Today we get to finish Ecclesiastes. Lots of wisdom here! It is hard to fit it all together, but then, pretty much everything worthy in life is hard in some way. Enjoy!

Ecclesiastes 7

A good name is better than fine perfume,

and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.

It is better to enter a house of mourning

than a house of feasting,

since death is the end of every man,

and the living should take this to heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter,

for a sad countenance is good for the heart.

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke

than to listen to the song of fools.

For like the crackling of thorns under the pot,

so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

The end of a matter is better than the beginning,

and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.

Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,

for anger settles in the lap of a fool.

Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”

For it is unwise of you to ask about this.

Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good,

and it benefits those who see the sun.

For wisdom, like money, is a shelter,

and the advantage of knowledge

is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

Consider the work of God:

Who can straighten what He has bent?

In the day of prosperity, be joyful,

but in the day of adversity, consider this:

God has made one of these along with the other,

so that a man cannot discover

anything that will come after him.

In my futile life I have seen both of these:

A righteous man perishing in his righteousness,

and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.

Wisdom makes the wise man

stronger than ten rulers in a city.

Surely there is no righteous man on earth

who does good and never sins.

Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you. For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me. What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?

I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.

And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.

“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.

While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.

Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

Ecclesiastes 8

Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.

Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God. Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.

For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.

For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him. Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?

As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.

Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.

When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.

Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.

Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.

So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—

I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.

Ecclesiastes 9

So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.

It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

This 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.

There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.

Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

Let your garments always be white,

and never spare the oil for your head.

Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.

For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:

There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.

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

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

The calm words of the wise are heeded

over the shouts of a ruler among fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner destroys much good.

Ecclesiastes 10

As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil,

so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

A wise man’s heart inclines to the right,

but the heart of a fool to the left.

Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking,

and he shows everyone that he is a fool.

If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post,

for calmness lays great offenses to rest.

There is an evil I have seen under the sun—

an error that proceeds from the ruler:

Folly is appointed to great heights,

but the rich sit in lowly positions.

I have seen slaves on horseback,

while princes go on foot like slaves.

He who digs a pit may fall into it,

and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.

The one who quarries stones may be injured by them,

and he who splits logs endangers himself.

If the axe is dull and the blade unsharpened,

more strength must be exerted,

but skill produces success.

If the snake bites before it is charmed,

there is no profit for the charmer.

The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,

but the lips of a fool consume him.

The beginning of his talk is folly,

and the end of his speech is evil madness.

Yet the fool multiplies words.

No one knows what is coming,

and who can tell him what will come after him?

The toil of a fool wearies him,

for he does not know the way to the city.

Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth,

and whose princes feast in the morning.

Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles,

and whose princes feast at the proper time—

for strength and not for drunkenness.

Through laziness the roof caves in,

and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.

A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life merry,

but money is the answer for everything.

Do not curse the king even in your thoughts,

or curse the rich even in your bedroom,

for a bird of the air may carry your words,

and a winged creature may report your speech.

Ecclesiastes 11

Cast your bread upon the waters,

for after many days you will find it again.

Divide your portion among seven, or even eight,

for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

If the clouds are full,

they will pour out rain upon the earth;

whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,

in the place where it falls, there it will lie.

He who watches the wind will fail to sow,

and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.

As you do not know the path of the wind,

or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb,

so you cannot understand the work of God,

the Maker of all things.

Sow your seed in the morning,

and do not rest your hands in the evening,

for you do not know which will succeed,

whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

Light is sweet,

and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.

So if a man lives many years,

let him rejoice in them all.

But let him remember the days of darkness,

for they will be many.

Everything to come is futile.

Rejoice, O young man, while you are young,

and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.

Walk in the ways of your heart

and in the sight of your eyes,

but know that for all these things

God will bring you to judgment.

So banish sorrow from your heart,

and cast off pain from your body,

for youth and vigor are fleeting.

Ecclesiastes 12

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,

before the days of adversity come

and the years approach of which you will say,

“I find no pleasure in them,”

before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened,

and the clouds return after the rain,

on the day the keepers of the house tremble

and the strong men stoop,

when those grinding cease because they are few

and those watching through windows see dimly,

when the doors to the street are shut

and the sound of the mill fades away,

when one rises at the sound of a bird

and all the daughters of song grow faint,

when men fear the heights and dangers of the road,

when the almond tree blossoms,

the grasshopper loses its spring,

and the caper berry shrivels—

for then man goes to his eternal home

and mourners walk the streets.

Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped

and the golden bowl is crushed,

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring

and the wheel is broken at the well,

before the dust returns to the ground from which it came

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher.

“Everything is futile!”

Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.

The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.

The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd.

And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

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