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Ecclesiastes 7-9:18 (Contemporary English Version)
Ecclesiastes 7
The Best in Life
1A good reputation
at the time of death
is better than loving care
at the time of birth. [a]
2It's better to go to a funeral
than to attend a feast;
funerals remind us
that we all must die.
3Choose sorrow over laughter
because a sad face
may hide a happy heart.
4A sensible person mourns,
but fools always laugh.
5Harsh correction is better
than the songs of a fool.
6Foolish laughter is stupid.
It sounds like thorns
crackling in a fire.
7Corruption [b] makes fools of sensible people,
and bribes can ruin you.
8Something completed is better
than something just begun;
patience is better
than too much pride.
9Only fools get angry quickly
and hold a grudge.
10It isn't wise to ask,
"Why is everything worse
than it used to be?"
11Having wisdom is better
than an inheritance.
12Wisdom will protect you
just like money;
knowledge with good sense
will lead you to life.
13Think of what God has done!
If God makes something crooked,
can you make it straight?
14When times are good,
you should be cheerful;
when times are bad,
think what it means.
God makes them both
to keep us from knowing
what will happen next.
Some of Life's Questions
15I have seen everything during this senseless life of mine. I have seen good citizens die for doing the right thing, and I have seen criminals live to a ripe old age. 16So don't destroy yourself by being too good or acting too smart! 17Don't die before your time by being too evil or acting like a fool. 18Keep to the middle of the road. You can do this if you truly respect God.
19Wisdom will make you stronger than the ten most powerful leaders in your city.
20No one in this world always does right.
21Don't listen to everything that everyone says, or you might hear your servant cursing you. 22Haven't you cursed many others?
23I told myself that I would be smart and try to understand all of this, but it was too much for me. 24The truth is beyond us. It's far too deep. 25So I decided to learn everything I could and become wise enough to discover what life is all about. At the same time, I wanted to understand why it's stupid and senseless to be an evil fool.
26Here is what I discovered: A bad woman is worse than death. She is a trap, reaching out with body and soul to catch you. But if you obey God, you can escape. If you don't obey, you are done for. 27With all my wisdom I have tried to find out how everything fits together, 28but so far I have not been able to. I do know there is one good man in a thousand, but never have I found a good woman. 29I did learn one thing: We were completely honest when God created us, but now we have twisted minds.
Ecclesiastes 8
1Who is smart enough
to explain everything?
Wisdom makes you cheerful
and gives you a smile.
Obey the King
2If you promised God that you would be loyal to the king, I advise you to keep that promise. 3Don't quickly oppose the king or argue when he has already made up his mind. 4The king's word is law. No one can ask him, "Why are you doing this?" 5If you obey the king, you will stay out of trouble. So be smart and learn what to do and when to do it. 6Life is hard, but there is a time and a place for everything, 7though no one can tell the future. 8We cannot control the wind [c] or determine the day of our death. There is no escape in time of war, and no one can hide behind evil. 9I noticed all this and thought seriously about what goes on in the world. Why does one person have the power to hurt another?
Who Can Understand the Ways of God?
10I saw the wicked buried with honor, but God's people had to leave the holy city and were forgotten. [d] None of this makes sense. 11When we see criminals commit crime after crime without being punished, it makes us want to start a life of crime. 12They commit hundreds of crimes and live to a ripe old age, in spite of the saying:
Everyone who lives right
and respects God
will prosper,
13but no one who sins
and rejects God
will prosper or live very long.
14There is something else that doesn't make sense to me. Good citizens are treated as criminals, while criminals are honored as though they were good citizens. 15So I think we should get as much out of life as we possibly can. There is nothing better than to enjoy our food and drink and to have a good time. Then we can make it through this troublesome life that God has given us here on earth.
16Day and night I went without sleep, trying to understand what goes on in this world. 17I saw everything God does, and I realized that no one can really understand what happens. We may be very wise, but no matter how much we try or how much we claim to know, we cannot understand it all.
Ecclesiastes 9
One Day at a Time
1I thought about these things. Then I understood that God has power over everyone, even those of us who are wise and live right. Anything can happen to any of us, and so we never know if life will be good or bad. [e] 2But exactly [f] the same thing will finally happen to all of us, whether we live right and respect God or sin and don't respect God. Yes, the same thing will happen if we offer sacrifices to God or if we don't, if we keep our promises or break them. 3It's terribly unfair for the same thing to happen to each of us. We are mean and foolish while we live, and then we die. 4As long as we are alive, we still have hope, just as a live dog is better off than a dead lion. 5We know that we will die, but the dead don't know a thing. Nothing good will happen to them--they are gone and forgotten. 6Their loves, their hates, and their jealous feelings have all disappeared with them. They will never again take part in anything that happens on this earth.
