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Proverbs 3

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

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¹ I have tested all this with wisdom. I said, "I will be wise [independently of God]," but true wisdom was far from me.

² Whatever has been is far off, deeply remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it [for it is beyond the grasp of man]?

³ I turned around and directed my heart to know, to investigate and to seek [skillful and godly] wisdom and the reason for things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness [leading to stupidity and recklessness].

⁴ And I discovered that [of all irrational sins none has been so destructive in beguiling one away from God as immoral women for] more bitter than death is the woman whose heart is [composed of] snares and nets, and whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God will escape from her, but the sinner will be taken captive by her [evil].

⁵ "Behold, I have discovered this," says the Preacher, "while adding one thing to another to find an explanation,

⁶ which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one[2] man among a thousand [who pleases God], but I have not found [such] a woman among all these [a thousand in my harem].

⁷ Behold, I have found only this [as a reason]: God made man upright and uncorrupted, but they [both men and women] have sought out many devices [for evil]."

⁸ Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man's wisdom illumines his face, And causes his stern face to beam.

⁹ I counsel you to keep the command of the king because of the oath before God [by which you swore loyalty to him].

¹⁰ Do not be in a hurry to get out of his presence. Do not join in a malevolent matter, for the king will do whatever he pleases.

¹¹ For the word of a king is authoritative and powerful, And who will say to him, "What are you doing?"

¹² Whoever keeps and observes a royal command will experience neither trouble nor misery; For a wise heart will know the[1] proper time and [appropriate] procedure.

¹³ For there is a[2] proper time and [appropriate] procedure for every delight, Though mankind's misery and trouble lies heavily upon him [who rebels against the king].

¹⁴ For no one knows what will happen; So who can tell him how and when it will happen?

¹⁵ There is no man who has power and authority over the wind to restrain the wind, Nor does he have authority over the day of death; There is no discharge [from service] during time of war, And evil will not rescue those who [actively seek to] practice it.

¹⁶ All this I have seen while applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has exercised power over others to their detriment.

¹⁷ So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out of the holy place [but did not thereby escape their doom], and they are [praised in spite of their evil and] soon forgotten in the city where they did such things. This too is futility (vanity, emptiness).

¹⁸ Because the sentence against an evil act is not executed quickly, the hearts of the sons of men are fully set to do evil.

¹⁹ Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life [seemingly] is prolonged [in spite of his wickedness], still I know that it will be well with those who [reverently] fear God, who fear and worship Him openly [realizing His omnipresence and His power].

²⁰ But it will not be well for the evil man, nor will he lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.

²¹ There is a meaningless and futile thing which is done on the earth: that is, there are righteous men whose gain is as though they were evil, and evil men whose gain is as though they were righteous. I say that this too is futility (meaningless, vain).

²² Then I commended pleasure and enjoyment, because a man [without God] has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for this will stand by him in his toil through the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

²³ When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to see the activities [of mankind] that take place upon the earth—how some men seem to sleep neither day nor night—

²⁴ and I saw all the work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though man may labor in seeking, he will not discover; and [more than that], though a wise man thinks and claims he knows, he will not be able to find it out.

²⁵ For I have taken all this to heart, exploring and examining it all, how the righteous (those in right standing with God) and the wise and their deeds are in the hands of God. No man knows whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.

²⁶ It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers sacrifices and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as he who swears an oath is, so is he who is afraid to swear an oath.

²⁷ This evil is in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they go to the dead.

²⁸ [There is no exemption,] but whoever is joined with all the living, has hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.

²⁹ For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they no longer have a reward [here], for the memory of them is forgotten.

³⁰ Indeed their love, their hatred and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share [in this age] in anything that is done under the sun.

³¹ Go your way, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart [if you are righteous, wise, and in the hands of God]; for God has already approved and accepted your works.

³² Let your clothes always be white [with purity], and do not let the oil [of gladness] be lacking on your head.

³³ Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given you under the sun—all the days of vanity and futility. For this is your reward in life and in your work in which you have labored under the sun.

³⁴ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) where you are going.

