30:1The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, from Massa. The man says: I am full of weariness, O God, I am full of weariness; O God, I have come to an end: 30:2For I am more like a beast than any man, I have no power of reasoning like a man: 30:3I have not got wisdom by teaching, so that I might have the knowledge of the Holy One. 30:4Who has gone up to heaven and come down? who has taken the winds in his hands, prisoning the waters in his robe? by whom have all the ends of the earth been fixed? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if you are able to say? 30:5Every word of God is tested: he is a breastplate to those who put their faith in him. 30:6Make no addition to his words, or he will make clear your error, and you will be seen to be false. 30:7I have made request to you for two things; do not keep them from me before my death: 30:8Put far from me all false and foolish things: do not give me great wealth or let me be in need, but give me only enough food: 30:9For fear that if I am full, I may be false to you and say, Who is the Lord? or if I am poor, I may become a thief, using the name of my God wrongly. 30:10Do not say evil of a servant to his master, or he will put a curse on you, and you will get into trouble. 30:11There is a generation who put a curse on their father, and do not give a blessing to their mother. 30:12There is a generation who seem to themselves to be free from sin, but are not washed from their unclean ways. 30:13There is a generation, O how full of pride are their eyes! O how their brows are lifted up! 30:14There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, their strong teeth like knives, for the destruction of the poor from the earth, and of those who are in need from among men. 30:15The night-spirit has two daughters, Give, give. There are three things which are never full, even four which never say, Enough: 30:16The underworld, and the woman without a child; the earth which never has enough water, and the fire which never says, Enough. 30:17The eye which makes sport of a father, and sees no value in a mother when she is old will be rooted out by the ravens of the valley, and be food for the young eagles. 30:18There are three things, the wonder of which overcomes me, even four things outside my knowledge: 30:19The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a snake on a rock; the way of a ship in the heart of the sea; and the way of a man with a girl. 30:20This is the way of a false wife; she takes food, and, cleaning her mouth, says, I have done no wrong. 30:21For three things the earth is moved, and there are four which it will not put up with: 30:22A servant when he becomes a king; a man without sense when his wealth is increased; 30:23A hated woman when she is married; and a servant-girl who takes the place of her master's wife. 30:24There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are very wise: 30:25The ants are a people not strong, but they put by a store of food in the summer; 30:26The conies are only a feeble people, but they make their houses in the rocks; 30:27The locusts have no king, but they all go out in bands; 30:28You may take the lizard in your hands, but it is in kings' houses. 30:29There are three things whose steps are good to see, even four whose goings are fair: 30:30The lion, which is strongest among beasts, not turning from his way for any; 30:31The war-horse, and the he-goat, and the king when his army is with him. 30:32If you have done foolishly in lifting yourself up, or if you have had evil designs, put your hand over your mouth. 30:33The shaking of milk makes butter, and the twisting of the nose makes blood come: so the forcing of wrath is a cause of fighting.
