6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; 1
observe its ways and be wise!
6:7 It has no commander,
overseer, or 2 ruler,
6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer;
it gathers at the harvest what it will eat. 3
6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?
When will you rise from your sleep? 4
6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to relax, 5
6:11 and your poverty will come like a robber, 6
and your need like an armed man. 7
6:12 A worthless and wicked person 8
walks around saying perverse 9 things; 10
6:13 he winks with his eyes,
signals with his feet,
and points with his fingers; 11
6:14 he plots evil with perverse thoughts 12 in his heart,
he spreads contention 13 at all times.
6:15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;
in an instant 14 he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.
6:16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
even 15 seven 16 things that are an abomination to him: 17
6:17 haughty eyes, 18 a lying tongue, 19
and hands that shed innocent blood, 20
6:18 a heart that devises wicked plans, 21
feet that are swift to run 22 to evil,
6:19 a false witness who pours out lies, 23
and a person who spreads discord 24 among family members. 25
4:8 Even as I have seen, 26 those who plow 27 iniquity 28
and those who sow trouble reap the same. 29
5:27 Look, we have investigated this, so it is true.
Hear it, 30 and apply it for your own 31 good.” 32
15:17 “I will explain to you;
listen to me,
and what 33 I have seen, I will declare, 34
37:25 I was once young, now I am old.
I have never seen a godly man abandoned,
or his children 35 forced to search for food. 36
107:42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,
and every sinner 37 shuts his mouth.
4:1 So 38 I again considered 39 all the oppression 40 that continually occurs 41 on earth. 42
This is what I saw: 43
The oppressed 44 were in tears, 45 but no one was comforting them;
no one delivers 46 them from the power of their oppressors. 47
4:2 So I considered 48 those who are dead and gone 49
more fortunate than those who are still alive. 50
4:3 But better than both is the one who has not been born 51
and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth. 52
4:4 Then I considered 53 all the skillful work 54 that is done:
Surely it is nothing more than 55 competition 56 between one person and another. 57
This also is profitless – like 58 chasing the wind.
4:5 The fool folds his hands and does no work, 59
so he has nothing to eat but his own flesh. 60
4:6 Better is one handful with some rest
than two hands full of toil 61 and chasing the wind.
4:7 So 62 I again considered 63 another 64 futile thing on earth: 65
4:8 A man who is all alone with no companion, 66
he has no children nor siblings; 67
yet there is no end to all his toil,
and he 68 is never satisfied with riches.
He laments, 69 “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself 70 of pleasure?” 71
This also is futile and a burdensome task! 72
7:15 During the days of my fleeting life 73 I have seen both 74 of these things:
Sometimes 75 a righteous person dies prematurely 76 in spite of 77 his righteousness,
and sometimes 78 a wicked person lives long 79 in spite of his evil deeds.
8:9 While applying 80 my mind 81 to everything 82 that happens in this world, 83 I have seen all this:
Sometimes one person 84 dominates 85 other people 86 to their harm. 87
8:10 Not only that, 88 but I have seen the wicked approaching 89 and entering the temple, 90
and as they left the holy temple, 91 they
boasted 92 in the city that they had done so.
This also is an enigma. 93
8:11 When 94 a sentence 95 is not executed 96 at once against a crime, 97
the human heart 98 is encouraged to do evil. 99