Bible Reading October 21-23 (WEB)
Ecclesiastes
5-7
Ecc
5:1 Guard your steps when you go to God's house; for to draw near to
listen is better than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they don't
know that they do evil.
Ecc
5:2 Don't be rash with your mouth, and don't let your heart be hasty
to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and you on earth.
Therefore let your words be few.
Ecc
5:3 For as a dream comes with a multitude of cares, so a fool's
speech with a multitude of words.
Ecc
5:4 When you vow a vow to God, don't defer to pay it; for he has no
pleasure in fools. Pay that which you vow.
Ecc
5:5 It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow
and not pay.
Ecc
5:6 Don't allow your mouth to lead you into sin. Don't protest
before the messenger that this was a mistake. Why should God be angry
at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?
Ecc
5:7 For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, as well as in
many words: but you must fear God.
Ecc
5:8 If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking
away of justice and righteousness in a district, don't marvel at the
matter: for one official is eyed by a higher one; and there are
officials over them.
Ecc
5:9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all. The king profits
from the field.
Ecc
5:10 He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he
who loves abundance, with increase: this also is vanity.
Ecc
5:11 When goods increase, those who eat them are increased; and what
advantage is there to its owner, except to feast on them with his
eyes?
Ecc
5:12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or
much; but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.
Ecc
5:13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun:
wealth kept by its owner to his harm.
Ecc
5:14 Those riches perish by misfortune, and if he has fathered a
son, there is nothing in his hand.
Ecc
5:15 As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he go
again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may
carry away in his hand.
Ecc
5:16 This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so
shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?
Ecc
5:17 All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and
has sickness and wrath.
Ecc
5:18 Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one
to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he
labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given
him; for this is his portion.
Ecc
5:19 Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has
given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice
in his labor--this is the gift of God.
Ecc
5:20 For he shall not often reflect on the days of his life; because
God occupies him with the joy of his heart.
Ecc
6:1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is
heavy on men:
Ecc
6:2 a man to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that he
lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him
no power to eat of it, but an alien eats it. This is vanity, and it
is an evil disease.
Ecc
6:3 If a man fathers a hundred children, and lives many years, so
that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not filled with
good, and moreover he has no burial; I say, that a stillborn child is
better than he:
Ecc
6:4 for it comes in vanity, and departs in darkness, and its name is
covered with darkness.
Ecc
6:5 Moreover it has not seen the sun nor known it. This has rest
rather than the other.
Ecc
6:6 Yes, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet fails
to enjoy good, don't all go to one place?
Ecc
6:7 All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is
not filled.
Ecc
6:8 For what advantage has the wise more than the fool? What has the
poor man, that knows how to walk before the living?
Ecc
6:9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the
desire. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
Ecc
6:10 Whatever has been, its name was given long ago; and it is known
what man is; neither can he contend with him who is mightier than he.
Ecc
6:11 For there are many words that create vanity. What does that
profit man?
Ecc
6:12 For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his
vain life which he spends like a shadow? For who can tell a man what
will be after him under the sun?
Ecc
7:1 A good name is better than fine perfume; and the day of death
better than the day of one's birth.
Ecc
7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the
house of feasting: for that is the end of all men, and the living
should take this to heart.
Ecc
7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face
the heart is made good.
Ecc
7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart
of fools is in the house of mirth.
Ecc
7:5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to
hear the song of fools.
Ecc
7:6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter
of the fool. This also is vanity.
Ecc
7:7 Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe
destroys the understanding.
Ecc
7:8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in
spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Ecc
7:9 Don't be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in
the bosom of fools.
Ecc
7:10 Don't say, "Why were the former days better than these?"
For you do not ask wisely about this.
Ecc
7:11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. Yes, it is more excellent
for those who see the sun.
Ecc
7:12 For wisdom is a defense, even as money is a defense; but the
excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who
has it.
Ecc
7:13 Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight, which
he has made crooked?
Ecc
7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity
consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to
the end that man should not find out anything after him.
Ecc
7:15 All this have I seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous
man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who
lives long in his evildoing.
Ecc
7:16 Don't be overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise.
Why should you destroy yourself?
Ecc
7:17 Don't be too wicked, neither be foolish. Why should you die
before your time?
Ecc
7:18 It is good that you should take hold of this. Yes, also from
that don't withdraw your hand; for he who fears God will come forth
from them all.
Ecc
7:19 Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who
are in a city.
Ecc
7:20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth, who does good and
doesn't sin.
Ecc
7:21 Also don't take heed to all words that are spoken, lest you
hear your servant curse you;
Ecc
7:22 for often your own heart knows that you yourself have likewise
cursed others.
Ecc
7:23 All this have I proved in wisdom. I said, "I will be
wise;" but it was far from me.
Ecc
7:24 That which is, is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it
out?
Ecc
7:25 I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out,
and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that
wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.
Ecc
7:26 I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares
and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape
from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.
Ecc
7:27 Behold, this have I found, says the Preacher, one to another,
to find out the scheme;
Ecc
7:28 which my soul still seeks; but I have not found: one man among
a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not
found.
Ecc
7:29 Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but
they search for many schemes.
