²A wise person’s heart leads the right way. The heart of a fool leads the wrong way. ³Even when a fool goes walking, he has no sense and shows everyone else that he’s a fool.

⁴If a ruler becomes angry with you, don’t resign your position. If you remain calm, you can make up for serious offenses.

⁵There is a tragedy that I’ve seen under the sun, an error often made by rulers. ⁶Foolish people are often given high positions, and rich people are left to fill lower positions. ⁷I have seen slaves sitting on horses and influential people going on foot like slaves.

⁸Whoever digs a pit may fall into it. Whoever breaks through a stone wall may be bitten by a snake. ⁹Whoever works in a stone quarry may get hurt. Whoever splits wood may be injured.

¹⁰If an ax is blunt and the edge isn’t sharpened, then one has to use more strength. But wisdom prepares the way for success. ¹¹If a snake bites before it has been charmed, then there is no advantage in being a snake charmer.

¹²A wise person’s words win favors, but a fool’s lips are self-destructive. ¹³A fool starts out by talking foolishness and ends up saying crazy things that are dangerous. ¹⁴He never stops talking. No one knows what the future will bring, or what will happen after ⸤death⸥. Who can say! ¹⁵Fools wear themselves out with hard work, because they don’t even know the way to town.

¹⁶How horrible it will be for any country where the king used to be a servant and where the high officials throw parties in the morning. ¹⁷A country is blessed when the king is from a noble family and when the high officials eat at the right time in order to get strength and not to get drunk.

¹⁸A roof sags because of laziness. A house leaks because of idle hands.

¹⁹A meal is made for laughter, and wine makes life pleasant, but money is the answer for everything.

²⁰Don’t curse the king even in your thoughts, and don’t curse rich people even in your bedroom. A bird may carry your words, or some winged creature may repeat what you say.

11TH CHAPTER

Live Boldly

¹Throw your bread on the surface of the water, because you will find it again after many days.

²Divide what you have into seven parts, or even into eight, because you don’t know what disaster may happen on earth.

³If the clouds are full of rain, they will let it pour down on the earth. If a tree falls north or south, the tree will remain where it fell.

⁴Whoever watches the wind will never plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will never harvest.

⁵Just as you don’t know how the breath of life enters the limbs of a child within its mother’s womb, you also don’t understand how God, who made everything, works.

⁶Plant your seed in the morning, and don’t let your hands rest until evening. You don’t know whether this field or that field will be profitable or whether both of them will ⸤turn out⸥ equally well.

⁷Light is sweet, and it is good for one’s eyes to see the sun. ⁸Even though people may live for many years, they should enjoy every one of them. But they should also remember there will be many dark days. Everything that is coming is pointless.

Remember Your Creator While You’re Young

⁹You young people should enjoy yourselves while you’re young. You should let your hearts make you happy when you’re young. Follow wherever your heart leads you and whatever your eyes see. But realize that God will make you give an account for all these things when he judges everyone. ¹⁰Get rid of what troubles you or wears down your body, because childhood and youth are pointless.

12TH CHAPTER

¹Remember your Creator when you are young,

before the days of trouble come

and the years catch up with you.

They will make you say,

“I have found no pleasure in them.”

²Remember your Creator before the sun, the light, the moon,

and the stars turn dark, ⸤and⸥ the clouds come back with rain.

³Remember your Creator when those who guard the house tremble,

strong men are stooped over,

the women at the mill stop grinding

because there are so few of them,

⸤and⸥ those who look out of the windows

see a dim light.

⁴Remember your Creator when the doors to the street are closed,

the sound of the mill is muffled,

you are startled at the sound of a bird,

⸤and⸥ those who sing songs become quiet.

⁵Remember your Creator when someone is afraid of heights

and of dangers along the road,

the almond tree blossoms,

the grasshopper drags itself along,

⸤and⸥ the caper bush has ⸤no⸥ fruit.

Mortals go to their eternal rest, and mourners go out in the streets.

⁶Remember your Creator before the silver cord is snapped,

the golden bowl is broken,

the pitcher is smashed near the spring,

and the water wheel is broken at the cistern.

⁷Then the dust ⸤of mortals⸥ goes back to the ground as it was before,

and the breath of life goes back to God who gave it.

⁸“Absolutely pointless!” says the spokesman. “Everything is pointless!”

Lifelong Duty—Fear God and Keep His Commands

⁹Besides being wise, the spokesman also taught the people what he knew. He very carefully thought about it, studied it, and arranged it in many proverbs. ¹⁰The spokesman tried to find just the right words. He wrote the words of truth very carefully.

¹¹Words from wise people are like spurs. Their collected sayings are like nails that have been driven in firmly. They come from one shepherd. ¹²Be warned, my children, against anything more than these. People never stop writing books. Too much studying will wear out your body. ¹³After having heard it all, this is the conclusion: Fear God, and keep his commands, because this applies to everyone. ¹⁴God will certainly judge everything that is done. This includes every secret thing, whether it is good or bad.

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