31:1The words of Lemuel, king of Massa: the teaching which he had from his mother. 31:2What am I to say to you, O Lemuel, my oldest son? and what, O son of my body? and what, O son of my oaths? 31:3Do not give your strength to women, or your ways to that which is the destruction of kings. 31:4It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to take wine, or for rulers to say, Where is strong drink? 31:5For fear that through drinking they may come to have no respect for the law, wrongly judging the cause of those who are in trouble. 31:6Give strong drink to him who is near to destruction, and wine to him whose soul is bitter: 31:7Let him have drink, and his need will go from his mind, and the memory of his trouble will be gone. 31:8Let your mouth be open for those who have no voice, in the cause of those who are ready for death. 31:9Let your mouth be open, judging rightly, and give right decisions in the cause of the poor and those in need. 31:10Who may make discovery of a woman of virtue? For her price is much higher than jewels. 31:11The heart of her husband has faith in her, and he will have profit in full measure. 31:12She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. 31:13She gets wool and linen, working at the business of her hands. 31:14She is like the trading-ships, getting food from far away. 31:15She gets up while it is still night, and gives meat to her family, and their food to her servant-girls. 31:16After looking at a field with care, she gets it for a price, planting a vine-garden with the profit of her work. 31:17She puts a band of strength round her, and makes her arms strong. 31:18She sees that her marketing is of profit to her: her light does not go out by night. 31:19She puts her hands to the cloth-working rod, and her fingers take the wheel. 31:20Her hands are stretched out to the poor; yes, she is open-handed to those who are in need. 31:21She has no fear of the snow for her family, for all those in her house are clothed in red. 31:22She makes for herself cushions of needlework; her clothing is fair linen and purple. 31:23Her husband is a man of note in the public place, when he takes his seat among the responsible men of the land. 31:24She makes linen robes and gets a price for them, and traders take her cloth bands for a price. 31:25Strength and self-respect are her clothing; she is facing the future with a smile. 31:26Her mouth is open to give out wisdom, and the law of mercy is on her tongue. 31:27She gives attention to the ways of her family, she does not take her food without working for it. 31:28Her children get up and give her honour, and her husband gives her praise, saying, 31:29Unnumbered women have done well, but you are better than all of them. 31:30Fair looks are a deceit, and a beautiful form is of no value; but a woman who has the fear of the Lord is to be praised. 31:31Give her credit for what her hands have made: let her be praised by her works in the public place.
Ecclesiastes
1:1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 1:2All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose. 1:3What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun? 1:4One generation goes and another comes; but the earth is for ever. 1:5The sun comes up and the sun goes down, and goes quickly back to the place where he came up. 1:6The wind goes to the south, turning back again to the north; circling round for ever. 1:7All the rivers go down to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers go, there they go again. 1:8All things are full of weariness; man may not give their story: the eye has never enough of its seeing, or the ear of its hearing. 1:9That which has been, is that which is to be, and that which has been done, is that which will be done, and there is no new thing under the sun. 1:10Is there anything of which men say, See, this is new? It has been in the old time which was before us. 1:11There is no memory of those who have gone before, and of those who come after there will be no memory for those who are still to come after them. 1:12I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 1:13And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do. 1:14I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind. 1:15That which is bent may not be made straight, and that which is not there may not be numbered. 1:16I said to my heart, See, I have become great and am increased in wisdom more than any who were before me in Jerusalem--yes, my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge. 1:17And I gave my heart to getting knowledge of wisdom, and of the ways of the foolish. And I saw that this again was desire for wind. 1:18Because in much wisdom is much grief, and increase of knowledge is increase of sorrow.
2:1I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose. 2:2Of laughing I said, It is foolish; and of joy--What use is it? 2:3I made a search with my heart to give pleasure to my flesh with wine, still guiding my heart with wisdom, and to go after foolish things, so that I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life. 2:4I undertook great works, building myself houses and planting vine-gardens. 2:5I made myself gardens and fruit gardens, planting in them fruit-trees of all sorts. 2:6I made pools to give water for the woods with their young trees. 2:7I got men-servants and women-servants, and they gave birth to sons and daughters in my house. I had great wealth of herds and flocks, more than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 2:8I got together silver and gold and the wealth of kings and of countries. I got makers of song, male and female; and the delights of the sons of men--girls of all sorts to be my brides. 2:9And I became great; increasing more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom was still with me. 2:10And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward. 2:11Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun. 2:12And I went again in search of wisdom and of foolish ways. What may the man do who comes after the king? The thing which he has done before. 2:13Then I saw that wisdom is better than foolish ways--as the light is better than the dark. 2:14The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the foolish man goes walking in the dark; but still I saw that the same event comes to them all. 2:15Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose. 2:16Of the wise man, as of the foolish man, there is no memory for ever, seeing that those who now are will have gone from memory in the days to come. See how death comes to the wise as to the foolish! 2:17So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind. 2:18Hate had I for all my work which I had done, because the man who comes after me will have its fruits. 2:19And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose. 2:20So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun. 2:21Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil. 2:22What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun? 2:23All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose. 2:24There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God. 2:25Who may take food or have pleasure without him? 2:26To the man with whom he is pleased, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of getting goods together and storing up wealth, to give to him in whom God has pleasure. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.
