The Words of King Lemuel
31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 What are you doing, my son?1 What are you doing, son of my womb?
What are you doing, son of my vows?
3 pDo not give your strength to qwomen,
your ways to those who destroy kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink rwine,
or for rulers to take strong drink,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,
and wine to those in bitter distress;2
7 let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 sOpen your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.3
9 Open your mouth, tjudge righteously,
udefend the rights of the poor and needy.
The Woman Who Fears the Lord
10 4 vAn excellent wife wwho can xfind?
She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She seeks ywool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises zwhile it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She dresses herself5 with astrength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She bopens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.6
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known cin the gates
when he dsits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are eher clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and fthe teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to gthe ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done hexcellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
Ecclesiastes
All Is Vanity
1 The words of the aPreacher,1 the bson of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 cVanity2 of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! dAll is vanity.
3 What does man egain by all the toil
at which he toils funder the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens3 to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the geye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 hWhat has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no iremembrance of former things,4
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things5 yet to be
among those who come after.
The Vanity of Wisdom
12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I japplied my heart6 to seek and to ksearch out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an lunhappy mbusiness 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 vanity7 and a nstriving after wind.8
15 oWhat is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, psurpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know qmadness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
18 For in rmuch wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
The Vanity of Self-Indulgence
2 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; senjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.1 2 I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3 I searched with my heart how to tcheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on ufolly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the vfew days of their life. 4 I made great works. I wbuilt houses and planted xvineyards for myself. 5 I made myself 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 slaves who were born in my house. I had also ygreat possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and zgold and the atreasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, bboth men and women, and cmany concubines,2 the delight of the sons of man.
9 So I became great and dsurpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my 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 found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my ereward 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 vanity and a fstriving after wind, and there was nothing to be ggained under the sun.
The Vanity of Living Wisely
12 So I turned to consider wisdom and hmadness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? iOnly what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in jwisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. kAnd yet I perceived that lthe same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, “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 no enduring mremembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How nthe wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
The Vanity of Toil
18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must oleave 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 turned about and gave my heart up to despair 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 all the ptoil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For qall his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
24 rThere is nothing better for a person than that he should seat and drink and find enjoyment3 in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him4 who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, tonly to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
A Time for Everything
3 For everything there is a season, and ua time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
The God-Given Task
9 What vgain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the wbusiness that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that xhe cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that ythere is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to zdo good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should aeat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—bthis is God’s gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people cfear before him. 15 dThat which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.1
From Dust to Dust
16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of ejustice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, fGod will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is 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 gbeasts. 19 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.2 20 hAll go to one place. All are ifrom the dust, and jto dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man kgoes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that lthere is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his mlot. nWho can bring him to see what will be after him?
Evil Under the Sun
4 oAgain I saw all the poppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had 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 thought the dead who are already dead qmore fortunate than the living who are still alive. 3 rBut 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 vanity1 and a sstriving after wind.
5 The fool tfolds his hands and eats his own flesh.
6 uBetter is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
7 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 veyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an wunhappy 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, 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 a xpoor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. 14 For he went 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 that2 youth who was to stand in the king’s3 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 vanity and a striving after wind.
