Reading for March 23rd

Read Ecclesiastes 7.1-14. In 7.1-14: Mixture of the Teacher's ideas and traditional wisdom. Forms of Hebrew "tob" (good, and in comparative mode, better) occur ten times in this section. In verses 1-4: Death is instructive for the living, revealing the true end of all things and hence life's proper priorities. In verse 3: Made glad: Literally "made good", "improved." In verse 6: Crackling ... vanity: The words of a fool are loud but bring no long-term benefit. In verse 7: While the Teacher contrasts widom with folly, he also recognizes that they are not permanent conditions; in adversity, wisdomamy fail. Inverses 11-12: Wisdom, while not stable, is good. In verse 13: Crooked: See 1.15. Since people do not receive their just rewards, one should avoid being overly pious or overly wicked. Comments or Questions...