all the churches praise for the way he tells the Good News. ¹⁹ More than that, the churches elected him to travel with us and bring this gift of God’s kindness. We are administering it in a way that brings glory to the Lord and shows that we are doing it willingly. ²⁰ We don’t want anyone to find fault with the way we are administering this generous gift. ²¹ We intend to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of people.

²² We have also sent with them our Christian brother whom we have often tested in many ways and found to be a dedicated worker. We find that he is much more dedicated now than ever because he has so much confidence in you.

²³ If any questions are raised, remember that Titus is my partner and coworker to help you. The other men are representatives of the churches and bring glory to Christ. ²⁴ So give these men a demonstration of your love. Show their congregations that we were right to be proud of you.

A psalm by Asaph.

Living with Your Neighbor

10 Dead flies will make a bottle of perfume stink, and then it is spoiled. A little foolishness outweighs wisdom ⌞and⌟ honor.

Proverbs about Life in General

² A wise person’s heart leads the right way. The heart of a fool leads the wrong way. ³ Even when a fool goes walking, he has no sense and shows everyone else that he’s a fool.

⁴ If a ruler becomes angry with you, don’t resign your position. If you remain calm, you can make up for serious offenses.

⁵ There is a tragedy that I’ve seen under the sun, an error often made by rulers. ⁶ Foolish people are often given high positions, and rich people are left to fill lower positions. ⁷ I have seen slaves sitting on horses and influential people going on foot like slaves.

⁸ Whoever digs a pit may fall into it. Whoever breaks through a stone wall may be bitten by a snake. ⁹ Whoever works in a stone quarry may get hurt. Whoever splits wood may be injured.

¹⁰ If an ax is blunt and the edge isn’t sharpened, then one has to use more strength. But wisdom prepares the way for success. ¹¹ If a snake bites before it has been charmed, then there is no advantage in being a snake charmer.

¹² A wise person’s words win favors, but a fool’s lips are self-destructive. ¹³ A fool starts out by talking foolishness and ends up saying crazy things that are dangerous. ¹⁴ He never stops talking. No one knows what the future will bring, or what will happen after ⌞death⌟. Who can say! ¹⁵ Fools wear themselves out with hard work, because they don’t even know the way to town.

¹⁶ How horrible it will be for any country where the king used to be a servant and where the high officials throw parties in the morning. ¹⁷ A country is blessed when the king is from a noble family and when the high officials eat at the right time in order to get strength and not to get drunk.

¹⁸ A roof sags because of laziness. A house leaks because of idle hands.

¹⁹ A meal is made for laughter, and wine makes life pleasant, but money is the answer for everything.

²⁰ Don’t curse the king even in your thoughts, and don’t curse rich people even in your bedroom. A bird may carry your words, or some winged creature may repeat what you say.

Live Boldly

11 Throw your bread on the surface of the water, because you will find it again after many days.

² Divide what you have into seven parts, or even into eight, because you don’t know what disaster may happen on earth.

³ If the clouds are full of rain, they will let it pour down on the earth. If a tree falls north or south, the tree will remain where it fell.

⁴ Whoever watches the wind will never plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will never harvest.

⁵ Just as you don’t know how the breath of life enters the limbs of a child within its mother’s womb, you also don’t understand how God, who made everything, works.

⁶ Plant your seed in the morning, and don’t let your hands rest until evening. You don’t know whether this field or that field will be profitable or whether both of them will ⌞turn out⌟ equally well.

⁷ Light is sweet, and it is good for one’s eyes to see the sun. ⁸ Even though people may live for many years, they should enjoy every one of them. But they should also remember there will be many dark days. Everything that is coming is pointless.

Remember Your Creator While You’re Young

⁹ You young people should enjoy yourselves while you’re young. You should let your hearts make you happy when you’re young. Follow wherever your heart leads you and whatever your eyes see. But realize that God will make you give an account for all these things when he judges everyone. ¹⁰ Get rid of what troubles you or wears down your body, because childhood and youth are pointless.