³⁵ I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the strong, and neither is bread to the wise nor riches to those of intelligence and understanding nor favor to men of ability; but time and chance overtake them all.

#	AMP
1	I have tested all this with wisdom. I said, "I will be wise [independently of God]," but true wisdom was far from me.
2	Whatever has been is far off, deeply remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it [for it is beyond the grasp of man]?
3	I turned around and directed my heart to know, to investigate and to seek [skillful and godly] wisdom and the reason for things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness [leading to stupidity and recklessness].
4	And I discovered that [of all irrational sins none has been so destructive in beguiling one away from God as immoral women for] more bitter than death is the woman whose heart is [composed of] snares and nets, and whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God will escape from her, but the sinner will be taken captive by her [evil].
5	"Behold, I have discovered this," says the Preacher, "while adding one thing to another to find an explanation,
6	which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one[2] man among a thousand [who pleases God], but I have not found [such] a woman among all these [a thousand in my harem].
7	Behold, I have found only this [as a reason]: God made man upright and uncorrupted, but they [both men and women] have sought out many devices [for evil]."
8	Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man's wisdom illumines his face, And causes his stern face to beam.
9	I counsel you to keep the command of the king because of the oath before God [by which you swore loyalty to him].
10	Do not be in a hurry to get out of his presence. Do not join in a malevolent matter, for the king will do whatever he pleases.
11	For the word of a king is authoritative and powerful, And who will say to him, "What are you doing?"
12	Whoever keeps and observes a royal command will experience neither trouble nor misery; For a wise heart will know the[1] proper time and [appropriate] procedure.
13	For there is a[2] proper time and [appropriate] procedure for every delight, Though mankind's misery and trouble lies heavily upon him [who rebels against the king].
14	For no one knows what will happen; So who can tell him how and when it will happen?
15	There is no man who has power and authority over the wind to restrain the wind, Nor does he have authority over the day of death; There is no discharge [from service] during time of war, And evil will not rescue those who [actively seek to] practice it.
16	All this I have seen while applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has exercised power over others to their detriment.
17	So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out of the holy place [but did not thereby escape their doom], and they are [praised in spite of their evil and] soon forgotten in the city where they did such things. This too is futility (vanity, emptiness).
18	Because the sentence against an evil act is not executed quickly, the hearts of the sons of men are fully set to do evil.
19	Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life [seemingly] is prolonged [in spite of his wickedness], still I know that it will be well with those who [reverently] fear God, who fear and worship Him openly [realizing His omnipresence and His power].
20	But it will not be well for the evil man, nor will he lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.
21	There is a meaningless and futile thing which is done on the earth: that is, there are righteous men whose gain is as though they were evil, and evil men whose gain is as though they were righteous. I say that this too is futility (meaningless, vain).
22	Then I commended pleasure and enjoyment, because a man [without God] has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for this will stand by him in his toil through the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
23	When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to see the activities [of mankind] that take place upon the earth—how some men seem to sleep neither day nor night—
24	and I saw all the work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though man may labor in seeking, he will not discover; and [more than that], though a wise man thinks and claims he knows, he will not be able to find it out.
25	For I have taken all this to heart, exploring and examining it all, how the righteous (those in right standing with God) and the wise and their deeds are in the hands of God. No man knows whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.
26	It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers sacrifices and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as he who swears an oath is, so is he who is afraid to swear an oath.
27	This evil is in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they go to the dead.
28	[There is no exemption,] but whoever is joined with all the living, has hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.
29	For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they no longer have a reward [here], for the memory of them is forgotten.
30	Indeed their love, their hatred and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share [in this age] in anything that is done under the sun.
31	Go your way, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart [if you are righteous, wise, and in the hands of God]; for God has already approved and accepted your works.
32	Let your clothes always be white [with purity], and do not let the oil [of gladness] be lacking on your head.
33	Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given you under the sun—all the days of vanity and futility. For this is your reward in life and in your work in which you have labored under the sun.
34	Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) where you are going.
35	I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the strong, and neither is bread to the wise nor riches to those of intelligence and understanding nor favor to men of ability; but time and chance overtake them all.

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