21-ECC.usfm

@@ -414,6 +414,7 @@
 \v 2 God gives riches, wealth, and honor to a man so that he lacks nothing that he desires for himself, but then God gives him no ability to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger enjoys them. This is meaningless and a terrible affliction.
 
 \s5
+\p
 \v 3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but if his heart is not satisfied with good and he is not buried, then I say that a baby that is born dead is better off than he is.
 \v 4 Such a baby is born without meaning and passes away in darkness, and its name is covered in darkness.
 
@@ -422,30 +423,38 @@
 \v 6 Even if a man should live for two thousand years but does not learn to enjoy good things, he goes to the same place as everyone else.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 7 All a man's labor is for his mouth,
 \q2 yet his appetite is not satisfied.
 \q1
-\v 8 Indeed, what advantage has the wise person over the fool?
-\q2 What advantage does the poor man have
-\q3 even if he knows how to act in front of other people?
+\v 8 Indeed, what advantage has the wise person 
+\q2 over the fool?
+\q1 What advantage does the poor man have
+\q2 even if he knows how to act in front of other people?
 
 \s5
 \q1
-\v 9 What the eye sees is better than what the soul wanders after.
-\q1 This also is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
-\q1
+\v 9 What the eye sees 
+\q2 is better than what the soul wanders after.
+\q1 This also is meaningless—
+\q2 like chasing the wind.
+
 \p
-\v 10 Whatever has existed has already been given its name, and what mankind is like has already been known. So it has become useless for a man to dispute with the one who is stronger than he is.
+\q1
+\v 10 Whatever has existed has already been given its name, 
+\q2 and what mankind is like has already been known. 
+\q1 So it has become useless for a man to dispute 
+\q2 with the one who is stronger than he is.
 
 \s5
 \q1
-\v 11 The more words there are, the more meaningless they become.
-\q1 What advantage is that to a man?
+\v 11 The more words there are, 
+\q2 the more meaningless they become.
+\q2 What advantage is that to a man?
+
 \p
-\v 12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow?
-\q1 Who can tell a person what will happen under the sun after he is gone?
+\v 12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell a person what will happen under the sun after he is gone?
 
 \s5
 \c 7
@@ -474,17 +483,17 @@
 \q1
 \v 6 For like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot,
 \q2 so also is the laughter of fools.
-\q1 This too is meaningless.
+\q2 This too is meaningless.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 7 Extortion certainly makes a wise man foolish,
 \q2 and a bribe corrupts the heart.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 8 Better is the end of a matter than the beginning;
 \q2 and the people patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.
 \q1
@@ -492,31 +501,37 @@
 \q2 for anger resides in the hearts of fools.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 10 Do not say, "Why were the days of old better than these?"
 \q2 For it is not because of wisdom that you ask this question.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good.
 \q2 It benefits those who see the sun.
 \q1
-\v 12 For wisdom provides protection as money can provide protection,
-\q2 but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to whoever has it.
+\v 12 For wisdom provides protection 
+\q2 as money can provide protection,
+\q1 but the advantage of knowledge 
+\q2 is that wisdom gives life to whoever has it.
 
 \s5
 \p
 \v 13 Consider the deeds of God:
-\q1 Who can straighten out anything he has made crooked?
+\p
+\q1 Who can straighten out 
+\q2 anything he has made crooked?
 
 \s5
 \q1
 \v 14 When times are good, live happily in that good,
 \q2 but when times are bad, consider this:
-\q1 God has allowed both to exist side by side.
-\q2 For this reason, no one will find out anything that is coming after him.
+\q1 God has allowed both 
+\q2 to exist side by side.
+\q2 For this reason, no one will find out 
+\q2 anything that is coming after him.
 
 \s5
 \p
@@ -526,30 +541,32 @@
 \q1
 \v 16 Do not be self-righteous,
 \q2 wise in your own eyes.
-\q1 Why should you destroy yourself?
+\q2 Why should you destroy yourself?
 
