Ecclesiastes 10

• 1. Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, an ounce of foolishness can outweigh a pound of wisdom and honor.
• 2. The hearts of the wise lead them to do right, and the hearts of the foolish lead them to do evil.
• 3. You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street!
• 4. If your boss is angry with you, don't quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.
• 5. There is another evil I have seen as I have watched the world go by. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake
• 6. if they give foolish people great authority, and if they fail to give people of proven worth their rightful place of dignity.
• 7. I have even seen servants riding like princes--and princes walking like servants.
• 8. When you dig a well, you may fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake.
• 9. When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you! When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax! Such are the risks of life.
• 10. Since a dull ax requires great strength, sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
• 11. It does no good to charm a snake after it has bitten you.
• 12. It is pleasant to listen to wise words, but the speech of fools brings them to ruin.
• 13. Since fools base their thoughts on foolish premises, their conclusions will be wicked madness.
• 14. Foolish people claim to know all about the future and tell everyone the details! But who can really know what is going to happen?
• 15. Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they have no strength for even the simplest tasks.
• 16. Destruction is certain for the land whose king is a child and whose leaders feast in the morning.
• 17. Happy is the land whose king is a nobleman and whose leaders feast only to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.
• 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 make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don't make fun of a rich man, either. A little bird may tell them what you have said.

Ecclesiastes 11

• 1. Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later.
• 2. Divide your gifts among many, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.
• 3. When the clouds are heavy, the rains come down. When a tree falls, whether south or north, there it lies.
• 4. If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.
• 5. God's ways are as hard to discern as the pathways of the wind, and as mysterious as a tiny baby being formed in a mother's womb.
• 6. Be sure to stay busy and plant a variety of crops, for you never know which will grow--perhaps they all will.
• 7. Light is sweet; it's wonderful to see the sun!
• 8. When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember that the dark days will be many. Everything still to come is meaningless.
• 9. Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.
• 10. So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it, still faces the threat of meaninglessness.

Ecclesiastes 12

• 1. Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living.
• 2. It will be too late then to remember him, when the light of the sun and moon and stars is dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among the clouds.
• 3. Your limbs will tremble with age, and your strong legs will grow weak. Your teeth will be too few to do their work, and you will be blind, too.
• 4. And when your teeth are gone, keep your lips tightly closed when you eat! Even the chirping of birds will wake you up. But you yourself will be deaf and tuneless, with a quavering voice.
• 5. You will be afraid of heights and of falling, white-haired and withered, dragging along without any sexual desire. You will be standing at death's door. And as you near your everlasting home, the mourners will walk along the streets.
• 6. Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.
• 7. For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
• 8. "All is meaningless," says the Teacher, "utterly meaningless."
• 9. Because the Teacher was wise, he taught the people everything he knew. He collected proverbs and classified them.
• 10. Indeed, the Teacher taught the plain truth, and he did so in an interesting way.
• 11. A wise teacher's words spur students to action and emphasize important truths. The collected sayings of the wise are like guidance from a shepherd.
• 12. But, my child, 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 commands, for this is the duty of every person.
• 14. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

New Living Translation: 233 of 324 days.