The One Year Bible TLB (189 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
September 4A good reputation is more valuable than the most expensive perfume.
The day one dies is better than the day he is born!
2
It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and it is a good thing to think about it while there is still time.
3
Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.
4
Yes, a wise man thinks much of death, while the fool thinks only of having a good time now.
5
It is better to be criticized by a wise man than to be praised by a fool!
6
For a fool’s compliment is as quickly gone as paper in fire, and it is silly to be impressed by it.
7
The wise man is turned into a fool by a bribe; it destroys his understanding.
8
Finishing is better than starting! Patience is better than pride!
9
Don’t be quick-tempered—that is being a fool.
10
Don’t long for “the good old days,” for you don’t know whether they were any better than these!
11
To be wise is as good as being rich; in fact, it is better.
12
You can get anything by either wisdom or money, but being wise has many advantages.
13
See the way God does things and fall into line. Don’t fight the facts of nature.
*
Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
14
Enjoy prosperity whenever you can, and when hard times strike, realize that God gives one as well as the other—so that everyone will realize that nothing is certain in this life.
15-17
In this silly life I have seen everything, including the fact that some of the good die young and some of the wicked live on and on. So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either—don’t be a fool! Why should you die before your time?
18
Tackle every task that comes along, and if you fear God, you can expect his blessing.
19
A wise man is stronger than the mayors of ten big cities!
20
And there is not a single man in all the earth who is always good and never sins.
21-22
Don’t eavesdrop! You may hear your servant cursing you! For you know how often you yourself curse others!
23
I have tried my best to be wise. I declared, “I
will
be wise,” but it didn’t work.
24
Wisdom is far away and very difficult to find.
25
I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and the reason for things . . . to prove to myself the wickedness of folly and that foolishness is madness.
26
A prostitute
*
is more bitter than death. May it please God that you escape from her, but sinners don’t evade her snares.
27-28
This is my conclusion, says the Preacher. Step by step I came to this result after researching in every direction: One tenth of one percent of the men I interviewed could be said to be wise, but not one woman!
29
And I found that though God has made men upright, each has turned away to follow his own downward road.
8:
1
How wonderful to be wise, to understand things, to be able to analyze them and interpret them. Wisdom lights up a man’s face, softening its hardness.
2-3
Obey the king as you have vowed to do. Don’t always be trying to get out of doing your duty, even when it’s unpleasant. For the king punishes those who disobey.
4
The king’s command is backed by great power, and no one can withstand it or question it.
5
Those who obey him will not be punished. The wise man will find a time and a way to do what he says.
6-7
Yes, there is a time and a way for everything, though man’s trouble lies heavy upon him; for how can he avoid what he doesn’t know is going to happen?
8
No one can hold back his spirit from departing; no one has the power to prevent his day of death, for there is no discharge from that obligation and that dark battle. Certainly a man’s wickedness is not going to help him then.
9-10
I have thought deeply about all that goes on here in the world, where people have the power of injuring each other. I have seen wicked men buried, and as their friends returned from the cemetery, having forgotten all the dead man’s evil deeds, these men were praised in the very city where they had committed their many crimes! How odd!
11
Because God does not punish sinners instantly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.
12
But though a man sins a hundred times and still lives, I know very well that those who fear God will be better off,
13
unlike the wicked, who will not live long, good lives—their days shall pass away as quickly as shadows because they don’t fear God.
14
There is a strange thing happening here upon the earth: Providence seems to treat some good men as though they were wicked, and some wicked men as though they were good. This is all very vexing and troublesome!
15
Then I decided to spend my time having fun because I felt that there was nothing better in all the earth than that a man should eat, drink, and be merry, with the hope that this happiness would stick with him in all the hard work that God gives to mankind everywhere.
16-17
In my search for wisdom I observed all that was going on everywhere across the earth—ceaseless activity, day and night. (Of course, only God can see everything, and even the wisest man who says he knows everything, doesn’t!)
9:
1
This, too, I carefully explored—that godly and wise men are in God’s will; no one knows whether he will favor them or not. All is chance!
2-3
The same providence confronts everyone, whether good or bad, religious or irreligious, profane or godly. It seems so unfair that one fate comes to all. That is why men are not more careful to be good but instead choose their own mad course, for they have no hope—there is nothing but death ahead anyway.
4
There is hope only for the living. “It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”
5
For the living at least know that they will die! But the dead know nothing ; they don’t even have their memories.
*
6
Whatever they did in their lifetimes—loving, hating, envying—is long gone, and they have no part in anything here on earth anymore.
7
So go ahead, eat, drink, and be merry, for it makes no difference to God!
8
Wear fine clothes—with a dash of cologne!
9
Live happily with the woman you love through the fleeting days of life, for the wife God gives you is your best reward down here for all your earthly toil.
10
Whatever you do, do well, for in death, where you are going, there is no working or planning, or knowing, or understanding.
11
Again I looked throughout the earth and saw that the swiftest person does not always win the race, nor the strongest man the battle, and that wise men are often poor, and skillful men are not necessarily famous; but it is all by chance, by happening to be at the right place at the right time.
