I am filled like the full moon.
13 Listen to me, you holy children,
and bud forth like a rose growing by a brook of water.
14 Give a sweet fragrance like frankincense.
Put forth flowers like a lily.
Scatter a sweet smell and sing a song of praise.
Bless the Lord for all his works!
15 Magnify his name
and give utterance to his praise
with the songs on your lips and with harps!
Say this when you utter his praise:
16 All the works of the Lord are exceedingly good,
and every command will be done in its time.
17 No one can say, “What is this?” “Why is that?”
for at the proper time they will all be sought out.
At his word, the waters stood as a heap,
as did the reservoirs of water at the word of his mouth.
18 At his command all his good pleasure is fulfilled.
There is no one who can hinder his salvation.
19 The works of all flesh are before him.
It’s impossible to be hidden from his eyes.
20 He sees from everlasting to everlasting.
There is nothing too wonderful for him.
21 No one can say, “What is this?” “Why is that?”
for all things are created for their own uses.
22 His blessing covered the dry land as a river
and saturated it as a flood.
23 As he has made the waters salty,
so the heathen will inherit his wrath.
24 His ways are plain to the holy.
They are stumbling blocks to the wicked.
25 Good things are created from the beginning for the good.
So are evil things for sinners.
26 The main things necessary for the life of man
are water, fire, iron, salt,
wheat flour, and honey, milk,
the blood of the grape, oil, and clothing.
27 All these things are for good to the godly,
but for sinners, they will be turned into evils.
28 There are winds that are created for vengeance,
and in their fury they lay on their scourges heavily.
In the time of reckoning, they pour out their strength,
and will appease the wrath of him who made them.
29 Fire, hail, famine, and death—
all these are created for vengeance—
30 wild beasts’ teeth, scorpions, adders,
and a sword punishing the ungodly to destruction.
31 They will rejoice in his commandment,
and will be made ready upon earth when needed.
In their seasons, they won’t disobey his command.
32 Therefore from the beginning I was convinced,
and I thought it through and left it in writing:
33 All the works of the Lord are good.
He will supply every need in its time.
34 No one can say, “This is worse than that,”
for they will all be well approved in their time.
35 Now with all your hearts and voices, sing praises
and bless the Lord’s name!
40
1 Great travail is created for every man.
A heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam,
from the day of their coming forth from their mother’s womb,
until the day for their burial in the mother of all things.
2 The expectation of things to come, and the day of death,
trouble their thoughts, and cause fear in their hearts.
3 From him who sits on a throne of glory,
even to him who is humbled in earth and ashes,
4 from him who wears purple and a crown,
even to him who is clothed in burlap,
5 there is wrath, jealousy, trouble, unrest,
fear of death, anger, and strife.
In the time of rest upon his bed,
his night sleep changes his knowledge.
6 He gets little or no rest,
and afterward in his sleep, as in a day of keeping watch,
he is troubled in the vision of his heart,
as one who has escaped from the front of battle.
7 In the very time of his deliverance, he awakens,
and marvels that the fear is nothing.
8 To all creatures, human and animal,
and upon sinners sevenfold more,
9 come death, bloodshed, strife, sword,
calamities, famine, suffering, and plague.
10 All these things were created for the wicked,
and because of them the flood came.
11 All things that are of the earth turn to the earth again.
All things that are of the waters return into the sea.
12 All bribery and injustice will be blotted out.
Good faith will stand forever.
13 The goods of the unjust will be dried up like a river,
and like a great thunder in rain will go off in noise.
14 In opening his hands, a man will be made glad;
so lawbreakers will utterly fail.
15 The children of the ungodly won’t grow many branches,
and are as unhealthy roots on a sheer rock.
16 The reeds by every water or river bank
will be plucked up before all grass.
17 Kindness is like a garden of blessings.
Almsgiving endures forever.
18 The life of one who labours and is content will be made sweet.
He who finds a treasure is better than both.
19 Children and the building of a city establish a name.
A blameless wife is better than both.
20 Wine and music rejoice the heart.
The love of wisdom is better than both.