12 Remember your Creator when you are young,

Lifelong Duty—Fear God and Keep His Commands

⁹ Besides being wise, the spokesman also taught the people what he knew. He very carefully thought about it, studied it, and arranged it in many proverbs. ¹⁰ The spokesman tried to find just the right words. He wrote the words of truth very carefully.

¹¹ Words from wise people are like spurs. Their collected sayings are like nails that have been driven in firmly. They come from one shepherd. ¹² Be warned, my children, against anything more than these. People never stop writing books. Too much studying will wear out your body. ¹³ After having heard it all, this is the conclusion: Fear God, and keep his commands, because this applies to everyone. ¹⁴ God will certainly judge everything that is done. This includes every secret thing, whether it is good or bad.

The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem

8 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know how God showed his kindness ^[a] to the churches in the province of Macedonia. ² While they were being severely tested by suffering, their overflowing joy, along with their extreme poverty, has made them even more generous. ³ I assure you that by their own free will they have given all they could, even more than they could afford. ⁴ They made an appeal to us, begging us to let them participate in the ministry of God’s kindness to his holy people ⌞in Jerusalem⌟. ⁵ They did more than we had expected. First, they gave themselves to the Lord and to us, since this was God’s will. ⁶ This led us to urge Titus to finish his work of God’s kindness among you in the same way as he had already started it.

⁷ Indeed, the more your faith, your ability to speak, your knowledge, your dedication, and your love for us increase, the more we want you to participate in this work of God’s kindness.

⁸ I’m not commanding you, but I’m testing how genuine your love is by pointing out the dedication of others. ⁹ You know about the kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich, yet for your sake he became poor in order to make you rich through his poverty.

¹⁰ I’m giving you my opinion because it will be helpful to you. Last year you were not only willing ⌞to take a collection⌟ but had already started to do it. ¹¹ So finish what you began to do. Then your willingness will be matched by what you accomplish ¹² with whatever contributions you have. Since you are willing to do this, ⌞remember⌟ that people are accepted if they give what they are able to give. God doesn’t ask for what they don’t have.

¹³ I don’t mean that others should have relief while you have hardship. Rather, it’s a matter of striking a balance. ¹⁴ At the present time, your surplus fills their need so that their surplus may fill your need. In this way things balance out. ¹⁵ This is what Scripture says: “Those who had gathered a lot didn’t have too much, and those who gathered a little didn’t have too little.”

For the choir director; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.

Proverbs about Life

7 A good name is better than expensive perfume, and the day you die is better than the day you’re born. ² It is better to go to a funeral than to a banquet because that is where everyone will end up. Everyone who is alive should take this to heart! ³ Sorrow is better than laughter because, in spite of a sad face, the heart can be joyful. ⁴ The minds of wise people think about funerals, but the minds of fools think about banquets.

⁵ It is better to listen to wise people who reprimand you than to fools who sing your praises. ⁶ The laughter of a fool is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot. Even this is pointless.

⁷ Oppression can turn a wise person into a fool, and a bribe can corrupt the mind.

⁸ The end of something is better than its beginning. It is better to be patient than arrogant.

⁹ Don’t be quick to get angry, because anger is typical of fools. ¹⁰ Don’t ask, “Why were things better in the old days than they are now?” It isn’t wisdom that leads you to ask this!

Wisdom Gives Life

¹¹ Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. It is an advantage to everyone who sees the sun. ¹² Wisdom protects us just as money protects us, but the advantage of wisdom is that it gives life to those who have it.

¹³ Consider what God has done! Who can straighten what God has bent?

A Truth for Every Situation

¹⁴ When times are good, be happy. But when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one time as well as the other so that mortals cannot predict their future.

Mortals Don’t Get What They Deserve

¹⁵ I have seen it all in my pointless life:

¹⁶ Don’t be too virtuous, and don’t be too wise. Why make yourself miserable? ¹⁷ Don’t be too wicked, and don’t be a fool. Why should you die before your time is up? ¹⁸ It’s good to hold on to the one and not let go of the other, because the one who fears God will be able to avoid both extremes.

