Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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Thoughts about Life
1 A good reputation is better than
expensive perfume; and the day
you die is better than the day you
are born. note
2 It is better to go to a home
where there is mourning than to one
where there is a party, because the
living should always remind themselves
that death is waiting for us
all.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter; it
may sadden your face, but it sharpens
your understanding.
4 Someone who is always thinking
about happiness is a fool. A wise
person thinks about death.
5 It is better to have wise people
reprimand you than to have stupid
people sing your praises.
6 When a fool laughs, it is like
thorns crackling in a fire. It doesn't
mean a thing.
7 When a wise man cheats someone,
he is acting like a fool. If you
take a bribe, you ruin your character.
8 The end of something is better
than its beginning. Patience is better
than pride.
9 Keep your temper under control;
it is foolish to harbor a grudge. note
10 Never ask, “Oh, why were
things so much better in the old
days?” It's not an intelligent question.
11 Everyone who lives ought to be
wise; it is as good as receiving an inheritance
12 and will give you as
much security as money can. Wisdom
keeps you safe—this is the advantage
of knowledge.
13 Think about what God has done.
How can anyone straighten out what
God has made crooked?
14 When
things are going well for you, be
glad, and when trouble comes, just
remember: God sends both happiness
and trouble; you never know
what is going to happen next. note
15 My life has been useless, but in
it I have seen everything. A good
man may die while another man
lives on, even though he is evil.
16 So
don't be too good or too wise—why
kill yourself?
17 But don't be too
wicked or too foolish, either—why
die before you have to?
18 Avoid both
extremes. If you have reverence for
God, you will be successful anyway.
19 Wisdom does more for a person
than ten rulers can do for a city.
20 There is no one on earth who
-- --
does what is right all the time and
never makes a mistake.
21 Don't pay attention to everything
people say—you may hear
your servant insulting you,
22 and
you know yourself that you have insulted
other people many times.
23 I used my wisdom to test all of
this. I was determined to be wise,
but it was beyond me.
24 How can
anyone discover what life means? It
is too deep for us, too hard to understand.
25 But I devoted myself to
knowledge and study; I was determined
to find wisdom and the answers
to my questions, and to learn
how wicked and foolish stupidity is.
26 I found something more bitter
than death—woman. The love she
offers you will catch you like a trap
or like a net; and her arms around
you will hold you like a chain. A man
who pleases God can get away, but
she will catch the sinner.
27 Yes, said
the Philosopher, I found this out little
by little while I was looking for
answers.
28 I have looked for other
answers but have found none. I
found one man in a thousand that I
could respect, but not one woman.
29 This is all that I have learned: God
made us plain and simple, but we
have made ourselves very complicated.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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