A Little Foolishness

1Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor. 2A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left. 3Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. 4If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.

5There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler— 6folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. 7I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

8He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. 9He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. 10If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. 11If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer. 12Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; 13the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness. 14Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him? 15The toil of a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city. 16Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes feast in the morning. 17Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness. 18Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks. 19Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything. 20Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

1Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. 2Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. 3If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies. 4He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. 5Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

6Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

7The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. 8Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

9Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. 10So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.

Remember God in Your Youth

1Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”; 2before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; 3in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim; 4and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly. 5Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street. 6Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 7then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. 8“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

Purpose of the Preacher

9In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. 10The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.

11The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. 12But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.

13The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

The Song of

SOLOMON

The Young Shulammite Bride and Jerusalem’s Daughters

1The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

2“May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!

For your love is better than wine.

3Your oils have a pleasing fragrance,

Your name is like purified oil;

Therefore the maidens love you.

4Draw me after you and let us run together!

The king has brought me into his chambers.”

“We will rejoice in you and be glad;

We will extol your love more than wine.

Rightly do they love you.”

5“I am black but lovely,

O daughters of Jerusalem,

Like the tents of Kedar,

Like the curtains of Solomon.

6Do not stare at me because I am swarthy,

For the sun has burned me.

My mother’s sons were angry with me;

They made me caretaker of the vineyards,

But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.

7Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,

Where do you pasture your flock,

Where do you make it lie down at noon?

For why should I be like one who veils herself

Beside the flocks of your companions?”

Solomon, the Lover, Speaks

8“If you yourself do not know,

Most beautiful among women,

Go forth on the trail of the flock

And pasture your young goats

By the tents of the shepherds.

9“To me, my darling, you are like

My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.

10Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,

Your neck with strings of beads.”

11“We will make for you ornaments of gold

With beads of silver.”

12“While the king was at his table,

My perfume gave forth its fragrance.

13My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh

Which lies all night between my breasts.

14My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms

In the vineyards of Engedi.”

15“How beautiful you are, my darling,

How beautiful you are!

Your eyes are like doves.”

16“How handsome you are, my beloved,

And so pleasant!

Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!

17The beams of our houses are cedars,

Our rafters, cypresses.

The Bride’s Admiration

1“I am the rose of Sharon,

The lily of the valleys.”

2“Like a lily among the thorns,

So is my darling among the maidens.”

3“Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

So is my beloved among the young men.

In his shade I took great delight and sat down,

And his fruit was sweet to my taste.

4He has brought me to his banquet hall,

And his banner over me is love.

5Sustain me with raisin cakes,

Refresh me with apples,

Because I am lovesick.

6Let his left hand be under my head

And his right hand embrace me.”

7“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field,

That you do not arouse or awaken my love

Until she pleases.”

8“Listen! My beloved!

Behold, he is coming,

Climbing on the mountains,

Leaping on the hills!

9My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.

Behold, he is standing behind our wall,

He is looking through the windows,

He is peering through the lattice.

10“My beloved responded and said to me,

‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come along.

11For behold, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone.

12The flowers have already appeared in the land;

The time has arrived for pruning the vines,

And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

13The fig tree has ripened its figs,

And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.

Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come along!’ ”

14“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,

In the secret place of the steep pathway,

Let me see your form,

Let me hear your voice;

For your voice is sweet,

And your form is lovely.”

15“Catch the foxes for us,

The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards,

While our vineyards are in blossom.”

16“My beloved is mine, and I am his;

He pastures his flock among the lilies.

17Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away,

Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle

Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”