The Advantages of Wisdom

¹⁹ Wisdom will help a wise person more than ten rulers can help a city. ²⁰ Certainly, there is no one so righteous on earth that he always does what is good and never sins.

²¹ Don’t take everything that people say to heart, or you may hear your own servant cursing you. ²² Your conscience knows that you have cursed others many times.

²³ I used wisdom to test all of this. I said, “I want to be wise, but it is out of my reach.” ²⁴ Whatever wisdom may be, it is out of reach. It is deep, very deep. Who can find out what it is? ²⁵ I turned my attention to study, to explore, and to seek out wisdom and the reason for things. I learned that wickedness is stupid and foolishness is madness.

²⁶ I find that a woman whose thoughts are ⌞like⌟ traps and snares is more bitter than death itself. Even her hands are ⌞like⌟ chains. Whoever pleases God will escape her, but she will catch whoever continues to sin.

²⁷ The spokesman said, “This is what I’ve found: I added one thing to another in order to find a reason for things. ²⁸ I am still seeking a reason for things, but have not found any. I found one man out of a thousand who had it, but out of all these I didn’t find one woman. ²⁹ I have found only this: God made people decent, but they looked for many ways ⌞to avoid being decent⌟.”

8 Who is really wise? Who knows how to explain things? Wisdom makes one’s face shine, and it changes one’s grim look.

The Power of Kings Versus the Power of Death

² I ⌞advise⌟ you to obey the king’s commands because of the oath you took in God’s presence. ³ Don’t be in a hurry to leave the king’s service. Don’t take part in something evil, because he can do whatever he pleases. ⁴ Since a king’s word has such power, no one can ask him what he is doing. ⁵ Whoever obeys his commands will avoid trouble. The mind of a wise person will know the right time and the right way ⌞to act⌟. ⁶ There is a right time and a right way ⌞to act⌟ in every situation. Yet, a terrible human tragedy hangs over people.

⁷ They don’t know what the future will bring. So who can tell them how things will turn out? ⁸ No one has the power to prevent the spirit ^[a] of life from leaving. No one has control over the day of his own death. There is no way to avoid the war ⌞against death⌟. Wickedness will not save wicked people ⌞from dying⌟.

Life Is Unfair

⁹ I have seen all of this, and I have carefully considered all that is done under the sun whenever one person has authority to hurt others. ¹⁰ Then I saw wicked people given an ⌞honorable⌟ burial. They used to go in and out of the holy place. They were praised in the city for doing such things. Even this is pointless.

The Need for Swift Justice

¹¹ When a sentence against a crime isn’t carried out quickly, people are encouraged to commit crimes. ¹² A sinner may commit a hundred crimes and yet live a long life. Still, I know with certainty that it will go well for those who fear God, because they fear him. ¹³ But it will not go well for the wicked. They will not live any longer. Their lives are like shadows, because they don’t fear God.

Enjoy Life

¹⁴ There is something being done on earth that is pointless. Righteous people suffer for what the wicked do, and wicked people get what the righteous deserve. I say that even this is pointless.

¹⁵ So I recommend the enjoyment ⌞of life⌟. People have nothing better to do under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves. This joy will stay with them while they work hard during their brief lives which God has given them under the sun.

¹⁶ When I carefully considered how to study wisdom and how to look at the work that is done on earth (even going without sleep day and night), ¹⁷ then I saw everything that God has done. No one is able to grasp the work that is done under the sun. However hard a person may search for it, he will not find ⌞its meaning⌟. Even though a wise person claims to know, he is not able to grasp it.

Everything Is in the Hands of God

9 Now, I have carefully thought about all this, and I explain it in this way: Righteous people and wise people, along with their accomplishments, are in God’s hands. No one knows whether there will be love or hatred. ² Everything turns out the same way for everyone. All people will share the same destiny, whether they are righteous, wicked, or good, clean or unclean,^[b] whether they offer sacrifices or don’t offer sacrifices. Good people are treated like sinners. People who take oaths are treated like those who are afraid to take oaths.