12
A man never knows when he is going to run into bad luck. He is like a fish caught in a net, or a bird caught in a snare.
13
Here is another thing that has made a deep impression on me as I have watched human affairs:
14
There was a small city with only a few people living in it, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.
15
There was in the city a wise man, very poor, and he knew what to do to save the city, and so it was rescued. But afterwards no one thought any more about him.
16
Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, nevertheless, if the wise man is poor, he will be despised, and what he says will not be appreciated.
17
But even so, the quiet words of a wise man are better than the shout of a king of fools.
18
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one rotten apple can spoil a barrelful.
I am no longer sorry that I sent that letter to you, though I was very sorry for a time, realizing how painful it would be to you. But it hurt you only for a little while.
9
Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you but because the pain turned you to God. It was a good kind of sorrow you felt, the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so that I need not come to you with harshness.
10
For God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek eternal life. We should never regret his sending it. But the sorrow of the man who is not a Christian is not the sorrow of true repentance and does not prevent eternal death.
11
Just see how much good this grief from the Lord did for you! You no longer shrugged your shoulders but became earnest and sincere and very anxious to get rid of the sin that I wrote you about. You became frightened about what had happened and longed for me to come and help. You went right to work on the problem and cleared it up, punishing the man who sinned.
*
You have done everything you could to make it right.
12
I wrote as I did so the Lord could show how much you really do care for us. That was my purpose even more than to help the man who sinned or his father to whom he did the wrong.
13
In addition to the encouragement you gave us by your love, we were made happier still by Titus’ joy when you gave him such a fine welcome and set his mind at ease.
14
I told him how it would be—told him before he left me of my pride in you—and you didn’t disappoint me. I have always told you the truth and now my boasting to Titus has also proved true!
15
He loves you more than ever when he remembers the way you listened to him so willingly and received him so anxiously and with such deep concern.
16
How happy this makes me, now that I am sure all is well between us again. Once again I can have perfect confidence in you.
How great is the Lord! How much we should praise him. He lives upon Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
2
What a glorious sight! See Mount Zion rising north of the city
*
high above the plains for all to see—Mount Zion, joy of all the earth, the residence of the great King.
3
God himself is the defender of Jerusalem.
*
4
The kings of the earth have arrived together to inspect the city.
5
They marvel at the sight and hurry home again,
6
afraid of what they have seen; they are filled with panic like a woman in travail!
7
For God destroys the mightiest warships with a breath of wind.
8
We have heard of the city’s glory—the city of our God, the Commander of the armies of heaven. And now we see it for ourselves! God has established Jerusalem forever.
9
Lord, here in your Temple we meditate upon your kindness and your love.
10
Your name is known throughout the earth, O God. You are praised everywhere for the salvation
*
you have scattered throughout the world.
11
O Jerusalem,
*
rejoice! O people of Judah, rejoice! For God will see to it that you are finally treated fairly.
12
Go, inspect the city! Walk around and count her many towers!
13
Note her walls and tour her palaces so that you can tell your children.
14
For this great God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide until we die.
Listen to this wise advice; follow it closely, for it will do you good, and you can pass it on to others:
Trust in the Lord.
September 5Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, a small mistake can outweigh much wisdom and honor.
2
A wise man’s heart leads him to do right, and a fool’s heart leads him to do evil.
3
You can identify a fool just by the way he walks down the street!
4
If the boss is angry with you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit will quiet his bad temper.
5
There is another evil I have seen as I have watched the world go by, a sad situation concerning kings and rulers:
6
For I have seen foolish men given great authority and rich men not given their rightful place of dignity!
7
I have even seen servants riding, while princes walk like servants!
8-9
Dig a well—and fall into it! Demolish an old wall—and be bitten by a snake! When working in a quarry, stones will fall and crush you! There is risk in each stroke of your ax!
10
A dull ax requires great strength; be wise and sharpen the blade.
11
When the horse is stolen, it is too late to lock the barn.
*
12-13
It is pleasant to listen to wise words, but a fool’s speech brings him to ruin. Since he begins with a foolish premise, his conclusion is sheer madness.
14
A fool knows all about the future and tells everyone in detail! But who can really know what is going to happen?
15
A fool is so upset by a little work that he has no strength for the simplest matter.
*
16-17
Woe to the land whose king is a child and whose leaders are already drunk in the morning. Happy the land whose king is a nobleman and whose leaders work hard before they feast and drink, and then only to strengthen themselves for the tasks ahead!
18
Laziness lets the roof leak, and soon the rafters begin to rot.
19
A party gives laughter, and wine gives happiness, and money gives everything!
20
Never curse the king, not even in your thoughts, nor the rich man, either; for a little bird will tell them what you’ve said.
11:
1
Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later.
2
Divide your gifts among many,
*
for in the days ahead you yourself may need much help.
3
When the clouds are heavy, the rains come down; when a tree falls, whether south or north, the die is cast, for there it lies.
4
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.
*
5
God’s ways are as mysterious as the pathway of the wind and as the manner in which a human spirit is infused into the little body of a baby while it is yet in its mother’s womb.
6
Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow—perhaps it all will.
7
It is a wonderful thing to be alive!
