Wait patiently for the Lord! Wait confidently for him! Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, a man who carries out wicked schemes!

Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”

“Look, here is the man who would not make God his protector! He trusted in his great wealth and was confident about his plans to destroy others.”

because of what the enemy says, and because of how the wicked pressure me, for they hurl trouble down upon me and angrily attack me.

May he send help from heaven and deliver me from my enemies who hurl insults! (Selah) May God send his loyal love and faithfulness!

Let them be like a snail that melts away as it moves along! Let them be like stillborn babies that never see the sun!

You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! It is the God of Israel who gives the people power and strength. God deserves praise!

May he live! May they offer him gold from Sheba! May they continually pray for him! May they pronounce blessings on him all day long!

He decreed it as a regulation in Joseph, when he attacked the land of Egypt. I heard a voice I did not recognize.

adrift among the dead, like corpses lying in the grave, whom you remember no more, and who are cut off from your power.

I will not even consider doing what is dishonest. I hate doing evil; I will have no part of it.

I will favor the honest people of the land, and allow them to live with me. Those who walk in the way of integrity will attend me.

Give instruction to a wise person, and he will become wiser still; teach a righteous person and he will add to his learning.

A person will be satisfied with good from the fruit of his words, and the work of his hands will be rendered to him.

Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?

So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.

For wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. There is no end to the making of many books, and much study is exhausting to the body.

My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattice.

The Beloved to Her Lover: Until the dawn arrives and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved – be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountain gorges.