3:1For everything there is a fixed time, and a time for every business under the sun. 3:2A time for birth and a time for death; a time for planting and a time for uprooting; 3:3A time to put to death and a time to make well; a time for pulling down and a time for building up; 3:4A time for weeping and a time for laughing; a time for sorrow and a time for dancing; 3:5A time to take stones away and a time to get stones together; a time for kissing and a time to keep from kissing; 3:6A time for search and a time for loss; a time to keep and a time to give away; 3:7A time for undoing and a time for stitching; a time for keeping quiet and a time for talk; 3:8A time for love and a time for hate; a time for war and a time for peace. 3:9What profit has the worker in the work which he does? 3:10I saw the work which God has put on the sons of man. 3:11He has made everything right in its time; but he has made their hearts without knowledge, so that man is unable to see the works of God, from the first to the last. 3:12I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him. 3:13And for every man to take food and drink, and have joy in all his work, is a reward from God. 3:14I am certain that whatever God does will be for ever. No addition may be made to it, nothing may be taken from it; and God has done it so that man may be in fear before him. 3:15Whatever is has been before, and what is to be is now; because God makes search for the things which are past. 3:16And again, I saw under the sun, in the place of the judges, that evil was there; and in the place of righteousness, that evil was there. 3:17I said in my heart, God will be judge of the good and of the bad; because a time for every purpose and for every work has been fixed by him. 3:18I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, so that God may put them to the test and that they may see themselves as beasts. 3:19Because the fate of the sons of men and the fate of the beasts is the same. As is the death of one so is the death of the other, and all have one spirit. Man is not higher than the beasts; because all is to no purpose. 3:20All go to one place, all are of the dust, and all will be turned to dust again. 3:21Who is certain that the spirit of the sons of men goes up to heaven, or that the spirit of the beasts goes down to the earth? 3:22So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work--because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?
4:1And again I saw all the cruel things which are done under the sun; there was the weeping of those who have evil done to them, and they had no comforter: and from the hands of the evil-doers there went out power, but they had no comforter. 4:2So my praise was for the dead who have gone to their death, more than for the living who still have life. 4:3Yes, happier than the dead or the living seemed he who has not ever been, who has not seen the evil which is done under the sun. 4:4And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind. 4:5The foolish man, folding his hands, takes the flesh of his body for food. 4:6One hand full of rest is better than two hands full of trouble and desire for wind. 4:7Then I came back, and I saw an example of what is to no purpose under the sun. 4:8It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work. 4:9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their work. 4:10And if one has a fall, the other will give him a hand; but unhappy is the man who is by himself, because he has no helper. 4:11So again, if two are sleeping together they are warm, but how may one be warm by himself? 4:12And two attacked by one would be safe, and three cords twisted together are not quickly broken. 4:13A young man who is poor and wise is better than a king who is old and foolish and will not be guided by the wisdom of others. 4:14Because out of a prison the young man comes to be king, though by birth he was only a poor man in the kingdom. 4:15I saw all the living under the sun round the young man who was to be ruler in place of the king. 4:16There was no end of all the people, of all those whose head he was, but they who come later will have no delight in him. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.