7Be happy and enjoy eating and drinking! God decided long ago that this is what you should do. 8Dress up, comb your hair, and look your best. 9Life is short, and you love your wife, so enjoy being with her. This is what you are supposed to do as you struggle through life on this earth. 10Work hard at whatever you do. You will soon go to the world of the dead, where no one works or thinks or reasons or knows anything.
11Here is something else I have learned:
The fastest runners
and the greatest heroes
don't always win races
and battles.
Wisdom, intelligence, and skill
don't always make you healthy,
rich, or popular.
We each have our share
of bad luck.
12None of us know when we might fall victim to a sudden disaster and find ourselves like fish in a net or birds in a trap.
Better To Be Wise than Foolish
13Once I saw what people really think of wisdom. 14It happened when a powerful ruler surrounded and attacked a small city where only a few people lived. The enemy army was getting ready to break through the city walls. 15But the city was saved by the wisdom of a poor person who was soon forgotten. 16So I decided that wisdom is better than strength. Yet if you are poor, no one pays any attention to you, no matter how smart you are.
17Words of wisdom spoken softly
make much more sense
than the shouts of a ruler
to a crowd of fools.
18Wisdom is more powerful
than weapons,
yet one mistake can destroy
all the good you have done.
Footnotes:
Ecclesiastes 7:1 birth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 1.
Ecclesiastes 7:7 Corruption: Or "Oppression."
Ecclesiastes 8:8 control the wind: Or "escape from death."
Ecclesiastes 8:10 but. . . forgotten: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Ecclesiastes 9:1 or bad: Three ancient translations; the Hebrew text does not have these words.
Ecclesiastes 9:2 exactly: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Corinthians 7:8-16 (Contemporary English Version)
8I don't feel bad anymore, even though my letter [a] hurt your feelings. I did feel bad at first, but I don't now. I know that the letter hurt you for a while. 9Now I am happy, but not because I hurt your feelings. It is because God used your hurt feelings to make you turn back to him, and none of you were harmed by us. 10When God makes you feel sorry enough to turn to him and be saved, you don't have anything to feel bad about. But when this world makes you feel sorry, it can cause your death. 11Just look what God has done by making you feel sorry! You sincerely want to prove that you are innocent. You are angry. You are shocked. You are eager to see that justice is done. You have proved that you were completely right in this matter. 12When I wrote you, it wasn't to accuse the one who was wrong or to take up for the one who was hurt. I wrote, so that God would show you how much you do care for us. 13And we were greatly encouraged.
Although we were encouraged, we felt even better when we saw how happy Titus was, because you had shown that he had nothing to worry about. 14We had told him how much we thought of you, and you did not disappoint us. Just as we have always told you the truth, so everything we told him about you has also proved to be true. 15Titus loves all of you very much, especially when he remembers how you obeyed him and how you trembled with fear when you welcomed him. 16It makes me really glad to know that I can depend on you.
Footnotes:
2 Corinthians 7:8 my letter: There is no copy of this letter that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth.
Psalm 48:1-14 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 48
(A song and a psalm for the people of Korah.)
The City of God
1The LORD God is wonderful!
He deserves all praise
in the city where he lives.
His holy mountain,
2beautiful and majestic,
brings joy to all on earth.
Mount Zion, truly sacred,
is home for the Great King.
3God is there to defend it
and has proved to be
its protector.
4Kings joined forces
to attack the city,
5but when they saw it,
they were terrified
and ran away.
6They trembled all over
like women giving birth
7or like seagoing ships [a]
wrecked by eastern winds.
8We had heard about it,
and now we have seen it
in the city of our God,
the LORD All-Powerful.
This is the city that God
will let stand forever.
9Our God, here in your temple
we think about your love.
10You are famous and praised
everywhere on earth,
as you win victories
with your powerful arm.
11Mount Zion will celebrate,
and all Judah will be glad,
because you bring justice.
12Let's walk around Zion
and count its towers.
13We will see its strong walls
and visit each fortress.
Then you can say
to future generations,
14"Our God is like this forever
and will always [b] guide us."
Footnotes:
Psalm 48:7 seagoing ships: The Hebrew text has " ships of Tarshish," which probably means large, seagoing ships.
Psalm 48:14 always: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Proverbs 22:17-19 (Contemporary English Version)
Thirty Wise Sayings
17Here are some sayings
of people with wisdom,
so listen carefully
as I teach.
18You will be glad
that you know these sayings
and can recite them.
19I am teaching them today,
so that you
may trust the LORD.
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