Ecclesiastes 7-12 - Prayer Tents

Ecclesiastes 7

Wisdom for Life

7A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born.H8034H2896H2896H8081H3117H4194H3117H3205 2Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies—so the living should take this to heart.H2896H3212H1004H60H3212H1004H4960H834H5490H120H2416H5414H3820 3Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.H3708H2896H7814H7455H6440H3820H3190 4A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.H3820H2450H1004H60H3820H3684H1004H8057 5Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool.H2896H8085H1606H2450H376H8085H7892H3684 6A fool’s laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless.H6963H5518H5518H7814H3684H1892 7Extortion turns wise people into fools, and bribes corrupt the heart.H6233H2450H1984H4979H6H3820 8Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.H2896H319H1697H7225H750H7307H2896H1362H7307 9Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.H926H7307H3707H3708H5117H2436H3684 10Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise.H559H7223H3117H2896H7592H2451 11Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life.H2451H2896H5159H3148H7200H8121 12Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life.H2451H6738H3701H6738H3504H1847H2451H2421H1167 13Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked?H7200H4639H430H3201H8626H5791 14Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.H3117H2896H2896H3117H7451H7200H430H6213H5980H1700H120H4672H3972H310

The Limits of Human Wisdom

15I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people.H7200H3117H1892H3426H6662H6H6664H7563H748H7451 16So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself?H6662H7235H3148H2449H8074 17On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time?H7235H7561H5530H4191H6256 18Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes.H2896H270H2088H3240H3027H3373H430H3318 19One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town!H2451H5810H2450H6235H7989H5892 20Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.H6662H120H776H6213H2896H2398 21Don’t eavesdrop on others—you may hear your servant curse you.H5414H3820H1697H1696H8085H5650H7043 22For you know how often you yourself have cursed others.H6471H7227H3820H3045H7043H312 23I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn’t work.H2090H5254H2451H559H2449H7350 24Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find.H7350H6013H4672 25I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness.H5437H3820H3045H8446H1245H2451H2808H3045H7562H3689H5531H1947 26I discovered that a seductive woman is a trap more bitter than death. Her passion is a snare, and her soft hands are chains. Those who are pleasing to God will escape her, but sinners will be caught in her snare.H4672H4751H4194H802H3820H4685H2764H3027H612H2896H6440H430H4422H2398H3920 27“This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle.H7200H4672H559H6953H259H259H4672H2808 28Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman!H5315H1245H4672H259H120H505H4672H802H4672 29But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”H7200H905H4672H430H6213H120H3477H1245H7227H2810

Ecclesiastes 8

8How wonderful to be wise, to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person’s face, softening its harshness.H2450H3045H6592H1697H120H2451H6440H215H5797H6440H8132

Obedience to the King

2Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would.H8104H4428H6310H1700H7621H4303Don’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants.H926H3212H6440H5975H7451H1697H6213H26544His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it.H1697H4428H7983H559H62135Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right,H8104H4687H3045H7451H1697H2450H3820H3045H6256H49416for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.H2656H3426H6256H4941H7451H120H72277Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen?H3045H50468None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.H120H7989H7307H3607H7307H7983H3117H4194H4917H4421H7562H4422H1167

The Wicked and the Righteous

9I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other.H7200H5414H3820H4639H6213H8121H6256H120H7980H745110I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless.H3651H7200H7563H6912H935H1980H4725H6918H7911H5892H6213H189211When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.H6599H7451H4639H6213H4120H3820H1121H120H4390H6213H745112But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off.H2398H6213H7451H3967H748H3045H2896H3373H430H3372H644013The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.H2896H7563H748H3117H6738H3373H6440H43014And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!H3426H1892H6213H776H6662H5060H4639H7563H3426H7563H5060H4639H6662H559H1571H189215So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.H7623H8057H120H2896H8121H398H8354H8055H3867H5999H3117H2416H430H5414H812116In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night.H5414H3820H3045H2451H7200H6045H6213H776H3117H3915H7200H8142H586917I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.H7200H4639H430H120H3201H4672H4639H6213H8121H834H7945H120H5998H1245H4672H2450H559H3045H3201H4672

Ecclesiastes 9

Death Comes to All

9This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor.H5414H3820H952H6662H2450H5652H3027H430H120H3045H1571H160H8135H64402The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.H259H4745H6662H7563H2896H2889H2931H2076H834H2076H2896H2398H7650H3373H76213It seems so tragic that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. That is why people are not more careful to be good. Instead, they choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.H7451H6213H8121H259H4745H3820H1121H120H4390H7451H1947H3824H2416H310H41914There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”H4310H3426H2266H977H2416H986H2416H3611H2896H4191H7385The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.H2416H3045H4191H4191H3045H3972H7939H2143H79116Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.H160H8135H7068H3528H6H2506H5769H6213H81217So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!H3212H398H3899H8057H8354H3196H2896H3820H430H3528H7521H46398Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!H899H6256H3836H7218H2637H80819Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.H2416H7200H802H157H3117H2416H1892H5414H8121H3117H1892H2506H2416H5999H6001H812110Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.H3027H4672H6213H6213H3581H4639H2808H1847H2451H7585H198011I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.H7725H7200H8121H4793H7031H4421H1368H3899H2450H6239H995H2580H3045H6256H6294H713612People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.H120H3045H6256H1709H270H7451H4685H6833H270H6341H1992H1121H120H3369H7451H6256H5307H6597