Ecclesiastes
8-10
Ecc
8:1 Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a
thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his
face is changed.
Ecc
8:2 I say, "Keep the king's command!" because of the oath
to God.
Ecc
8:3 Don't be hasty to go out of his presence. Don't persist in an
evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,
Ecc
8:4 for the king's word is supreme. Who can say to him, "What
are you doing?"
Ecc
8:5 Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his
wise heart will know the time and procedure.
Ecc
8:6 For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although
the misery of man is heavy on him.
Ecc
8:7 For he doesn't know that which will be; for who can tell him how
it will be?
Ecc
8:8 There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the
spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no
discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice
it.
Ecc
8:9 All this have I seen, and applied my mind to every work that is
done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over
another to his hurt.
Ecc
8:10 So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from
holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did
this. This also is vanity.
Ecc
8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,
therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do
evil.
Ecc
8:12 Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long,
yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who
are reverent before him.
Ecc
8:13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he
lengthen days like a shadow; because he doesn't fear God.
Ecc
8:14 There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are
righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked.
Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work
of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
Ecc
8:15 Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under
the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will
accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has
given him under the sun.
Ecc
8:16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business
that is done on the earth (for also there is that neither day nor
night sees sleep with his eyes),
Ecc
8:17 then I saw all the work of God, that man can't find out the
work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to
seek it out, yet he won't find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks
he can comprehend it, he won't be able to find it.
Ecc
9:1 For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that
the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God;
whether it is love or hatred, man doesn't know it; all is before
them.
Ecc
9:2 All things come alike to all. There is one event to the
righteous and to the wicked; to the good, to the clean, to the
unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who doesn't sacrifice. As
is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath, as he who fears
an oath.
Ecc
9:3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is
one event to all: yes also, the heart of the sons of men is full of
evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that
they go to the dead.
Ecc
9:4 For to him who is joined with all the living there is hope; for
a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Ecc
9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead don't know
anything, neither do they have any more a reward; for the memory of
them is forgotten.
Ecc
9:6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy has perished long
ago; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is
done under the sun.
Ecc
9:7 Go your way--eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a
merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.
Ecc
9:8 Let your garments be always white, and don't let your head lack
oil.
Ecc
9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your
life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days
of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in
which you labor under the sun.
Ecc
9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for
there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol,
where you are going.
Ecc
9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the
swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise,
nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of
skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
Ecc
9:12 For man also doesn't know his time. As the fish that are taken
in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even
so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly
on them.
Ecc
9:13 I have also seen wisdom under the sun in this way, and it
seemed great to me.
Ecc
9:14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and a great
king came against it, besieged it, and built great bulwarks against
it.
Ecc
9:15 Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he by his wisdom
delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
Ecc
9:16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the
poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
Ecc
9:17 The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of
him who rules among fools.
Ecc
9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys
much good.
Ecc
10:1 Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to send forth an evil
odor; so does a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.
Ecc
10:2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart at
his left.
Ecc
10:3 Yes also, when the fool walks by the way, his understanding
fails him, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
Ecc
10:4 If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, don't leave
your place; for gentleness lays great offenses to rest.
Ecc
10:5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, the sort of
error which proceeds from the ruler.
Ecc
10:6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place.
Ecc
10:7 I have seen servants on horses, and princes walking like
servants on the earth.
Ecc
10:8 He who digs a pit may fall into it; and whoever breaks through
a wall may be bitten by a snake.
Ecc
10:9 Whoever carves out stones may be injured by them. Whoever
splits wood may be endangered thereby.
Ecc
10:10 If the axe is blunt, and one doesn't sharpen the edge, then he
must use more strength; but skill brings success.
Ecc
10:11 If the snake bites before it is charmed, then is there no
profit for the charmer's tongue.
Ecc
10:12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but a fool is
swallowed by his own lips.
Ecc
10:13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and
the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
Ecc
10:14 A fool also multiplies words. Man doesn't know what will be;
and that which will be after him, who can tell him?
Ecc
10:15 The labor of fools wearies every one of them; for he doesn't
know how to go to the city.
Ecc
10:16 Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your princes
eat in the morning!
Ecc
10:17 Happy are you, land, when your king is the son of nobles, and
your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for
drunkenness!
Ecc
10:18 By slothfulness the roof sinks in; and through idleness of the
hands the house leaks.
Ecc
10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes the life glad;
and money is the answer for all things.
Ecc
10:20 Don't curse the king, no, not in your thoughts; and don't
curse the rich in your bedchamber: for a bird of the sky may carry
your voice, and that which has wings may tell the matter.
Ecclesiastes
11, 12
Ecc
11:1 Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many
days.
Ecc
11:2 Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don't know
what evil will be on the earth.
Ecc
11:3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the
earth; and if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in
the place where the tree falls, there shall it be.
Ecc
11:4 He who observes the wind won't sow; and he who regards the
clouds won't reap.
Ecc
11:5 As you don't know what is the way of the wind, nor how the
bones grow in the womb of her who is with child; even so you don't
know the work of God who does all.
