Proverbs 31 - Ecclesiastes 2
GOD’S WORD Translation
31 The sayings of King Lemuel, a prophetic revelation, used by his mother to discipline him.
Advice to a Prince
2 “What, my son?
What, son to whom I gave birth?
What, son of my prayers?
3 Don’t give your strength to women
or your power to those who ruin kings.
4 “It is not for kings, Lemuel.
It is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to crave liquor.
5 Otherwise, they drink and forget what they have decreed
and change the standard of justice for all oppressed people.
6 Give liquor to a person who is dying
and wine to one who feels resentful.
7 Such a person drinks
and forgets his poverty
and does not remember his trouble anymore.
8 “Speak out for the one who cannot speak,
for the rights of those who are doomed.
9 Speak out,
judge fairly,
and defend the rights of oppressed and needy people.”
A Poem in Hebrew Alphabetical Order
10 “Who can find a wife with a strong character?
She is worth far more than jewels.
11 Her husband trusts her with ⌞all⌟ his heart,
and he does not lack anything good.
12 She helps him and never harms him all the days of her life.
13 “She seeks out wool and linen ⌞with care⌟
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like merchant ships.
She brings her food from far away.
15 She wakes up while it is still dark
and gives food to her family
and portions of food to her female slaves.
16 “She picks out a field and buys it.
She plants a vineyard from the profits she has earned.
17 She puts on strength like a belt
and goes to work with energy.
18 She sees that she is making a good profit.
Her lamp burns late at night.
19 “She puts her hands on the distaff,
and her fingers hold a spindle.
20 She opens her hands to oppressed people
and stretches them out to needy people.
21 She does not fear for her family when it snows
because her whole family
has a double layer of clothing.
22 She makes quilts for herself.
Her clothes are ⌞made of⌟ linen and purple cloth.
23 “Her husband is known at the city gates
when he sits with the leaders of the land.
24 “She makes linen garments and sells them
and delivers belts to the merchants.
25 She dresses with strength and nobility,
and she smiles at the future.
26 “She speaks with wisdom,
and on her tongue there is tender instruction.
27 She keeps a close eye on the conduct of her family,
and she does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children and her husband
stand up and bless her.
In addition, he sings her praises, by saying,
29 ‘Many women have done noble work,
but you have surpassed them all!’
30 “Charm is deceptive, and beauty evaporates,
⌞but⌟ a woman who has the fear of the Lord should be praised.
31 Reward her for what she has done,
and let her achievements praise her at the city gates.”
Introducing the Spokesman
1 The words of the spokesman, the son of David and the king in Jerusalem.
The Theme
2 “Absolutely pointless!” says the spokesman. “Absolutely pointless! Everything is pointless.”
Life Is an Endless Circle
3 What do people gain from all their hard work under the sun?
4 Generations come, and generations go,
but the earth lasts forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun sets,
and then it rushes back to the place where it will rise ⌞again⌟.
6 The wind blows toward the south and shifts toward the north.
Round and round it blows. It blows in a full circle.
7 All streams flow into the sea, but the sea is never full.
The water goes back to the place where the streams began
in order to ⌞start⌟ flowing again.
8 All of these sayings are worn-out phrases. They are more than anyone can express, comprehend, or understand.
9 Whatever has happened before will happen ⌞again⌟. Whatever has been done before will be done ⌞again⌟. There is nothing new under the sun. 10 Can you say that anything is new? It has already been here long before us. 11 Nothing from the past is remembered. Even in the future, nothing will be remembered by those who come after us.
The Spokesman Begins to Study Everything under Heaven
12 I, the spokesman, have been king of Israel in Jerusalem. 13 With all my heart I used wisdom to study and explore everything done under heaven.
The Spokesman’s General Conclusion
Mortals are weighed down with a terrible burden that God has placed on them. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun. Look at it! It’s all pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
15 No one can straighten what is bent.
No one can count what is not there.