5:1Put your feet down with care when you go to the house of God, for it is better to give ear than to make the burned offerings of the foolish, whose knowledge is only of doing evil. 5:2Be not unwise with your mouth, and let not your heart be quick to say anything before God, because God is in heaven and you are on the earth--so let not the number of your words be great. 5:3As a dream comes from much business, so the voice of a foolish man comes with words in great number. 5:4When you take an oath before God, put it quickly into effect, because he has no pleasure in the foolish; keep the oath you have taken. 5:5It is better not to take an oath than to take an oath and not keep it. 5:6Let not your mouth make your flesh do evil. And say not before the angel, It was an error. So that God may not be angry with your words and put an end to the work of your hands. 5:7Because much talk comes from dreams and things of no purpose. But let the fear of God be in you. 5:8If you see the poor under a cruel yoke, and law and right being violently overturned in a country, be not surprised, because one authority is keeping watch on another and there are higher than they. 5:9It is good generally for a country where the land is worked to have a king. 5:10He who has a love for silver never has enough silver, or he who has love for wealth, enough profit. This again is to no purpose. 5:11When goods are increased, the number of those who take of them is increased; and what profit has the owner but to see them? 5:12The sleep of a working man is sweet, if he has little food or much; but to him who is full, sleep will not come. 5:13There is a great evil which I have seen under the sun--wealth kept by the owner to be his downfall. 5:14And I saw the destruction of his wealth by an evil chance; and when he became the father of a son he had nothing in his hand. 5:15As he came from his mother at birth, so does he go again; he gets from his work no reward which he may take away in his hand. 5:16And this again is a great evil, that in all points as he came so will he go; and what profit has he in working for the wind? 5:17All his days are in the dark, and he has much sorrow, pain, disease, and trouble. 5:18This is what I have seen: it is good and fair for a man to take meat and drink and to have joy in all his work under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; that is his reward. 5:19Every man to whom God has given money and wealth and the power to have pleasure in it and to do his part and have joy in his work: this is given by God. 5:20He will not give much thought to the days of his life; because God lets him be taken up with the joy of his heart.
6:1There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is hard on men; 6:2A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease. 6:3If a man has a hundred children, and his life is long so that the days of his years are great in number, but his soul takes no pleasure in good, and he is not honoured at his death; I say that a birth before its time is better than he. 6:4In wind it came and to the dark it will go, and with the dark will its name be covered. 6:5Yes, it saw not the sun, and it had no knowledge; it is better with this than with the other. 6:6And though he goes on living a thousand years twice over and does not see good, are not the two going to the same place? 6:7All the work of man is for his mouth, and still he has a desire for food. 6:8What have the wise more than the foolish? and what has the poor man by walking wisely before the living? 6:9What the eyes see is better than the wandering of desire. This is to no purpose and a desire for wind. 6:10That which is, has been named before, and of what man is there is knowledge. He has no power against one stronger than he. 6:11There are words without number for increasing what is to no purpose, but what is man profited by them? 6:12Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?
7:1A good name is better than oil of great price, and the day of death than the day of birth. 7:2It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts. 7:3Sorrow is better than joy; when the face is sad the mind gets better. 7:4The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy. 7:5It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish. 7:6Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose. 7:7The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart. 7:8The end of a thing is better than its start, and a gentle spirit is better than pride. 7:9Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish. 7:10Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom. 7:11Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun. 7:12Wisdom keeps a man from danger even as money does; but the value of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its owner. 7:13Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent? 7:14In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him. 7:15These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing. 7:16Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you? 7:17Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time? 7:18It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two. 7:19Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers in a town. 7:20There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days. 7:21Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant. 7:22Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you. 7:23All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me. 7:24Far off is true existence, and very deep; who may have knowledge of it? 7:25I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses. 7:26And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her. 7:27Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account, 7:28For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen. 7:29This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.
8:1Who is like the wise man? and to whom is the sense of anything clear? A man's wisdom makes his face shining, and his hard face will be changed. 8:2I say to you, Keep the king's law, from respect for the oath of God. 8:3Be not quick to go from before him. Be not fixed in an evil design, because he does whatever is pleasing to him. 8:4The word of a king has authority; and who may say to him, What is this you are doing? 8:5Whoever keeps the law will come to no evil: and a wise man's heart has knowledge of time and of decision. 8:6For every purpose there is a time and a decision, because the sorrow of man is great in him. 8:7No one is certain what is to be, and who is able to say to him when it will be? 8:8No man has authority over the wind, to keep the wind; or is ruler over the day of his death. In war no man's time is free, and evil will not keep the sinner safe. 8:9All this have I seen, and have given my heart to all the work which is done under the sun: there is a time when man has power over man for his destruction. 8:10And then I saw evil men put to rest, taken even from the holy place; and they went about and were praised in the town because of what they had done. This again is to no purpose. 8:11Because punishment for an evil work comes not quickly, the minds of the sons of men are fully given to doing evil. 8:12Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life is long, I am certain that it will be well for those who go in fear of God and are in fear before him. 8:13But it will not be well for the evil-doer; he will not make his days long like a shade, because he has no fear before God. 8:14There is a thing which is to no purpose done on the earth: that there are good men to whom is given the same punishment as those who are evil, and there are evil men who get the reward of the good. I say that this again is to no purpose. 8:15So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun. 8:16When I gave my mind to the knowledge of wisdom and to seeing the business which is done on the earth (and there are those whose eyes see not sleep by day or by night), 8:17Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.
