Ecclesiastes 7:1-9:18 1 A good reputation
is better
than precious
perfume;
likewise,
the day of one’s
death
is better than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to a funeral
than a feast.
For death
is the destiny
of every person,
and the living should
take this
to heart.
3 Sorrow
is better than laughter, because sober reflection
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 merrymaking.
5 It is better for a person to receive
a rebuke from those who are wise
than to listen to the song
of fools.
6 For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns
under a cooking pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This kind of folly
also is useless.
7 Surely oppression
can turn a wise person into a fool;
likewise,
a bribe corrupts
the heart.
8 The end of a matter
is better than its beginning; likewise, patience
is better than pride.
9 Do not let yourself be quickly provoked,
for anger resides in the lap
of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these days?”
for it is not wise to ask that.
11 Wisdom, like
an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who see the light of day.
12 For wisdom provides
protection,
just as
money provides protection.
But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life
of its owner.
13 Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent?
14 In times of prosperity
be joyful, but in times of adversity
consider this: God has made one as well as the other,
so that no one can discover what the future holds.
15 During the days of my fleeting life
I have seen both
of these things: Sometimes
a righteous person dies prematurely
in spite of
his righteousness, and sometimes
a wicked person lives long
in spite of his evil deeds.
16 So do not be excessively righteous or excessively
wise;
otherwise
you might
be disappointed.
17 Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise
you might die before your time.
18 It is best to take hold of one warning
without letting go of the other warning;
for the one who fears God will follow
both warnings.
19 Wisdom gives a wise person more protection
than ten rulers in a city.
20 For
there is not one truly
righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.
21 Also, do not pay attention to everything that people
say; otherwise,
you might even hear
your servant cursing you.
22 For you know in your own heart
that you also have cursed others many times.
23 I have examined all this by wisdom; I said, “I am determined
to comprehend this”
– but it was beyond my grasp.
24 Whatever has happened is beyond human
understanding;
it is far deeper than anyone can fathom.
25 I tried
to understand, examine, and comprehend
the role of
wisdom in the scheme of things,
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the insanity of folly.
26 I discovered this:
More bitter than death is the kind of
woman
who is like a hunter’s snare;
her heart is like a hunter’s net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her.
27 The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.
28 What I have continually sought, I have not found; I have found only
one upright
man among a thousand, but I have not found one upright woman among all of them.
29 This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.
1 Who is
a
wise person? Who knows the solution
to a problem?
A person’s wisdom brightens his appearance,
and softens
his harsh countenance.
2 Obey the king’s command,
because you took
an oath before God
to be loyal to him.
3 Do not rush out of the king’s presence in haste – do not delay when the matter is unpleasant,
for he can do whatever he pleases.
4 Surely the king’s authority
is absolute;
no one can say
to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever obeys his
command will not experience harm, and a wise person
knows the proper time
and procedure.
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression
of the king
is severe upon his victim.
7 Surely no one knows the future,
and no one can tell another person what will happen.
8 Just as no one has power over the wind to restrain it,
so no one has power over the day of his
death. Just as no one can be discharged during the battle,
so wickedness cannot rescue the wicked.
9 While applying
my mind
to everything
that happens in this world,
I have seen all this: Sometimes one person
dominates
other people
to their harm.
10 Not only that,
but I have seen the wicked approaching
and entering the temple,
and as they left the holy temple,
they boasted
in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.
11 When
a sentence
is not executed
at once against a crime,
the human heart
is encouraged to do evil.
12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes
and still live a long time,
yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people
– for they stand in fear
before him.
13 But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they
prolong their
days like a shadow,
because they
do not stand in fear
before God.
14 Here is
another
enigma
that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve,
and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve.
I said, “This also is an enigma.”
15 So I recommend the enjoyment of life,
for there is nothing better on earth
for a person to do
except
to eat, drink, and enjoy
life.
So
joy
will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.
16 When I tried
to gain
wisdom and to observe the activity
on earth – even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night
–
17 then I discerned all that God has done:
No one really comprehends what happens
on earth.
Despite all human
efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp
it.
Even if
a wise person claimed
that he understood, he would not really comprehend
it.
