Study Desk

Do not add to His words Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.

Do not slander a slave to his master, Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.

There is a kind of person who curses his father And does not bless his mother.

There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness.

There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.

There is a kind of person whose teeth are like swords And his jaw teeth like knives, To devour the poor from the earth And the needy from among mankind.

The strutting rooster or the male goat, And a king when his army is with him.

The words of King Lemuel, the pronouncement which his mother taught him:

Let him drink and forget his poverty, And remember his trouble no more.

What advantage does a person have in all his work Which he does under the sun?

The wise person's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one and the same fate happens to both of them.

When there is a person who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then gives his legacy to one who has not labored for it; this too is futility and a great evil.

For what does a person get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?

Because all his days his activity is painful and irritating; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is futility.

There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink, and show himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is from the hand of God.

For to a person who is good in His sight, He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God's sight. This too is futility and striving after wind.

moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

I have seen that nothing is better than when a person is happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a person and his neighbor. This too is futility and striving after wind.

The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.