8
If a person lives to be very old, let him rejoice in every day of life, but let him also remember that eternity is far longer and that everything down here is futile in comparison.
9
Young man, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it! Do all you want to; take in everything, but realize that you must account to God for everything you do.
10
So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it, can make serious mistakes.
12:
1
Don’t let the excitement of being young cause you to forget about your Creator. Honor him in your youth before the evil years come—when you’ll no longer enjoy living.
2
It will be too late then to try to remember him when the sun and light and moon and stars are dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among your clouds.
3
For there will come a time when your limbs will tremble with age, your strong legs will become weak, and your teeth will be too few to do their work, and there will be blindness too.
4
Then let your lips be tightly closed while eating when your teeth are gone! And you will waken at dawn with the first note of the birds; but you yourself will be deaf and tuneless, with quavering voice.
5
You will be afraid of heights and of falling—a white-haired, withered old man, dragging himself along: without sexual desire, standing at death’s door, and nearing his everlasting home as the mourners go along the streets.
6
Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young—before the silver cord of life snaps and the gold bowl is broken; before the pitcher is broken at the fountain and the wheel is broken at the cistern;
7
then the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8
All is futile, says the Preacher; utterly futile.
9
But then, because the Preacher was wise, he went on teaching the people all he knew; and he collected proverbs and classified them.
10
For the Preacher was not only a wise man but a good teacher; he not only taught what he knew to the people, but taught them in an interesting manner.
11
The wise man’s words are like goads that spur to action. They nail down important truths. Students are wise who master what their teachers tell them.
12
But, my son, be warned: there is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting!
13
Here is my final conclusion: fear God and obey his commandments, for this is the entire duty of man.
14
For God will judge us for everything we do, including every hidden thing, good or bad.
Now I want to tell you what God in his grace has done for the churches in Macedonia.
2
Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, they have mixed their wonderful joy with their deep poverty, and the result has been an overflow of giving to others.
3
They gave not only what they could afford but far more; and I can testify that they did it because they wanted to and not because of nagging on my part.
4
They begged us to take the money so they could share in the joy of helping the Christians in Jerusalem.
5
Best of all, they went beyond our highest hopes, for their first action was to dedicate themselves to the Lord and to us, for whatever directions God might give to them through us.
6
They were so enthusiastic about it that we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to visit you and encourage you to complete your share in this ministry of giving.
7
You people there are leaders in so many ways—you have so much faith, so many good preachers, so much learning, so much enthusiasm, so much love for us. Now I want you to be leaders also in the spirit of cheerful giving.
8
I am not giving you an order; I am not saying you must do it, but others are eager for it. This is one way to prove that your love is real, that it goes beyond mere words.
9
You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus was: though he was so very rich, yet to help you he became so very poor, so that by being poor he could make you rich.
10
I want to suggest that you finish what you started to do a year ago, for you were not only the first to propose this idea, but the first to begin doing something about it.
11
Having started the ball rolling so enthusiastically, you should carry this project through to completion just as gladly, giving whatever you can out of whatever you have. Let your enthusiastic idea at the start be equalled by your realistic action now.
12
If you are really eager to give, then it isn’t important how much you have to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you haven’t.
13
Of course, I don’t mean that those who receive your gifts should have an easy time of it at your expense,
14
but you should divide with them. Right now you have plenty and can help them; then at some other time they can share with you when you need it. In this way, each will have as much as he needs.
15
Do you remember what the Scriptures say about this? “He that gathered much had nothing left over, and he that gathered little had enough.” So you also should share with those in need.
Listen, everyone! High and low, rich and poor, all around the world—listen to my words,
3
for they are wise and filled with insight.
4
I will tell in song accompanied by harps the answer to one of life’s most perplexing problems:
5
There is no need to fear when times of trouble come,
even though surrounded by enemies!
6
They trust in their wealth and boast about how rich they are,
7
yet not one of them, though rich as kings, can ransom his own brother from the penalty of sin! For God’s forgiveness does not come that way.
*
8-9
For a soul is far too precious to be ransomed by mere earthly wealth. There is not enough of it in all the earth to buy eternal life for just one soul, to keep it out of hell.
*
10
Rich man! Proud man! Wise man! You must die like all the rest! You have no greater lease on life than foolish, stupid men. You must leave your wealth to others.
11
You name your estates after yourselves as though your lands could be forever yours and you could live on them eternally.
12
But man with all his pomp must die like any animal.
13
Such is the folly of these men, though after they die they will be quoted as having great wisdom.
14
Death is the shepherd of all mankind. And “in the morning” those who are evil will be the slaves of those who are good. For the power of their wealth is gone when they die;
*
they cannot take it with them.
15
But as for me, God will redeem my soul from the power of death, for he will receive me.
16
So do not be dismayed when evil men grow rich and build their lovely homes.
17
For when they die, they carry nothing with them! Their honors will not follow them.
18
Though a man calls himself happy all through his life—and the world loudly applauds success—
19
yet in the end he dies like everyone else and enters eternal darkness.
20
For man with all his pomp
*
must die like any animal.
In the past, haven’t I been right? Then believe what I am telling you now and share it with others.