Sept 17th

It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear.

This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.

For whoever is joined with all the living, there is confidence; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.

For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.

Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will never again have a portion in all that is done under the sun.

Go then, eat your bread in gladness and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.

Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head.

See life with the woman whom you love all the days of your vain life, which He has given to you under the sun—all the days of your vanity; for this is your portion in life and in your labor in which you have labored under the sun.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no working or explaining or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the mighty, and neither is bread to the wise nor riches to the discerning nor favor to men who know; for time and misfortune overtake them all.

Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish seized in an evil net and birds seized in a trap, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.

Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me.

There was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and built large siegeworks against it.

But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he provided a way of escape for the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard.

The words of the wise heard in restfulness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little simpleminded folly is weightier than wisdom and honor.

A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.

Even when the simpleminded fool walks along the road, his heart lacks wisdom, and he says to all that he is a simpleminded fool.

If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because calmness causes great offenses to be abandoned.

There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake which goes forth from the one in power—

folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.

I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.

He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.

If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no advantage for the charmer.

Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, but the lips of a fool swallow him up;

the beginning of the words of his mouth is simpleminded folly, and the end of what comes from his mouth is evil madness.

Yet the simpleminded fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?

The labor of a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city.

Woe to you, O land, whose king is a young man and whose princes eat in the morning.

Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for might and not for drinking.

Through indolence the beams sag, and through slack hands the house leaks.

Men prepare bread for laughter, and wine makes life glad, and money is the answer to everything.

Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the sky will bring the sound and the winged creature will tell the matter.

Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.

Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what calamity may occur on the earth.

If the clouds are full, they empty the rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.

He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.

Just 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 work of God who works all things.

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

The light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.

Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him be glad in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be vanity.

Be glad, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be merry during the days of young manhood. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the sights of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

So, remove vexation from your heart and put away evil from your flesh because childhood and the prime of life are vanity.

But I determined this for my own sake, that I would not come to you again in sorrow.

For if I cause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful?

And this is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all.

For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have abundantly for you.

But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you.

Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority,

so that on the contrary you should rather graciously forgive and comfort him, lest such a one be swallowed up by excessive sorrow.

Therefore I encourage you to reaffirm your love for him.

For to this end also I wrote, so that I might know your proven character, whether you are obedient in all things.

But one whom you graciously forgive anything, I graciously forgive also. For indeed what I have graciously forgiven, if I have graciously forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ,

so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord,

I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother. But saying farewell to them, I went on to Macedonia.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and manifests through us the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;

to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is sufficient for these things?

For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ.