The way of an eagle in the sky, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a maid.
This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wrong.”
Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot bear up:
Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:
The ants are not a strong people, But they prepare their food in the summer;
The shephanim are not mighty people, Yet they make their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks;
The lizard you may grasp with the hands, Yet it is in kings’ palaces.
The lion which is mighty among beasts And does not retreat before any,
The strutting rooster, the male goat also, And a king when his army is with him.
For the churning of milk produces butter, And pressing the nose brings forth blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.
The words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him:
For they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all the unfortunate.
Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future.
She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?
A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.
Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again.
Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.
All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.
All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.
There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still.
I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.
I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.
Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men--many concubines.
Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.
So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done?
The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both.
Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.”
For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die!
So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.
Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me.
And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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