 \s5
 \q1
-\v 17 Do not be too wicked or foolish.
+\v 17 Do not be too wicked
+\q2  or foolish.
 \q2 Why should you die before your time?
 \q1
 \v 18 It is good that you should take hold of this wisdom,
 \q2 and that you should not let go of righteousness.
-\q1 For the person who fears God will meet all his obligations. \f + \ft Instead of \fqa will meet all his obligations \fqa* , many modern translations have different interpretations of this difficult passage. \f*
+\q2 For the person who fears God will meet all his obligations. \f + \ft Instead of \fqa will meet all his obligations \fqa* , many modern translations have different interpretations of this difficult passage. \f*
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 19 Wisdom is powerful in the wise man,
 \q2 more than ten rulers in a city.
-\q1
+
 \p
+\q1
 \v 20 There is not a righteous man on earth
 \q2 who does good and never sins.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 21 Do not listen to every word that is spoken,
 \q2 because you might hear your servant curse you.
 \q1
@@ -559,6 +576,7 @@
 \s5
 \p
 \v 23 All this have I proven by wisdom. I said,
+\p
 \q1 "I will be wise,"
 \q2 but it was more than I could be.
 \q1
@@ -571,21 +589,30 @@
 \q2 and that folly is madness.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
-\v 26 I found that more bitter than death is any woman
-\q2 whose heart is full of snares and nets,
+\q1
+\v 26 I found that more bitter than death
+\q2  is any woman 
+\q1 whose heart is full of snares and nets,
 \q2 and whose hands are chains.
 \q1 Whoever pleases God will escape from her,
 \q2 but the sinner will be caught by her.
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 27 "Consider what I have discovered," says the Teacher. "I have been adding one discovery to another in order to find an explanation of reality.
-\v 28 This is what I am still looking for, but I have not found it. I did find one righteous man among a thousand, but a woman among all those I did not find.
+\v 27 "Consider what I have discovered," says the Teacher.
+\q1  "I have been adding one discovery to another in order to find an explanation of reality.
+\q2
+\v 28 This is what I am still looking for, 
+\q2 but I have not found it. 
+\q1 I did find one righteous man among a thousand, 
+\q2 but a woman among all those I did not find.
 
 \s5
-\v 29 I have discovered only this: God created humanity upright, but they have gone away looking for many difficulties."
+\q1
+\v 29 I have discovered only this: 
+\q2 God created humanity upright, 
+\q2 but they have gone away looking for many difficulties."
 
 \s5
 \c 8
@@ -597,20 +624,22 @@
 \q2 and the hardness of his face is changed.
 
 \s5
+\p
 \v 2 I advise you to obey the king's command because of God's oath to protect him.
 \v 3 Do not hurry out of his presence, and do not stand in support of something wrong, for the king does whatever he desires.
 \v 4 The king's word rules, so who will say to him, "What are you doing?"
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 5 Whoever keeps the king's commands avoids harm.
 \q2 A wise man's heart recognizes the proper course and time of action.
 \q1
 \v 6 For every matter there is a correct response and a time to respond,
 \q2 because the troubles of man are great.
-\q1
+
 \p
+\q1
 \v 7 No one knows what is coming next.
 \q2 Who can tell him what is coming?
 
@@ -632,10 +661,12 @@
 \v 13 But it will not go well for a wicked man; his life will not be prolonged. His days are like a fleeting shadow because he does not honor God.
 
 \s5
+\p
 \v 14 There is something else meaningless that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said this too is meaningless.
 \v 15 So I recommend enjoyment, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and drink and to be merry. It is happiness that will accompany him in his labor for all the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.
 
 \s5
+\p
 \v 16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to understand the work that is done on the earth, work often done without sleep for the eyes at night or in the day,
 \v 17 then I considered all of God's deeds, and that man cannot understand the work that is done under the sun. No matter how much a man labors to find the answers, he will not find them. Even though a wise man might believe he knows, he really does not.
 