9:1All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them. 9:2Because to all there is one event, to the upright man and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him who makes an offering and to him who makes no offering; as is the good so is the sinner; he who takes an oath is as he who has fear of it. 9:3This is evil in all things which are done under the sun: that there is one fate for all, and the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; while they have life their hearts are foolish, and after that--to the dead. 9:4For him who is joined to all the living there is hope; a living dog is better than a dead lion. 9:5The living are conscious that death will come to them, but the dead are not conscious of anything, and they no longer have a reward, because there is no memory of them. 9:6Their love and their hate and their envy are now ended; and they have no longer a part for ever in anything which is done under the sun. 9:7Come, take your bread with joy, and your wine with a glad heart. God has taken pleasure in your works. 9:8Let your clothing be white at all times, and let not your head be without oil. 9:9Have joy with the woman of your love all the days of your foolish life which he gives you under the sun. Because that is your part in life and in your work which you do under the sun. 9:10Whatever comes to your hand to do with all your power, do it because there is no work, or thought, or knowledge, or wisdom in the place of the dead to which you are going. 9:11And again I saw under the sun that the reward goes not to him who is quick, or the fruits of war to the strong; and there is no bread for the wise, or wealth for men of learning, or respect for those who have knowledge; but time and chance come to all. 9:12Even man has no knowledge of his time; like fishes taken in an evil net, or like birds taken by deceit, are the sons of men taken in an evil time when it comes suddenly on them. 9:13This again I have seen under the sun as wisdom and it seemed great to me. 9:14There was a little town and the number of its men was small, and there came a great king against it and made an attack on it, building works of war round about it. 9:15Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man. 9:16Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is not respected, and his words are not given a hearing. 9:17The words of the wise which come quietly to the ear are noted more than the cry of a ruler among the foolish. 9:18Wisdom is better than instruments of war, but one sinner is the destruction of much good.
10:1Dead flies make the oil of the perfumer give out an evil smell; more valued is a little wisdom than the great glory of the foolish. 10:2The heart of the wise man goes in the right direction; but the heart of a foolish man in the wrong. 10:3And when the foolish man is walking in the way, he has no sense and lets everyone see that he is foolish. 10:4If the wrath of the ruler is against you, keep in your place; in him who keeps quiet even great sins may be overlooked. 10:5There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which comes by chance from a ruler: 10:6The foolish are placed in high positions, but men of wealth are kept low. 10:7I have seen servants on horses, and rulers walking on the earth as servants. 10:8He who makes a hole for others will himself go into it, and for him who makes a hole through a wall the bite of a snake will be a punishment. 10:9He who gets out stones from the earth will be damaged by them, and in the cutting of wood there is danger. 10:10If the iron has no edge, and he does not make it sharp, then he has to put out more strength; but wisdom makes things go well. 10:11If a snake gives a bite before the word of power is said, then there is no longer any use in the word of power. 10:12The words of a wise man's mouth are sweet to all, but the lips of a foolish man are his destruction. 10:13The first words of his mouth are foolish, and the end of his talk is evil crime. 10:14The foolish are full of words; man has no knowledge of what will be; and who is able to say what will be after him? 10:15The work of the foolish will be a weariness to him, because he has no knowledge of the way to the town. 10:16Unhappy is the land whose king is a boy, and whose rulers are feasting in the morning. 10:17Happy is the land whose ruler is of noble birth, and whose chiefs take food at the right time, for strength and not for feasting. 10:18When no work is done the roof goes in, and when the hands do nothing water comes into the house. 10:19A feast is for laughing, and wine makes glad the heart; but by the one and the other money is wasted. 10:20Say not a curse against the king, even in your thoughts; and even secretly say not a curse against the man of wealth; because a bird of the air will take the voice, and that which has wings will give news of it.
