Study Desk

Better to listen to the rebuke of a wise manThan for one to listen to the song of fools.

For as the crackling sound of thorn bushes under a pot,So is the laughter of the fool;And this too is vanity.

For oppression gives a wise man over to madness,And a bribe destroys the heart.

Do not be eager in your spirit to be vexed,For vexation rests in the bosom of fools.

Do not say, "Why is it that the former days were better than these?"For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

For wisdom is a shadow of protection as money is a shadow of protection,And the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its masters.

See the work of God,For who is able to straighten what He has bent?

It is good that you seize one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.

For your heart also knows that you likewise have many times cursed others.

Do not be in a hurry to go from his presence. Do not stand in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases."

He who keeps a royal command experiences no evil thing, for a wise heart knows the proper time and custom.

For there is a proper time and custom for every matter, though a man's trouble is multiplied upon him.

Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may prolong his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.

But it will not be well for the wicked man, and he will not prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God openly.

So I laud gladness, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will join with him in his labor throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

For I have given all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their service are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything may be before him.

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.