Ecc
11:6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don't withhold
your hand; for you don't know which will prosper, whether this or
that, or whether they both will be equally good.
Ecc
11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the
eyes to see the sun.
Ecc
11:8 Yes, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all;
but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many.
All that comes is vanity.
Ecc
11:9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you
in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in
the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will
bring you into judgment.
Ecc
11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil
from your flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
Ecc
12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before
the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, "I
have no pleasure in them;"
Ecc
12:2 Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are
darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;
Ecc
12:3 in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the
strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they
are few, and those who look out of the windows are darkened,
Ecc
12:4 and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of
the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird,
and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;
Ecc
12:5 yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be in
the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall
be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his
everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Ecc
12:6 before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is
broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken
at the cistern,
Ecc
12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit
returns to God who gave it.
Ecc
12:8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity!
Ecc
12:9 Further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the
people knowledge. Yes, he pondered, sought out, and set in order many
proverbs.
Ecc
12:10 The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that
which was written blamelessly, words of truth.
Ecc
12:11 The words of the wise are like goads; and like nails well
fastened are words from the masters of assemblies, which are given
from one shepherd.
Ecc
12:12 Furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there
is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Ecc
12:13 This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God,
and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecc
12:14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden
thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
Colossians
2
Col 2:1
For I desire to have you know how greatly I struggle for you, and for
those at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the
flesh;
Col 2:2
that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love,
and gaining all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that
they may know the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,
Col 2:3
in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden.
Col 2:4
Now this I say that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of
speech.
Col 2:5
For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit,
rejoicing and seeing your order, and the steadfastness of your faith
in Christ.
Col 2:6
As therefore you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, walk in him,
Col 2:7
rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you
were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.
Col 2:8
Be careful that you don't let anyone rob you through his philosophy
and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of
the world, and not after Christ.
Col 2:9
For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
Col 2:10
and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and
power;
Col 2:11
in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with
hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in
the circumcision of Christ;
Col 2:12
having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised
with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the
dead.
Col 2:13
You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your
flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all
our trespasses,
Col 2:14
wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us; and he
has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross;
Col 2:15
having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Col 2:16
Let no man therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with
respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day,
Col 2:17
which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's.
Col 2:18
Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and
worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not
seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
Col 2:19
and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being
supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows
with God's growth.
Col 2:20
If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as
though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances,
Col 2:21
"Don't handle, nor taste, nor touch"
Col 2:22
(all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and
doctrines of men?
Col 2:23
Which things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, and
humility, and severity to the body; but aren't of any value against
the indulgence of the flesh.
Colossians
3
Col 3:1
If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that
are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2
Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that
are on the earth.
Col 3:3
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Col 3:4
When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed
with him in glory.
Col 3:5
Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual
immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and
covetousness, which is idolatry;
Col 3:6
for which things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of
disobedience.
Col 3:7
You also once walked in those, when you lived in them;
Col 3:8
but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander,
and shameful speaking out of your mouth.
Col 3:9
Don't lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man
with his doings,
Col 3:10
and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after
the image of his Creator,
Col 3:11
where there can't be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in
all.
Col 3:12
Put on therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of
compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;
Col 3:13
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a
complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.
Col 3:14
Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of
perfection.
Col 3:15
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were
called in one body; and be thankful.
Col 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching
and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
Col 3:17
Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
Col 3:18
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Col 3:19
Husbands, love your wives, and don't be bitter against them.
Col 3:20
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this pleases the Lord.
Col 3:21
Fathers, don't provoke your children, so that they won't be
discouraged.
Col 3:22
Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to
the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in
singleness of heart, fearing God.
Col 3:23
And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men,
Col 3:24
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the
inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
Col 3:25
But he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has
done, and there is no partiality.
Colossians
4
Col 4:1
Masters, give to your servants that which is just and equal, knowing
that you also have a Master in heaven.
Col 4:2
Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving;
Col 4:3
praying together for us also, that God may open to us a door for the
word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds;
Col 4:4
that I may reveal it as I ought to speak.
Col 4:5
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
Col 4:6
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you
may know how you ought to answer each one.
Col 4:7
All my affairs will be made known to you by Tychicus, the beloved
brother, faithful servant, and fellow bondservant in the Lord.
Col 4:8 I
am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your
circumstances and comfort your hearts,
Col 4:9
together with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one
of you. They will make known to you everything that is going on here.
Col 4:10
Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark, the cousin of
Barnabas (concerning whom you received commandments, "if he
comes to you, receive him"),
Col 4:11
and Jesus who is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These
are my only fellow workers for the Kingdom of God, men who have been
a comfort to me.
Col 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always
striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and
complete in all the will of God.
Col 4:13
For I testify about him, that he has great zeal for you, and for
those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.
Col 4:14
Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you.
Col 4:15
Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the assembly
that is in his house.
Col 4:16
When this letter has been read among you, cause it to be read also in
the assembly of the Laodiceans; and that you also read the letter
from Laodicea.
Col 4:17
Tell Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have
received in the Lord, that you fulfill it."
Col 4:18
The salutation of me, Paul, with my own hand: remember my bonds.
Grace be with you. Amen.