The Spokesman Begins to Study Life
16 I thought to myself, “I have grown wiser than anyone who ⌞has ruled⌟ Jerusalem before me. I’ve had a lot of experience with wisdom and knowledge.” 17 I’ve used my mind to understand wisdom and knowledge as well as madness and stupidity. ⌞Now⌟ I know that this is ⌞like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
18 With a lot of wisdom ⌞comes⌟ a lot of heartache.
The greater ⌞your⌟ knowledge, the greater ⌞your⌟ pain.
The Spokesman Studies Laughter
2 I thought to myself, “Now I want to experiment with pleasure and enjoy myself.” But even this was pointless.
2 I thought, “Laughter doesn’t make any sense. What does pleasure accomplish?”
The Spokesman Studies Wine
3 I explored ways to make myself feel better by drinking wine. I also explored ways to do ⌞some⌟ foolish things. During all that time, wisdom continued to control my mind. I was able to determine whether this was good for mortals to do during their brief lives under heaven.
The Spokesman Studies Personal Achievements
4 I accomplished some great things:
I built houses for myself.
I planted vineyards for myself.
5 I made gardens and parks for myself.
I planted every kind of fruit tree in them.
6 I made pools to water the forest of growing trees.
7 I bought male and female slaves.
In addition, slaves were born in my household.
I owned more herds and flocks
than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
8 I also gathered silver and gold for myself.
I gathered the treasures of kings and provinces.
I provided myself with male and female singers
and the pleasures men have with one concubine [a] after another.
9 So I grew richer than anyone in Jerusalem before me. Yet, my wisdom remained with me. 10 If something appealed to me, I did it. I allowed myself to have any pleasure I wanted, since I found pleasure in my work. This was my reward for all my hard work.
11 But when I turned to look at all that I had accomplished and all the hard work I had put into it, I saw that it was all pointless. ⌞It was like⌟ trying to catch the wind. I gained nothing ⌞from any of my accomplishments⌟ under the sun.
Death Is the Common Destiny of All Life
12 Then I turned ⌞my attention⌟ to experience wisdom, madness, and foolishness. For instance, what can the man who replaces the king do? Only what has already been done. 13 But I saw that wisdom has an advantage over foolishness as light has an advantage over darkness. 14 A wise person uses the eyes in his head, but a fool walks in the dark. But I have also come to realize that the same destiny waits for both of them.
15 I thought to myself, “⌞If⌟ the destiny that waits for the fool waits for me as well, then what is the advantage in being wise?” So I thought that even this is pointless.
Without God Everything Is Pointless
16 Neither the wise person nor the fool will be remembered for long, since both will be forgotten in the days to come. Both the wise person and the fool will die. 17 So I came to hate life because everything done under the sun seemed wrong to me. Everything was pointless. ⌞It was like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
18 I came to hate everything for which I had worked so hard under the sun, because I will have to leave it to the person who replaces me. 19 Who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? He will still have control over everything under the sun for which I worked so hard and used my wisdom. Even this is pointless.
20 Then I fell into despair over everything for which I had worked so hard under the sun. 21 Here is someone who had worked hard with wisdom, knowledge, and skill. Yet, he must turn over his estate to someone else, who didn’t work for it. Even this is pointless and a terrible tragedy.
22 What do people get from all of their hard work and struggles under the sun? 23 Their entire life is filled with pain, and their work is unbearable. Even at night their minds don’t rest. Even this is pointless.
With God Even the Simplest Things Have a Point
24 There is nothing better for people to do than to eat, drink, and find satisfaction in their work. I saw that even this comes from the hand of God. 25 Who can eat or enjoy themselves without God? 26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to anyone who pleases him. But to the person who continues to sin, he gives the job of gathering and collecting ⌞wealth⌟. The sinner must turn his wealth over to the person who pleases God. Even this is pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
Footnotes
- 2:8 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.
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