Where There’s Life, There’s Hope

³ This is the tragedy of everything that happens under the sun: Everyone shares the same destiny. Moreover, the hearts of mortals are full of evil. Madness is in their hearts while they are still alive. After that, they join the dead. ⁴ But all who are among the living have hope, because a living dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵ The living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no more reward for the dead when the memory of them has faded. ⁶ Their love, their hate, and their passions have already vanished. They will never again take part in anything that happens under the sun.

Enjoy Life with Your Wife

⁷ Go, enjoy eating your food, and drink your wine cheerfully, because God has already accepted what you’ve done. ⁸ Always wear clean clothes, and never go without lotion on your head. ⁹ Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, during all your brief, pointless life. God has given you your pointless life under the sun. This is your lot ⌞in life⌟ and what you get for the hard work that you do under the sun.

Work with All Your Might

¹⁰ Whatever presents itself for you to do, do it with ⌞all⌟ your might, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or skill in the grave where you’re going.

Time and Unpredictable Events

¹¹ I saw something else under the sun. The race isn’t ⌞won⌟ by fast runners, or the battle by heroes. Wise people don’t necessarily have food. Intelligent people don’t necessarily have riches, and skilled people don’t necessarily receive special treatment. But time and unpredictable events overtake all of them. ¹² No one knows when his time will come. Like fish that are caught in a cruel net or birds caught in a snare, humans are trapped by a disaster when it suddenly strikes them.

Wisdom Is Despised

¹³ I also have seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it made a deep impression on me. ¹⁴ There was a small town with a few soldiers in it, and a powerful king came to attack it. He surrounded it and blockaded it. ¹⁵ A poor, wise person was found in that town. He saved the town using his wisdom. But no one remembered that poor person. ¹⁶ So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength,” even though that poor person’s wisdom was despised, and no one listened to what he said.

¹⁷ One should pay more attention to calm words from wise people than shouting from a ruler of fools. ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

⁸ If my letter made you uncomfortable, I’m not sorry. But since my letter did make you uncomfortable for a while, I was sorry. ⁹ But I’m happy now, not because I made you uncomfortable, but because the distress I caused you has led you to change the way you think and act. You were distressed in a godly way, so we haven’t done you any harm. ¹⁰ In fact, to be distressed in a godly way causes people to change the way they think and act and leads them to be saved. No one can regret that. But the distress that the world causes brings only death.

¹¹ When you became distressed in a godly way, look at how much devotion it caused you to have. You were ready to clear yourselves of the charges against you. You were disgusted with the wrong that had been done. You were afraid. You wanted to see us. You wanted to show your concern for us. You were ready to punish the wrong that had been done. In every way you have demonstrated that you are people who are innocent in this matter. ¹² So, when I wrote to you, I didn’t write because of the man who did the wrong or the man who was hurt by it. Rather, I wrote because I wanted you to show your devotion to us in God’s sight. ¹³ This is what has comforted us.

In addition to being comforted, we were especially pleased to see how happy Titus was. All of you had put his mind at ease. ¹⁴ I didn’t have to be ashamed of anything I had said to him when I bragged about you. Since everything we told you was true, our bragging to Titus has also proved to be true. ¹⁵ His deepest feelings go out to you even more as he remembers how obedient all of you were, and how you welcomed him with fear and trembling. ¹⁶ I’m pleased that I can be confident about you in every way.

A song; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.

Listen to My Advice

Evil Under the Sun

4 ^(A)Again I ^(B)saw all ^(C)the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had ^(D)no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. ² And I ^(E)thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. ³ But ^(F)better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

⁴ Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is ^(G)vanity^[a] and a striving after wind.

⁵ The fool ^(H)folds his hands and ^(I)eats his own flesh.

^6 (J)Better is a handful of ^(K)quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

^7 (L)Again, I saw vanity under the sun: ⁸ one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his ^(M)eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, ^(N)“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy ^(O)business.

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. ¹⁰ For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! ¹¹ Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, ^(P)but how can one keep warm alone? ¹² And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

¹³ Better was ^(Q)a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how ^(R)to take advice. ¹⁴ For he went ^(S)from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. ¹⁵ I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that^[b] youth who was to stand in the king's^[c] place. ¹⁶ There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is ^(T)vanity and a striving after wind.

Fear God

5 ^{[d] (U)}Guard your steps when you go to ^(V)the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to ^(W)offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. ^2 [e] Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore ^(X)let your words be few. ³ For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with ^(Y)many words.

⁴ When ^(Z)you vow a vow to God, ^(AA)do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. ^(AB)Pay what you vow. ^5 (AC)It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. ⁶ Let not your mouth lead you^[f] into sin, and do not say before ^(AD)the messenger^[g] that it was ^(AE)a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity;^[h] but^{[i] (AF)}God is the one you must fear.

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor

^8 (AG)If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, ^(AH)do not be amazed at the matter, ^(AI)for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. ⁹ But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.^[j]

¹⁰ He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. ¹¹ When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? ¹² Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

^13 (AJ)There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, ¹⁴ and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. ^15 (AK)As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. ¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what ^(AL)gain is there to him who ^(AM)toils for the wind? ¹⁷ Moreover, all his days he ^(AN)eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

¹⁸ Behold, what I have seen to be ^(AO)good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment^[k] in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his ^(AP)lot. ¹⁹ Everyone also to whom ^(AQ)God has given ^(AR)wealth and possessions ^(AS)and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is ^(AT)the gift of God. ²⁰ For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

6 ^(AU)There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: ² a man ^(AV)to whom ^(AW)God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he ^(AX)lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God ^(AY)does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity;^[l] it is a grievous evil. ³ If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that ^(AZ)the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's ^(BA)good things, and he also has no ^(BB)burial, I say that ^(BC)a stillborn child is better off than he. ⁴ For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. ⁵ Moreover, it has not ^(BD)seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds ^(BE)rest rather than he. ⁶ Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy^[m] no good—do not all go to the one place?

^7 (BF)All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.^{[n] 8} For what advantage has the wise man ^(BG)over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? ⁹ Better ^(BH)is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is ^(BI)vanity and a striving after wind.

¹⁰ Whatever has come to be has ^(BJ)already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to ^(BK)dispute with one stronger than he. ¹¹ The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? ¹² For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his ^(BL)vain^[o] life, which he passes like ^(BM)a shadow? For who can tell man what will be ^(BN)after him under the sun?

The Temple of the Living God

^14 (A)Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For ^(B)what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or ^(C)what fellowship has light with darkness? ^15 (D)What accord has Christ with Belial?^[a] Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For ^(E)we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

7 Since we have these promises, beloved, ^(K)let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body^[b] and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Paul's Joy

^2 (L)Make room in your hearts^[c] for us. ^(M)We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. ³ I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that ^(N)you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ⁴ I am acting with ^(O)great boldness toward you; ^(P)I have great pride in you; ^(Q)I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

⁵ For even ^(R)when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—^(S)fighting without and fear within. ⁶ But ^(T)God, who comforts the downcast, ^(U)comforted us by the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.

God Is King over All the Earth

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.

All Is Vanity

1 The words of ^(A)the Preacher,^[a] the son of David, ^(B)king in Jerusalem.

The Vanity of Wisdom

¹² I ^(Q)the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ And I ^(R)applied my heart^[f] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy ^(S)business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹⁴ I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is ^(T)vanity^[g] and a striving after wind.^[h]

¹⁶ I said in my heart, “I have acquired great ^(V)wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷ And I ^(W)applied my heart to know wisdom and to know ^(X)madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but ^(Y)a striving after wind.

