ECCLESIASTES 1

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All Is Vanity  1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,

vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3

What does man gain by all the toil

at which he toils under the sun? 4

A generation goes, and a generation comes,

but the earth remains forever. 5

The sun rises, and the sun goes down,

and hastens to the place where it rises. 6

The wind blows to the south

and goes around to the north;

around and around goes the wind,

and on its circuits the wind returns. 7

All streams run to the sea,

but the sea is not full;

to the place where the streams flow,

there they flow again. 8

All things are full of weariness;

a man cannot utter it;

the eye is not satisfied with seeing,

nor the ear filled with hearing. 9

What has been is what will be,

and what has been done is what will be done,

and there is nothing new under the sun. 10

Is there a thing of which it is said,

“See, this is new”?

It has been already

in the ages before us. 11

There is no remembrance of former things,

nor will there be any remembrance

of later things yet to be

among those who come after. The Vanity of Wisdom12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
15

What is crooked cannot be made straight,

and what is lacking cannot be counted.
    16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
18

For in much wisdom is much vexation,

and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

PSALM 47

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God Is King over All the EarthTo the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
47:1

Clap your hands, all peoples!

Shout to God with loud songs of joy! 2

For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,

a great king over all the earth. 3

He subdued peoples under us,

and nations under our feet. 4

He chose our heritage for us,

the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
5

God has gone up with a shout,

the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 6

Sing praises to God, sing praises!

Sing praises to our King, sing praises! 7

For God is the King of all the earth;

sing praises with a psalm!
8

God reigns over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne. 9

The princes of the peoples gather

as the people of the God of Abraham.

For the shields of the earth belong to God;

he is highly exalted!

PSALM 48

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Zion, the City of Our GodA Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
48:1

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in the city of our God!

His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,

is the joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

the city of the great King. 3

Within her citadels God

has made himself known as a fortress.
4

For behold, the kings assembled;

they came on together. 5

As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

they were in panic; they took to flight. 6

Trembling took hold of them there,

anguish as of a woman in labor. 7

By the east wind you shattered

the ships of Tarshish. 8

As we have heard, so have we seen

in the city of the Lord of hosts,

in the city of our God,

which God will establish forever. Selah
9

We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,

in the midst of your temple. 10

As your name, O God,

so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with righteousness. 11

Let Mount Zion be glad!

Let the daughters of Judah rejoice

because of your judgments!
12

Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers, 13

consider well her ramparts,

go through her citadels,

that you may tell the next generation 14

that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will guide us forever.

PROVERBS 23

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23:1

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what is before you, 2

and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite. 3

Do not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food. 4

Do not toil to acquire wealth;

be discerning enough to desist. 5

When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

for suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven. 6

Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;

do not desire his delicacies, 7

for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you. 8

You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,

and waste your pleasant words. 9

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the good sense of your words. 10

Do not move an ancient landmark

or enter the fields of the fatherless, 11

for their Redeemer is strong;

he will plead their cause against you. 12

Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge. 13

Do not withhold discipline from a child;

if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. 14

If you strike him with the rod,

you will save his soul from Sheol. 15

My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad. 16

My inmost being will exult

when your lips speak what is right. 17

Let not your heart envy sinners,

but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. 18

Surely there is a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.
19

Hear, my son, and be wise,

and direct your heart in the way. 20

Be not among drunkards

or among gluttonous eaters of meat, 21

for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and slumber will clothe them with rags.
22

Listen to your father who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23

Buy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. 24

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. 25

Let your father and mother be glad;

let her who bore you rejoice.
26

My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe my ways. 27

For a prostitute is a deep pit;

an adulteress is a narrow well. 28

She lies in wait like a robber

and increases the traitors among mankind.
29

Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has wounds without cause?

Who has redness of eyes? 30

Those who tarry long over wine;

those who go to try mixed wine. 31

Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly. 32

In the end it bites like a serpent

and stings like an adder. 33

Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter perverse things. 34

You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

like one who lies on the top of a mast. 35

“They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt;

they beat me, but I did not feel it.

When shall I awake?

I must have another drink.”