21 The pipe and the lute make pleasant melody.
A pleasant tongue is better than both.
22 Your eye desires grace and beauty,
but the green shoots of grain more than both.
23 A friend and a companion is always welcome,
and a wife with her husband is better than both.
24 Relatives and helpers are for a time of affliction,
but almsgiving rescues better than both.
25 Gold and silver will make the foot stand sure,
and counsel is esteemed better than both.
26 Riches and strength will lift up the heart.
The fear of the Lord is better than both.
There is nothing lacking in the fear of the Lord.
In it, there is no need to seek help.
27 The fear of the Lord is like a garden of blessing
and covers a man more than any glory.
28 My son, don’t lead a beggar’s life.
It is better to die than to beg.
29 A man who looks to the table of another,
his life is not to be considered a life.
He will pollute his soul with another person’s food,
but a wise and well-instructed person will beware of that.
30 Begging will be sweet in the mouth of the shameless,
but it kindles a fire in his belly.
41
1 O death, how bitter is the memory of you to a man who is at peace in his possessions,
to the man who has nothing to distract him and has prosperity in all things,
and who still has strength to enjoy food!
2 O death, your sentence is acceptable to a man who is needy and who fails in strength,
who is in extreme old age, is distracted about all things,
is perverse, and has lost patience!
3 Don’t be afraid of the sentence of death.
Remember those who have been before you and who come after.
This is the sentence from the Lord over all flesh.
4 And why do you refuse when it is the good pleasure of the Most High?
Whether life lasts ten, or a hundred, or a thousand years,
there is no enquiry about life in Hades.†
5 The children of sinners are abominable children
and they frequent the dwellings of the ungodly.
6 The inheritance of sinners’ children will perish
and with their posterity will be a perpetual disgrace.
7 Children will complain of an ungodly father,
because they suffer disgrace because of him.
8 Woe to you, ungodly men,
who have forsaken the law of the Most High God!‡
9 If you are born, you will be born to a curse.
If you die, a curse will be your portion.
10 All things that are of the earth will go back to the earth;
so the ungodly will go from a curse to perdition.
11 The mourning of men is about their bodies;
but the evil name of sinners will be blotted out.
12 Have regard for your name,
for it continues with you longer than a thousand great treasures of gold.
13 A good life has its number of days,
but a good name continues forever.
14 My children, follow instruction in peace.
But wisdom that is hidden and a treasure that is not seen,
what benefit is in them both?
15 Better is a man who hides his foolishness
than a man who hides his wisdom.
16 Therefore show respect for my words;
for it is not good to retain every kind of shame.
Not everything is approved by all in good faith.
17 Be ashamed of sexual immorality before father and mother,
of a lie before a prince and a mighty man,
18 of an offence before a judge and ruler,
of iniquity before the congregation and the people,
of unjust dealing before a partner and friend,
19 and of theft in the place where you sojourn.
Be ashamed in regard of the truth of God and his covenant,
of leaning on your elbow at dinner,
of contemptuous behaviour in the matter of giving and taking,
20 of silence before those who greet you,
of looking at a woman who is a prostitute,
21 of turning away your face from a kinsman,
of taking away a portion or a gift,
of gazing at a woman who has a husband,
22 of meddling with his maid—and don’t come near her bed,
of abusive speech to friends—and after you have given, don’t insult,
23 of repeating and speaking what you have heard,
and of revealing of secrets.
24 So you will be ashamed of the right things
and find favour in the sight of every man.
42
1 Don’t be ashamed of these things,
and don’t sin to save face:
2 of the law of the Most High and his covenant,
of judgement to do justice to the ungodly,
3 of reckoning with a partner and with travellers,
of a gift from the inheritance of friends,
4 of exactness of scales and weights,
of getting much or little,
5 of bargaining dealing with merchants,
of frequent correction of children,
and of making the back of an evil slave to bleed.
6 A seal is good where an evil wife is.
Where there are many hands, lock things up.
7 Whatever you hand over, let it be by number and weight.
In giving and receiving, let all be in writing.
8 Don’t be ashamed to instruct the unwise and foolish,
and one of extreme old age who contends with those who are
