Hardships of Life

¹Hard work was created for everyone,

and a heavy yoke has been laid on the children of Adam—

from the day they emerge from their mother’s womb

to the day they return to the mother of all.

²They are filled with thoughts and fears of the heart

and anxiety over the day they will die.

³From the one who sits on a glorious throne

to the one who lies humbled in dust and ashes,

⁴from the one who wears a purple robe and a crown

to the one who is dressed in sackcloth,

there is anger, envy, trouble, unrest,

fear of death, fury, and quarreling.

⁵And when such people rest in bed,

their sleep causes them confusion.

⁶They get little or no rest,

and they are as troubled in sleep as they are in the daytime.

They are troubled by their dreams,

imagining that they were escaping from battle.

⁷The instant they reach safety, they wake up

and are astonished that there is nothing to fear.

⁸For all creatures, both human and animal—

but seven times more for sinners—

⁹come death and bloodshed, quarrels and war,

disasters and famine, havoc and plague.

¹⁰All these were created for the wicked,

and because of them the flood came.

¹¹All that is from the earth returns to the earth,

and all that is from water returns to the sea.

Goodness Outlasts Evil

¹²All bribery and injustice will be blotted out,

but faithfulness will last forever.

¹³The riches of the unjust will dry up like a seasonal brook

and fade away like a clap of thunder in a storm.

¹⁴A generous person will rejoice,

but lawbreakers will be completely ruined.

¹⁵The children of sinners put forth few branches.

They are withered roots on sheer rock.

¹⁶The reeds growing along any riverbank

wither before any grass.

¹⁷But kindness is like a garden of blessings,

and acts of charity last forever.

Joys of Life

¹⁸Wealth and wages can make life sweet,[#40:18 As in Hebrew; Greek reads Life is sweet for the self-reliant worker.]

but finding treasure is better than either.

¹⁹A person’s name is established through children and through building a city,

but a blameless wife will be counted better than either.

²⁰Wine and music cheer the heart,

but the love of wisdom is better than either.

²¹The flute and the harp make a sweet melody,

but a pleasant voice is better than either.

²²The eye seeks grace and beauty,

but green, sprouting grain is better than either.

²³A friend or companion is always welcome,

but a wife with her husband is better than either.

²⁴Family and friends are for times of trouble,

but acts of charity rescue better than either.

²⁵Gold and silver give a person security,

but good advice is more valued than either.

²⁶Wealth and strength make a person confident,

but the fear of the Lord is better than either.

Those who fear the Lord lack nothing;

they do not need to look for help.

²⁷The fear of the Lord is like a garden of blessing;

it covers a person better than any glory.

²⁸My child, do not live like a beggar,

for it is better to die than to beg.

²⁹When people must depend on another for food,

their existence is hardly to be called living.

People lose self-respect by living off another person’s food.

An intelligent, learned person guards against this.

³⁰For the shameless, begging is sweet in the mouth,

but it burns them within like a fire.