Ecclesiastes 10; Ecclesiastes 11; Ecclesiastes 12; Galatians 1

Ecclesiastes 10

1 Dead flies make a perfumer's oil ferment and stink; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

2 A wise man's heart [goes] to the right, but a fool's heart to the left.

3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his heart lacks sense, and he shows everyone he is a fool.

4 If the ruler's anger rises against you, don't leave your place, for calmness puts great offenses to rest.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, an error proceeding from the presence of the ruler:

6 The fool is appointed to great heights, but the rich remain in lowly positions.

7 I have seen slaves on horses, but princes walking on the ground like slaves.

8 The one who digs a pit may fall into it, and the one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

9 The one who quarries stones may be hurt by them; the one who splits trees may be endangered by them.

10 If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge, then one must exert more strength; however, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success.

11 If the snake bites before it is charmed, then there is no advantage for the charmer.

12 The words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.

13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly, but the end of his speaking is evil madness.

14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what will happen, and who can tell anyone what will happen after him?

15 The struggles of fools weary them, for they don't know how to go to the city.

16 Woe to you, land, when your king is a household servant, and your princes feast in the morning.

17 Blessed are you, land, when your king is a son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time- for strength and not for drunkenness.

18 Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of negligent hands the house leaks.

19 A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life happy, and money is the answer for everything.

20 Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich person even in your bedroom, for a bird of the sky may carry the message, and a winged creature may report the matter.

Ecclesiastes 11

1 Send your bread on the surface of the waters, for after many days you may find it.

2 Give a portion to seven or even to eight, for you don't know what disaster may happen on earth.

3 If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or the north, the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

4 One who watches the wind will not sow, and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.

5 Just as you don't know the path of the wind, or how bones [develop] in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you don't know the work of God who makes everything.

6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, because you don't know which will succeed, whether one or the other, or if both of them will be equally good.

7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasing for the eyes to see the sun.

8 For if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, since they will be many. All that comes is futile.

9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the sights of your eyes; but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.

10 Remove sorrow from your heart, and put away pain from your flesh, because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.

Ecclesiastes 12

1 So remember your Creator in the days of your youth: Before the days of adversity come, and the years approach when you will say, "I have no delight in them";

2 before the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain;

3 on the day when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, the women who grind cease because they are few, and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly,

4 and the doors at the street are shut while the sound of the mill fades; when one rises at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song grow faint.

5 Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry has no effect; for man is headed to his eternal home, and mourners will walk around in the street;

6 before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well;

7 and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

8 "Absolute futility," says the Teacher. "Everything is futile."

9 In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs.

10 The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.

11 The sayings of the wise are like goads, and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. The sayings are given by one Shepherd.

12 But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.

13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this [is for] all humanity.

14 For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

Galatians 1

1 Paul, an apostle-not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead-

2 and all the brothers who are with me: To the churches of Galatia.

3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

4 who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ, [and are turning] to a different gospel-

7 not that there is another [gospel], but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the gospel of Christ.

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!

9 As we have said before, I now say again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

10 For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.

11 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not based on a human point of view.

12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation from Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I persecuted God's church to an extreme degree and tried to destroy it;

14 and I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

15 But when God, who from my mother's womb set me apart and called me by His grace, was pleased

16 to reveal His Son in me, so that I could preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.

17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.

18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him 15 days.

19 But I didn't see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.

20 Now in what I write to you, I'm not lying. God is my witness.

21 Afterwards, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches in Christ;

23 they simply kept hearing: "He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy."

24 And they glorified God because of me.