Anonymous (Septuagint) · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| Great toil has been created for every man, and a heavy yoke rests on Adam's children, from the day they emerge from their mother's womb until the day they are buried in the mother of all.
2| Their reasonings and the fear of their heart, the anxious foreboding of expectation, the day of their end;
3| from the one sitting on a throne in glory to the one humbled in dust and ashes,
4| from the one wearing purple and a crown to the one clothed in sackcloth;
5| wrath and envy and turmoil and unrest and fear of death and a grudge that will not fade, plus quarreling. And during his hours of rest in bed, nighttime sleep changes what he perceives;
6| he rests a little, as though it were nothing, and from then on in his sleep it is as on a day of watching, troubled by the visions of his heart, like one who has fled from the face of battle;
7| at the moment of his safety he awakes, and marvels that there was no fear at all.
8| With all flesh, from man to beast, and upon sinners sevenfold beyond these,
9| are death and blood and strife and the sword,
10| calamities and famine and affliction and plague — all these were created for the lawless, and because of them the flood came.
11| All that is from the earth returns to the earth, and what is from the waters returns to the sea.
12| Every bribe and injustice will be blotted out, but faithfulness will stand forever.
13| The wealth of the unjust will dry up like a river, and like a great peal of thunder in a rainstorm it will resound.
14| As he opens his hands he will rejoice; so those who transgress will fail utterly in the end.
15| The offspring of the ungodly will not put out many branches, and their unclean roots are on a bare rock.
16| Reeds by any water and on the river's edge are plucked up before any other grass.
17| Kindness is like a garden of blessings, and mercy endures forever.
18| The life of a self-sufficient worker is sweet, but better than both is the one who finds a treasure.
19| Children and the founding of a city establish a name, but better than both is a blameless wife.
20| Wine and music gladden the heart, but better than both is the love of wisdom.
21| The flute and the harp make sweet melody, but better than both is a pleasant tongue.
22| Your eye will desire grace and beauty, but better than both is the green shoot of the sown field.
23| A friend and a companion meet in season, but better than both is a wife with her husband.
24| Brothers and helpers are for a time of trouble, but better than both mercy delivers.
25| Gold and silver will make a foot stand firm, but better than both is being well regarded for one's wife.
26| Wealth and strength lift up the heart, but better than both is the fear of the Lord; in the fear of the Lord there is no lack, and with it there is no need to seek help.
27| The fear of the Lord is like a garden of blessing, and it has covered over all other glory.
28| Child, do not live the life of a beggar; better to die than to beg.
29| A man who looks to another's table — his life is not to be reckoned as life; he defiles his soul with another's food; but a man of understanding and discipline will guard himself.
30| In the mouth of the shameless begging tastes sweet, but in his belly a fire will burn.