Thoughts on Wisdom and Folly

13Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.H2090H2451H7200H8121H141914There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.H6996H5892H4592H582H935H1419H4428H5437H1129H1419H468515A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him.H4672H4542H2450H376H2451H4422H5892H120H2142H4542H37616So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.H559H2451H2896H1369H4542H2451H959H1697H808517Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king.H1697H2450H8085H5183H2201H4910H368418Better to have wisdom than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.H2451H2896H3627H7128H259H2398H6H7235H2896

Ecclesiastes 10

10As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.H4194H2070H8081H7543H5042H887H4592H5531H3368H2451H35192A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one.H2450H3820H3225H3684H3820H80403You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street!H5530H1980H1870H3820H2638H559H55304If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.H7307H4910H5927H3240H4725H4832H3240H1419H2399

The Ironies of Life

5There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistakeH3426H7451H7200H8121H7684H3318H6440H79896when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth.H5529H5414H7227H4791H6223H3427H82167I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!H7200H5650H5483H8269H1980H5650H7768When you dig a well, you might fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake.H2658H1475H5307H6555H1447H5175H53919When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you. When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax.H5265H68H6087H1234H6086H553310Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.H1270H6949H7043H6440H1396H2428H2451H3504H378711If a snake bites before you charm it, what’s the use of being a snake charmer?H5175H5391H3908H3956H1167H350412Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words.H1697H2450H6310H2580H8193H3684H110413Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness;H8462H1697H6310H5531H319H6310H7451H194814they chatter on and on. No one really knows what is going to happen; no one can predict the future.H5530H7235H1697H120H3045H310H504615Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they can’t even find their way home.H5999H3684H3021H3045H3212H589216What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant, the land whose leaders feast in the morning.H337H776H4428H5288H8269H398H124217Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader and whose leaders feast at the proper time to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.H835H776H4428H1121H2715H8269H398H6256H1369H835818Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house.H6103H4746H4355H8220H3027H1004H181119A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness, and money gives everything!H3899H6213H7814H3196H8055H2416H3701H603020Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom. For a little bird might deliver your message and tell them what you said.H7043H4428H4093H7043H6223H2315H4904H5775H8064H3212H6963H1167H3671H5046H1697

Ecclesiastes 11

The Uncertainties of Life

11Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.H7971H3899H6440H4325H4672H7230H31172But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.H5414H2506H7651H8083H3045H7451H7763When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.H5645H4390H1653H7324H776H6086H5307H1864H6828H4725H6086H5307H19334Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.H8104H7307H2232H7200H5645H71145Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.H3045H1870H7307H6106H990H4392H3045H4639H430H62136Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.H1242H2232H2233H6153H3240H3027H3045H335H3787H8147H259H2896

Advice for Young and Old

7Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.H216H4966H2896H5869H7200H81218When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.H120H2421H7235H8141H8055H2142H3117H2822H7235H935H18929Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.H8055H970H3208H3820H2895H3117H979H1980H1870H3820H4758H5869H3045H430H935H494110So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.H5493H3708H3820H5674H7451H1320H3208H7839H1892

Ecclesiastes 12

12Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.”H2142H1254H3117H979H7451H3117H935H8141H5060H559H2656 2Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky.H8121H216H3394H3556H2821H5645H7725H310H1653 3Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.H3117H8104H1004H2111H2428H582H5791H2912H988H4591H7200H699H2821 4Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.H1817H5462H7784H6963H2913H8217H6965H6963H6833H1323H7892H7817 5Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.H3372H1364H2849H1870H8247H5006H2284H5445H35H6565H120H1980H5769H1004H5594H5437H7784 6Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.H3808H3701H2256H7576H7368H2091H1543H7533H3537H7665H4002H1534H7533H953 7For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.H6083H7725H776H7307H7725H430H5414

Concluding Thoughts about the Teacher

8“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”H1892H1892H559H6953H1892 9Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them.H3148H6953H2450H3925H5971H1847H239H2713H8626H7235H4912 10The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.H6953H1245H4672H2656H1697H3789H3476H1697H571 11The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.H1697H2450H1861H4930H5193H1167H627H5414H259H7462 12But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.H3148H1992H1121H2094H6213H7235H5612H7093H7235H3854H3024H1320 13That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.H8085H5490H1697H3372H430H8104H4687H120 14God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.H430H935H4639H4941H5956H2896H7451