Study Desk

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave alcohol.

For if they drink, they may forget the law and not give justice to the oppressed.

Alcohol is for the dying, and wine for those in bitter distress.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.

Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.

She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day's work for her servant girls.

She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes.

Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?

I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.

I said to myself, "Come on, let's try pleasure. Let's look for the ‘good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless.

I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards.

Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors.

So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?).

For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark." Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate.

For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.

I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned.

Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn't worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy.

So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety?

For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?