Who is as a wise man, that he can stand before the wisdom of the Lord, and know the interpretations of his words, like the prophets? The wisdom of a wise man enlightens the brightness of his face among the righteous, and as for the impudent, all his ways are changed from good to bad.

Guard thy mouth about the commands of the King to keep whatsoever he commands, and be also on thy guard about the matter of an oath of the Lord, that thou swear not by the name of his word in vain.

And in the time of the anger of the Lord do not cease to pray before him, tremble before him, go and pray and seek mercy from him, because thou canst not stand in an evil matter; for the Lord of all worlds, the Lord, will do what he pleases.

In the place where the word of the King who rules over all the world is gone forth, it is done immediately, and who is the man that would restrain his hand, and say unto him, What doest thou?

The man who keeps the commandments of the Lord shall not know any evil in the world to come; and the time of prayer, and judgment, and truth, is known in the heart of the wise.

For to every business there is a good and an evil time, and by a true judgment is the whole world judged; and when it is decreed from the Lord that punishment should be in the world, it is because of the guilt of evil doers which is heavy upon them.

For no wise man knows what will bewith him at the end, for when it shall be the pleasure before the Lord to afflict him, who is he that will tell him it?

There is no man who has power over his breathing soul to retain the soul of life, that it should not depart from the human body; and there is no power in the day of death for a man to save his companion, and no instruments of war to help in the battle, and guilt will not save its master in the great day of judgment.

All this I saw which has happened in this world, and I gave my heart to know all the work which is worked in this world under the sun, at the time when man rules over man to afflict him.

And indeed I have seen sinners who are buried and blotted out of the world, from the holy place where the righteous dwell, and went to be burned in Gehenna, and are forgotten from among the inhabitants of the city, and as they have done to others, so it is done to them; also this is vanity.

And because the evil thing, the punishment of the wicked, is not quickly executed upon their evil works, therefore the heart of the children of men is full in them to do evil in this world.

And when a sinner does evil a hundred years, and space is given him from the Lord in order that he may repent, yet is it revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, and I know that it will be well in the world to come with those that fear the Lord, that fear before him,and do his will;

and that it shall not be well with the wicked, and there shall be no space for him in the world to come; and in this world the days of his life shall be cut off, they shall fly and pass away like a shadow, because he feared not before the Lord.

There is a vanity that is decreed to be done upon the face of the earth; there are righteous to whom evil happens as if they had done like the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked to whom it happens as if they had done like the works of the righteous; and I saw by the Holy Spirit that the evil which happens to the righteous in this world is not for their guilt, but to free them from a slight transgression, that their reward may be perfect in the world to come; and the good that comes to the sinners in this world is not for their merits, but to render them a reward for their small merit they have acquired, so that they may eat their reward in this world, and to destroy their portion in the world to come; I said, by my word, this also is vanity.

And I praised the joy of the Law, since there is no good for man in this world under the sun, but to eat and drink and rejoice in his labour and in his portion, which is given to him from heaven, and not stretch out his hands in violence and rapine; and this will lead him to peace in that world, and he shall receive a perfect reward for his labours wherewith he sincerely laboured all the days of his life, which the Lord gave him in this world under the sun.

As I gave my heart to know the wisdom of the Law, and to see the business which is done upon the earth, for even the wise who desires to be occupied with the Law and to find wisdom must toil, since he has no rest in the day, and sees no sleep with his eyes in the night.

And I saw every mighty work of the Lord, for it is awful; and man cannot find out the mighty work of the Lord which is done in this world under the sun; when man labours to seek what will be, he shall not find it; and even if a wise man says by his word, that he will know what will be at the end of days, he cannot find it.