Ecclesiastes 10

¹³You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

¹²For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group.

¹³The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

²⁶Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.

²⁵Prepare from these a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer; it will be a sacred anointing oil.

²Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is upon you.

³⁴The Lord also said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense—in equal measures,

³⁵and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.

¹⁸Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods.

¹⁹Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

¹⁴Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him?

²⁸Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?

²⁹Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,

¹⁰If the axe is dull and the blade unsharpened, more strength must be exerted, but skill produces success.

¹⁶Why should the fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.

²A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions.

¹⁶Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool displays his folly.

⁶A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.

⁴Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you.

³As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.

¹⁵Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

³Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.

²⁴She fell at his feet and said, “My lord, may the blame be on me alone, but please let your servant speak to you; hear the words of your servant.

²⁵My lord should pay no attention to this scoundrel Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name means Fool, and folly accompanies him. I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.

¹³There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,

¹There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind:

³This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

⁷Again, I saw futility under the sun.

¹⁶Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

¹Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

²When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

¹After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him to a position above all the princes who were with him.

⁸The wicked wander freely, and vileness is exalted among men.

¹³And the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the elders

¹⁴and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”

²⁸When the wicked come to power, people hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous flourish.

¹⁰Luxury is unseemly for a fool—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

⁸have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head.

²²a servant who becomes king, a fool who is filled with food,

²⁷He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.

¹⁵He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.

¹⁶His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.

¹⁰So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.

¹⁹It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

¹⁶The Lord is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah

²³When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

⁵Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

⁵Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.

¹⁵The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.

²⁰Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.

¹⁵Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

¹⁶redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁵Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

¹⁶And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

¹⁷“For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the Lord.

⁴Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,

⁵refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.

²Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.

³who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,

²¹Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

²²All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” they asked.

²The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.

¹¹He who loves a pure heart and gracious lips will have the king for a friend.

²⁹Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked has little worth.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of judgment.

¹⁰But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.

¹¹Why should I take my bread and water and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give them to these men whose origin I do not know?”

⁹If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution.

²⁶Saul said nothing that day because he thought, “Something has happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.”

²⁷But on the day after the New Moon, the second day, David’s place was still empty, and Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal either yesterday or today?”

⁷Then Saul said to his servants, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Is the son of Jesse giving all of you fields and vineyards and making you commanders of thousands or hundreds?

⁸Is that why all of you have conspired against me? Not one of you told me that my own son had made a covenant with the son of Jesse. Not one of you has shown concern for me or revealed to me that my son has stirred up my own servant to lie in wait against me, as is the case today.”

²⁷He answered, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?”

⁹But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They disputed with Stephen,

¹⁰but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

²The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.

³As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.

¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”

¹⁴You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

⁷Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?

²²I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?

¹²For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

¹The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous are taken away from the presence of evil.

⁴“In those days and at that time, declares the Lord, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the Lord their God.

⁵They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

³Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he shows everyone that he is a fool.

⁷He led them on a straight path to reach a city where they could live.

⁴Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no path to a city in which to dwell.

⁸And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.

⁹No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it.

¹²Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.

¹¹Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.

¹²At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the Lord and fail to see the work of His hands.

⁴“I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.”

⁵The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the young will rise up against the old, and the base against the honorable.

¹Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

²The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.

¹²O house of David, this is what the Lord says: ‘Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor, or My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of their evil deeds.

⁷Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,

⁵lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice.

²⁶Then you may spend the money on anything you desire: cattle, sheep, wine, strong drink, or anything you wish. You are to feast there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your household.

¹¹Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.

⁶Folly is appointed to great heights, but the rich sit in lowly positions.

⁷I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.

²¹Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own to approach Me?” declares the Lord.

²A land in rebellion has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.

³A destitute leader who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no food.

¹Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

³⁰I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.

³¹Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down.

⁴The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.

²⁵The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.

¹¹We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.

²¹For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.

¹⁵wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.

¹⁵And as you Philippians know, in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving.

¹⁶For even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs again and again.

¹¹In the streets they cry out for wine. All joy turns to gloom; rejoicing is exiled from the land.

¹I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.

²I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?”

¹⁹Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

⁹He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

⁵“Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”

²There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.

³What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

¹²But one of his servants replied, “No one, my lord the king. For Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”

²⁸You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

²¹Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.

²²For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

⁴⁰“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”