Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam.
Do not be in a hurry to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.”
He who keeps a royal command experiences no trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure.
For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man’s trouble is heavy upon him.
All this I have seen and applied my mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised authority over another man to his hurt.
Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.
But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.
So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear.
For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.
For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.
Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.
Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.
Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.
There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it.
But there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.
A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.
Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.
He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.
Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;
The toil of a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city.
Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes feast in the morning.
Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything.
Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.
If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.
Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.
Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street.
In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.
“Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, Your name is like purified oil; Therefore the maidens love you.
“My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh Which lies all night between my breasts.
“My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms In the vineyards of Engedi.”
“Like a lily among the thorns, So is my darling among the maidens.”
“My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he is standing behind our wall, He is looking through the windows, He is peering through the lattice.
“Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”
“King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair From the timber of Lebanon.
“How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Mount Gilead.
“Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young.
“Your lips are like a scarlet thread, And your mouth is lovely. Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil.
“Your neck is like the tower of David, Built with rows of stones On which are hung a thousand shields, All the round shields of the mighty men.
“Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle Which feed among the lilies.
“You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride; You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes, With a single strand of your necklace.
“A garden locked is my sister, my bride, A rock garden locked, a spring sealed up.
“You are a garden spring, A well of fresh water, And streams flowing from Lebanon.”
“I was asleep but my heart was awake. A voice! My beloved was knocking: ‘Open to me, my sister, my darling, My dove, my perfect one! For my head is drenched with dew, My locks with the damp of the night.’
“His head is like gold, pure gold; His locks are like clusters of dates And black as a raven.
“His cheeks are like a bed of balsam, Banks of sweet-scented herbs; His lips are lilies Dripping with liquid myrrh.
“Turn your eyes away from me, For they have confused me; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Gilead.
“Your teeth are like a flock of ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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