The Vanity of Self-Indulgence

2 I ^(AA)said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.^{[i] 2} I ^(AB)said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” ³ I ^(AC)searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on ^(AD)folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. ⁴ I made great works. I ^(AE)built houses and planted ^(AF)vineyards for myself. ⁵ I made myself ^(AG)gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. ⁶ I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves, and had ^(AH)slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of ^(AI)herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. ⁸ I also gathered for myself silver and ^(AJ)gold and the treasure of ^(AK)kings and ^(AL)provinces. I got ^(AM)singers, both men and women, and many ^(AN)concubines,^[j] the delight of the sons of man.

⁹ So I became great and ^(AO)surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my ^(AP)wisdom remained with me. ¹⁰ And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart ^(AQ)found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my ^(AR)reward for all my toil. ¹¹ Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was ^(AS)vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing ^(AT)to be gained under the sun.

The Vanity of Living Wisely

^12 (AU)So I turned to consider ^(AV)wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only ^(AW)what has already been done. ¹³ Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. ^14 (AX)The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the ^(AY)same event happens to all of them. ¹⁵ Then I said in my heart, ^(AZ)“What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. ¹⁶ For of the wise as of the fool there is ^(BA)no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. ^(BB)How the wise dies just like the fool! ¹⁷ So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for ^(BC)all is vanity and a striving after wind.

The Vanity of Toil

¹⁸ I hated ^(BD)all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must ^(BE)leave it to the man who will come after me, ¹⁹ and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰ So I ^(BF)turned about and gave my heart up to despair ^(BG)over all the toil of my labors under the sun, ²¹ because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²² What has a man from ^(BH)all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? ²³ For ^(BI)all his days are full of sorrow, and his ^(BJ)work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

^24 (BK)There is nothing better for a person than that he should ^(BL)eat and drink and find enjoyment^[k] in his toil. This also, I saw, is ^(BM)from the hand of God, ²⁵ for apart from him^[l] who can eat or who can have enjoyment? ²⁶ For to the one who pleases him ^(BN)God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given ^(BO)the business of gathering and collecting, ^(BP)only to give to one who pleases God. ^(BQ)This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

A Time for Everything

3 For everything there is a season, and ^(BR)a time for every matter under heaven:

The God-Given Task

⁹ What ^(CD)gain has the worker from his toil? ¹⁰ I have seen ^(CE)the business that ^(CF)God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹¹ He has ^(CG)made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot ^(CH)find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹² I perceived that there is ^(CI)nothing better for them than to be joyful and to ^(CJ)do good as long as they live; ¹³ also ^(CK)that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is ^(CL)God's gift to man.

¹⁴ I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; ^(CM)nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. ¹⁵ That which is, ^(CN)already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God ^(CO)seeks what has been driven away.^[m]

From Dust to Dust

¹⁶ Moreover, ^(CP)I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even ^(CQ)there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. ¹⁷ I said in my heart, ^(CR)God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is ^(CS)a time for every matter and for every work. ¹⁸ I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but ^(CT)beasts. ^19 (CU)For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.^{[n] 20} All go to one place. All are from ^(CV)the dust, and to dust all return. ²¹ Who knows whether ^(CW)the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? ²² So I saw that there is ^(CX)nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for ^(CY)that is his lot. Who can bring him to see ^(CZ)what will be after him?

6 ^(A)Working together with him, then, ^(B)we appeal to you ^(C)not to receive the grace of God in vain. ² For he says,

Behold, ^(E)now is the ^(F)favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ³ We ^(G)put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, ⁴ but ^(H)as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: ^(I)by great endurance, ^(J)in afflictions, ^(K)hardships, calamities, ^5 (L)beatings, imprisonments, ^(M)riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ^6 (N)by purity, ^(O)knowledge, patience, kindness, ^(P)the Holy Spirit, ^(Q)genuine love; ⁷ by ^(R)truthful speech, and ^(S)the power of God; with ^(T)the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸ through honor and dishonor, ^(U)through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; ⁹ as unknown, and ^(V)yet well known; ^(W)as dying, and behold, we live; ^(X)as punished, and yet not killed; ^10 (Y)as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; ^(Z)as poor, yet making many rich; ^(AA)as having nothing, ^(AB)yet possessing everything.