@@ -651,6 +682,8 @@
 \q2 the good, \f + \ft Some modern translations follow ancient translations which have \fqa the good and the bad \fqa* . In this way, they make the phrase complete. Translators may decide to imitate them. \f*
 \q2 the clean and the unclean,
 \q2 and the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice.
+
+\p
 \q1 As good people will die,
 \q2 so also will the sinner.
 \q1 As the one who swears will die,
@@ -662,8 +695,10 @@
 
 \s5
 \v 4 Whoever is joined with all the living has hope—even a live dog is better than a dead lion.
-\q1
+
+
 \p
+\q1
 \v 5 For those who are alive know they will die,
 \q2 but the dead do not know anything.
 \q1 They no longer have any reward
@@ -671,10 +706,11 @@
 
 \s5
 \q1
-\v 6 Their love, hatred, and envy
-\q2 have vanished long ago.
+\v 6 Their love, hatred, 
+\q2 and envy have vanished long ago.
 \q1 They will never have a place again
 \q2 in anything done under the sun.
+
 \p
 \v 7 Go your way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of your deeds.
 \v 8 Let your clothes be always white and your head anointed with oil.
@@ -684,24 +720,25 @@
 \v 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, work at it with your strength, because there is no work or explanation or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, where you are going.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
 \v 11 Again I saw under the sun:
-\q2 the race is not to the swift,
+\q1 the race is not to the swift,
 \q2 nor is the battle to the strong,
-\q2 nor does food come to the wise,
+\q1 nor does food come to the wise,
 \q2 nor riches to the intelligent,
 \q2 nor favor to those with knowledge,
 \q1 but time and chance happen to them all.
-\q1
+
+
 \p
 \v 12 Surely, no one knows when his time will come.
-\q2 As fish are caught in a deadly net,
+\q1 As fish are caught in a deadly net,
 \q2 or birds are caught in a snare,
 \q1 the children of human beings are ensnared by evil times
 \q2 that suddenly fall upon them.
 
 \s5
+\p
 \v 13 I have also seen wisdom under the sun in a way that seemed great to me.
 \v 14 There was a small city with only a few men in it, and a great king came against it, he surrounded it and built great siege ramps against it.
 \v 15 Now in the city was found a poor, wise man, who by his wisdom saved the city. Yet later, no one remembered that same poor man.
@@ -710,8 +747,8 @@
 \v 16 So I concluded, "Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard."
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 17 The words of wise people spoken quietly are heard better
 \q2 than the shouts of any ruler among fools.
 \q1
@@ -730,16 +767,17 @@
 \q1
 \v 3 When a fool walks down a road,
 \q2 his thinking is deficient,
-\q3 proving to everyone he is a fool.
+\q2 proving to everyone he is a fool.
 
 \s5
 \q1
-\v 4 If the emotions of a ruler rise up against you, do not leave your work.
+\v 4 If the emotions of a ruler rise up against you, 
+\q2 do not leave your work.
 \q2 Calm can quiet down great outrage.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun,
 \q2 a kind of error that comes from a ruler:
 \q1
@@ -750,28 +788,30 @@
 \q2 and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
-\v 8 The one who digs a pit will fall into it,
-\q1 and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
 \q1
-\v 9 Whoever cuts out stones
-\q2 can be hurt by them,
-\q1 and the man who chops wood
-\q2 is endangered by it.
+\v 8 The one who digs a pit will fall into it,
+\q2 and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
+\q1
+\v 9 Whoever cuts out stones can be hurt by them,
+\q2 and the man who chops wood is endangered by it.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
-\v 10 If an iron blade is dull, and a man does not sharpen it, then he must use more strength, but wisdom provides an advantage for success.
 \q1
+\v 10 If an iron blade is dull, 
+\q2 and a man does not sharpen it, 
+\q1 then he must use more strength, 
+\q2 but wisdom provides an advantage for success.
+
 \p
+\q1
 \v 11 If a snake bites before it is charmed,
 \q2 then there is no advantage for the charmer.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious,
 \q2 but the lips of a fool consume him.
 