1 So I reflected on all this,
attempting to clear
it all up. I concluded that
the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated
– no one knows what lies ahead.
2 Everyone shares the same fate
– the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,
the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner;
what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.
3 This is the unfortunate fact
about everything that happens on earth:
the same fate awaits
everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people
are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die.
4 But whoever is among
the living
has hope; a live dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything; they have no further reward – and even the memory of them disappears.
6 What they loved,
as well as what they hated
and envied,
perished long ago, and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth.
7 Go, eat your food
with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved your works.
8 Let your clothes always be white, and do not spare precious ointment on your head.
9 Enjoy
life with your beloved wife
during all the days of your fleeting
life that God
has given you on earth
during all your fleeting days;
for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work
on earth.
10 Whatever you find to do with your hands,
do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave,
the place where you will eventually go.
11 Again,
I observed this on the earth:
the race is not always
won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity
does not always belong to those who are the wisest, wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning, nor does success
always come to those with the most knowledge – for time and chance may overcome
them all.
12 Surely, no one
knows his appointed time!
Like fish that are caught in a deadly
net, and like birds that are caught in a snare – just like them, all people
are ensnared
at an unfortunate
time that falls upon them suddenly.
13 This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth,
and it is a great burden
to me:
14 There was once
a small city with a few men in it, and a mighty king attacked it, besieging
it and building strong
siege works against it.
15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city,
and he could have delivered
the city by his wisdom, but no one listened
to that poor man.
16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might,
but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens
to his advice.
17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet, more than the shouting of a ruler is heard
among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
Context (NET) 2 Corinthians 7:8-16 8 For even if I made you sad
by my letter,
I do not regret having written it
(even though I did regret it,
for
I see that my letter made you sad,
though only for a short time).
9 Now I rejoice, not because you were made sad,
but because you were made sad to the point of repentance. For you were made sad as God intended,
so that you were not harmed
in any way by us.
10 For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death.
11 For see what this very thing, this sadness
as God intended, has produced in you: what eagerness, what defense of yourselves,
what indignation,
what alarm, what longing, what deep concern,
what punishment!
In everything you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
12 So then, even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did wrong, or on account of the one who was wronged, but to reveal to you your eagerness on our behalf
before God.
13 Therefore we have been encouraged. And in addition to our own encouragement, we rejoiced even more at the joy of Titus, because all of you have refreshed his spirit.
14 For if I have boasted to him about anything concerning you, I have not been embarrassed by you,
but just as everything we said to you was true,
so our boasting to Titus about you
has proved true as well.
15 And his affection for you is much greater
when he remembers the obedience of you all, how you welcomed him with fear and trembling.
16 I rejoice because in everything I am fully confident in you.
Context (NET) Psalm 48:1-14 1 A song, a psalm by the Korahites. The
Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise in the city of our God,
his holy hill.
2 It is lofty and pleasing to look at,
a source of joy to the whole earth.
Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon;
it is the city of the great king.
3 God is in its fortresses; he reveals himself as its defender.
4 For
look, the kings assemble;
they advance together.
5 As soon as they see,
they are shocked;
they are terrified, they quickly retreat.
6 Look at them shake uncontrollably,
like a woman writhing in childbirth.
7 With an east wind you shatter
the large ships.
8 We heard about God’s mighty deeds, now we have seen them,
in the city of the
Lord, the invincible Warrior,
in the city of our God. God makes it permanently secure.
(Selah)
9 We reflect on your loyal love, O God, within your temple.
10 The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth is worthy of your reputation, O God.
You execute justice!
11 Mount Zion rejoices; the towns
of Judah are happy,
because of your acts of judgment.
12 Walk around
Zion! Encircle it! Count its towers!
13 Consider its defenses!
Walk through
its fortresses, so you can tell the next generation about it!
14 For God, our God, is our defender forever!
He guides
us!
Context (NET) Proverbs 22:17-19 17 Incline your ear
and listen to the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my instruction.
18 For it is pleasing if
you keep these sayings
within you, and
they are ready on your lips.
19 So that
your confidence may be in the
Lord, I am making them known to you today
– even you.
Context (NET)
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