11:1Put out your bread on the face of the waters; for after a long time it will come back to you again. 11:2Give a part to seven or even to eight, because you have no knowledge of the evil which will be on the earth. 11:3If the clouds are full of rain, they send it down on the earth; and if a tree comes down to the south, or the north, in whatever place it comes down, there it will be. 11:4He who is watching the wind will not get the seed planted, and he who is looking at the clouds will not get in the grain. 11:5As you have no knowledge of the way of the wind, or of the growth of the bones in the body of her who is with child, even so you have no knowledge of the works of God who has made all. 11:6In the morning put your seed into the earth, and till the evening let not your hand be at rest; because you are not certain which will do well, this or that--or if the two will be equally good. 11:7Truly the light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. 11:8But even if a man's life is long and he has joy in all his years, let him keep in mind the dark days, because they will be great in number. Whatever may come is to no purpose. 11:9Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge. 11:10So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.
12:1Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, I have no pleasure in them; 12:2While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are not dark, and the clouds come not back after the rain; 12:3In the day when the keepers of the house are shaking for fear, and the strong men are bent down, and the women who were crushing the grain are at rest because their number is small, and those looking out of the windows are unable to see; 12:4When the doors are shut in the street, and the sound of the crushing is low, and the voice of the bird is soft, and the daughters of music will be made low; 12:5And he is in fear of that which is high, and danger is in the road, and the tree is white with flower, and the least thing is a weight, and desire is at an end, because man goes to his last resting-place, and those who are sorrowing are in the streets; 12:6Before ever the silver cord is cut, or the vessel of gold is broken, or the pot is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the water-hole; 12:7And the dust goes back to the earth as it was, and the spirit goes back to God who gave it. 12:8All things are to no purpose, says the Preacher, all is to no purpose. 12:9And because the Preacher was wise he still gave the people knowledge; searching out, testing, and putting in order a great number of wise sayings. 12:10The Preacher made search for words which were pleasing, but his writing was in words upright and true. 12:11The words of the wise are pointed, and sayings grouped together are like nails fixed with a hammer; they are given by one guide. 12:12And further, my son, take note of this: of the making of books there is no end, and much learning is a weariness to the flesh. 12:13This is the last word. All has been said. Have fear of God and keep his laws; because this is right for every man. 12:14God will be judge of every work, with every secret thing, good or evil.
Song of Solomon
1:1The song of Songs, which is Solomon's. 1:2Let him give me the kisses of his mouth: for his love is better than wine. 1:3Sweet is the smell of your perfumes; your name is as perfume running out; so the young girls give you their love. 1:4Take me to you, and we will go after you: the king has taken me into his house. We will be glad and full of joy in you, we will give more thought to your love than to wine: rightly are they your lovers. 1:5I am dark, but fair of form, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. 1:6Let not your eyes be turned on me, because I am dark, because I was looked on by the sun; my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vine-gardens; but my vine-garden I have not kept. 1:7Say, O love of my soul, where you give food to your flock, and where you make them take their rest in the heat of the day; why have I to be as one wandering by the flocks of your friends? 1:8If you have not knowledge, O most beautiful among women, go on your way in the footsteps of the flock, and give your young goats food by the tents of the keepers. 1:9I have made a comparison of you, O my love, to a horse in Pharaoh's carriages. 1:10Your face is a delight with rings of hair, your neck with chains of jewels. 1:11We will make you chains of gold with ornaments of silver. 1:12While the king is seated at his table, my spices send out their perfume. 1:13As a bag of myrrh is my well-loved one to me, when he is at rest all night between my breasts. 1:14My love is to me as a branch of the cypress-tree in the vine-gardens of En-gedi. 1:15See, you are fair, my love, you are fair; you have the eyes of a dove. 1:16See, you are fair, my loved one, and a pleasure; our bed is green. 1:17Cedar-trees are the pillars of our house; and our boards are made of fir-trees.