@@ -779,20 +819,21 @@
 \q1
 \v 13 As words begin to flow from a fool's mouth, foolishness comes out,
 \q2 and at the end his mouth flows with wicked madness.
-\q1
+\q2
 \v 14 A fool multiplies words,
-\q2 but no one knows what is coming.
+\p
+\q1 but no one knows what is coming.
 \q2 Who knows what is coming after him?
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 15 The toil of fools wearies them,
 \q2 so that they do not even know the road to town.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 16 Woe to you, land, if your king is a young boy,
 \q2 and if your leaders begin feasting in the morning!
 \q1
@@ -801,19 +842,20 @@
 \q2 for strength, and not for drunkenness!
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 18 Because of laziness the roof sinks in,
 \q2 and because of idle hands the house leaks.
-\q1
+
 \p
+\q1
 \v 19 People prepare food for laughter,
 \q2 wine brings enjoyment to life,
-\q3 and money fills the need for everything.
+\q2 and money fills the need for everything.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 20 Do not curse the king, not even in your mind,
 \q2 and do not curse rich people in your bedroom.
 \q1 For a bird of the sky might carry your words;
@@ -828,8 +870,9 @@
 \q1
 \v 2 Share it with seven, even eight people,
 \q2 for you do not know what disasters are coming on the earth.
-\q1
+
 \p
+\q1
 \v 3 If the clouds are full of rain,
 \q2 they empty themselves on the earth,
 \q1 and if a tree falls toward the south or toward the north,
@@ -847,15 +890,16 @@
 \q2 who created everything.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 6 In the morning plant your seed;
 \q2 until the evening, work with your hands as needed,
 \q1 for you do not know which will prosper,
 \q2 whether morning or evening, or this or that,
 \q2 or whether they will both alike be good.
-\q1
+
 \p
+\q1
 \v 7 Truly the light is sweet,
 \q2 and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to see the sun.
 \q1
@@ -863,31 +907,35 @@
 \q2 let him rejoice in all of them,
 \q1 but let him think about the coming days of darkness,
 \q2 for they will be many.
-\q1 Everything to come is meaningless.
+\q2  Everything to come is meaningless.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 9 Take joy, young man, in your youth,
 \q2 and let your heart be joyful in the days of your youth.
 \q1 Pursue the good desires of your heart,
 \q2 and whatever is within the sight of your eyes.
-\q1 However, know that God will bring you into judgment for all these things.
+\q1 However, know that God will bring you into judgment 
+\q2 for all these things.
 \q1
 \v 10 Drive anger away from your heart,
 \q2 and ignore any pain in your body,
-\q1 because youth and its strength are meaningless.
+\q2 because youth and its strength are meaningless.
 
 \s5
 \c 12
+\p
 \m
 \q1
-\v 1 Also call to mind your Creator in the days of your youth,
-\q2 before the days of difficulty come,
+\v 1 Also call to mind your Creator 
+\q2 in the days of your youth,
+\q1 before the days of difficulty come,
 \q2 and before the years arrive when you say,
-\q3 "I have no pleasure in them";
+\q2 "I have no pleasure in them";
 \q1
-\v 2 do this before the light of the sun and the moon and the stars grows dark,
+\v 2 do this before the light of the sun 
+\q2 and the moon and the stars grows dark,
 \q2 and dark clouds return after the rain.
 
 \s5
@@ -915,33 +963,37 @@
 \q2 and the mourners go around in the streets.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
-\v 6 Call to mind your Creator
-\q2 before the silver cord is cut,
+\q1
+\v 6 Call to mind your Creator before the silver cord is cut,
 \q2 or the golden bowl is crushed,
-\q2 or the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
+\q1 or the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
 \q2 or the water wheel is broken at the cistern,
 \q1
 \v 7 before the dust returns to the earth where it came from,
 \q2 and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
-\v 8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless!"
+\q1
+\v 8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. 
+\q2 "Everything is meaningless!"
+
+\p
 \v 9 The Teacher was wise and he taught the people knowledge. He studied and searched out and set in order many proverbs.
 
 \s5
 \v 10 The Teacher sought to write using vivid, upright words of truth.
+
+\p
 \v 11 The words of wise people are like goads. Like nails driven deeply are the words of the masters in collections of their proverbs, which are taught by one shepherd.
 
 \s5
 \v 12 My son, be warned about something more. The making of many books has no end, and much study brings weariness to the body.
 
 \s5
-\q1
 \p
+\q1
 \v 13 The end of the matter
 \q2 after everything has been heard,
 \q1 is that you must fear God and keep his commandments,
@@ -949,5 +1001,5 @@
 \q1
 \v 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
 \q2 along with every hidden thing,
-\q1 whether it is good or evil.
+\q2 whether it is good or evil.