Study Desk

Do not let your mouth cause you to sin, and do not tell the priest, "It was a mistake!" Why make God angry at you so that he would destroy the work of your hands?"

Just as there is futility in many dreams, so also in many words. Therefore, fear God!

I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward.

To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things are the gift of God.

For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.

God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor— instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.

Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is.

Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent?

In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.

It is best to take hold of one warning without letting go of the other warning; for the one who fears God will follow both warnings.

I discovered this: More bitter than death is the kind of woman who is like a hunter's snare; her heart is like a hunter's net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her.

This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.

Obey the king's command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.

Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes and still live a long time, yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people—for they stand in fear before him.

But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.

So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.

then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.

So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated— no one knows what lies ahead.

Go, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved your works.

Enjoy life with your beloved wife during all the days of your fleeting life that God has given you on earth during all your fleeting days; for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work on earth.