2:1I am a rose of Sharon, a flower of the valleys. 2:2As the lily-flower among the thorns of the waste, so is my love among the daughters. 2:3As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my loved one among the sons. I took my rest under his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. 2:4He took me to the house of wine, and his flag over me was love. 2:5Make me strong with wine-cakes, let me be comforted with apples; I am overcome with love. 2:6His left hand is under my head, and his right hand is round about me. 2:7I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes of the field, do not let love be moved till it is ready. 2:8The voice of my loved one! See, he comes dancing on the mountains, stepping quickly on the hills. 2:9My loved one is like a roe; see, he is on the other side of our wall, he is looking in at the windows, letting himself be seen through the spaces. 2:10My loved one said to me, Get up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 2:11For, see, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 2:12The flowers are come on the earth; the time of cutting the vines is come, and the voice of the dove is sounding in our land; 2:13The fig-tree puts out her green fruit and the vines with their young fruit give a good smell. Get up from your bed, my beautiful one, and come away. 2:14O my dove, you are in the holes of the mountain sides, in the cracks of the high hills; let me see your face, let your voice come to my ears; for sweet is your voice, and your face is fair. 2:15Take for us the foxes, the little foxes, which do damage to the vines; our vines have young grapes. 2:16My loved one is mine, and I am his: he takes his food among the flowers. 2:17Till the evening comes, and the sky slowly becomes dark, come, my loved one, and be like a roe on the mountains of Bether.
3:1By night on my bed I was looking for him who is the love of my soul: I was looking for him, but I did not see him. 3:2I will get up now and go about the town, in the streets and in the wide ways I will go after him who is the love of my soul: I went after him, but I did not see him. 3:3The watchmen who go about the town came by me; to them I said, Have you seen him who is my heart's desire? 3:4I was but a little way from them, when I came face to face with him who is the love of my soul. I took him by the hands, and did not let him go, till I had taken him into my mother's house, and into the room of her who gave me birth. 3:5I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes of the field, let not love be moved till it is ready. 3:6Who is this coming out of the waste places like pillars of smoke, perfumed with sweet spices, with all the spices of the trader? 3:7See, it is the bed of Solomon; sixty men of war are about it, of the army of Israel, 3:8All of them armed with swords, trained in war; every man has his sword at his side, because of fear in the night. 3:9King Solomon made himself a bed of the wood of Lebanon. 3:10He made its pillars of silver, its base of gold, its seat of purple, the middle of it of ebony. 3:11Go out, O daughters of Jerusalem, and see King Solomon, with the crown which his mother put on his head on the day when he was married, and on the day of the joy of his heart.
4:1See, you are fair, my love, you are fair; you have the eyes of a dove; your hair is as a flock of goats, which take their rest on the side of Gilead. 4:2Your teeth are like a flock of sheep whose wool is newly cut, which come up from the washing; every one has two lambs, and there is not one without young. 4:3Your red lips are like a bright thread, and your mouth is fair of form; the sides of your head are like pomegranate fruit under your veil. 4:4Your neck is like the tower of David made for a store-house of arms, in which a thousand breastplates are hanging, breastplates for fighting-men. 4:5Your two breasts are like two young roes of the same birth, which take their food among the lilies. 4:6Till the evening comes, and the sky slowly becomes dark, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. 4:7You are all fair, my love; there is no mark on you. 4:8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, with me from Lebanon; see from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the places of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards. 4:9You have taken away my heart, my sister, my bride; you have taken away my heart, with one look you have taken it, with one chain of your neck! 4:10How fair is your love, my sister! How much better is your love than wine, and the smell of your oils than any perfume! 4:11Your lips are dropping honey; honey and milk are under your tongue; and the smell of your clothing is like the smell of Lebanon. 4:12A garden walled-in is my sister, my bride; a garden shut up, a spring of water stopped. 4:13The produce of the garden is pomegranates; with all the best fruits, henna and spikenard, 4:14Spikenard and safron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices. 4:15You are a fountain of gardens, a spring of living waters, and flowing waters from Lebanon. 4:16Be awake, O north wind; and come, O south, blowing on my garden, so that its spices may come out. Let my loved one come into his garden, and take of his good fruits.