¹¹ We have spoken freely to you,^[a] Corinthians; ^(AC)our heart is wide open. ¹² You are not restricted by us, but ^(AD)you are restricted in your own affections. ^13 (AE)In return (I speak ^(AF)as to children) widen your hearts also.

God Is Our Fortress

To the choirmaster. Of ^(A)the Sons of Korah. According to ^(B)Alamoth.^[a] A Song.

40 And the Lord ^(A)said to Job:

Job Promises Silence

³ Then Job answered the Lord and said:

The Lord Challenges Job

⁶ Then the Lord ^(G)answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

Job's Confession and Repentance

42 Then Job answered the Lord and said:

The Lord Rebukes Job's Friends

⁷ After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz ^(AQ)the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸ Now therefore take ^(AR)seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and ^(AS)offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall ^(AT)pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” ^9 (AU)So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job's prayer.

The Lord Restores Job's Fortunes

¹⁰ And the Lord ^(AV)restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job ^(AW)twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ Then came to him all his ^(AX)brothers and sisters and all who had ^(AY)known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they ^(AZ)showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil^[l] that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him ^(BA)a piece of money^[m] and ^(BB)a ring of gold.

¹² And the Lord blessed ^(BC)the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had ^(BD)14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. ¹³ He had also ^(BE)seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. ¹⁵ And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance ^(BF)among their brothers. ¹⁶ And after this Job lived 140 years, and ^(BG)saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. ¹⁷ And Job died, an old man, and ^(BH)full of days.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

¹¹ Therefore, knowing ^(A)the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But ^(B)what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. ^12 (C)We are not commending ourselves to you again but ^(D)giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. ¹³ For if we ^(E)are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ ^(F)controls us, because we have concluded this: that ^(G)one has died for all, therefore all have died; ¹⁵ and he died for all, ^(H)that those who live might no longer live for themselves but ^(I)for him who for their sake died and was raised.

¹⁶ From now on, therefore, ^(J)we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is ^(K)in Christ, he is ^(L)a new creation.^{[a] (M)}The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, ^(N)who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us ^(O)the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling^[b] the world to himself, ^(P)not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us ^(Q)the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, ^(R)we are ambassadors for Christ, ^(S)God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ^21 (T)For our sake he made him to be sin ^(U)who knew no sin, so that in him we might become ^(V)the righteousness of God.

Your Throne, O God, Is Forever

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil^[a] of ^(A)the Sons of Korah; a love song.

Elihu Proclaims God's Majesty

The Lord Answers Job

38 Then the Lord ^(AJ)answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

¹³ Since we have ^(A)the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ^(B)“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴ knowing that ^(C)he who raised the Lord Jesus ^(D)will raise us also with Jesus and ^(E)bring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵ For ^(F)it is all for your sake, so that as ^(G)grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, ^(H)to the glory of God.

¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. ^(I)Though our outer self^[a] is wasting away, ^(J)our inner self ^(K)is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For ^(L)this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ^18 (M)as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Our Heavenly Dwelling

5 For we know that if ^(N)the tent that is ^(O)our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, ^(P)a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this tent ^(Q)we groan, longing to ^(R)put on our heavenly dwelling, ³ if indeed by putting it on^[b] we may not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal ^(S)may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, ^(T)who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

⁶ So we are always of good courage. We know that ^(U)while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷ for ^(V)we walk by faith, not ^(W)by sight. ⁸ Yes, we are of good courage, and we ^(X)would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to ^(Y)please him. ¹⁰ For ^(Z)we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ^(AA)so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Elihu Asserts God's Justice

34 Then Elihu answered and said:

Elihu Condemns Job

35 And Elihu answered and said:

Elihu Extols God's Greatness

36 And Elihu continued, and said: