BOOK 5
1Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loving kindness endures forever.
2Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so,
whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3and gathered out of the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way.
They found no city to live in.
5Hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted in them.
6Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7He led them also by a straight way,
that they might go to a city to live in.
8Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
9For he satisfies the longing soul.
He fills the hungry soul with good.
10Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
being bound in affliction and iron,
11because they rebelled against the words of God,
and condemned the counsel of the Most High.
12Therefore he brought down their heart with labor.
They fell down, and there was no one to help.
13Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he saved them out of their distresses.
14He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and broke away their chains.
15Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
16For he has broken the gates of bronze,
and cut through bars of iron.
17Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience,
and because of their iniquities.
18Their soul abhors all kinds of food.
They draw near to the gates of death.
19Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he saves them out of their distresses.
20He sends his word, and heals them,
and delivers them from their graves.
21Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
22Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare his deeds with singing.
23Those who go down to the sea in ships,
who do business in great waters,
24these see Yahweh’s deeds,
and his wonders in the deep.
25For he commands, and raises the stormy wind,
which lifts up its waves.
26They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths.
Their soul melts away because of trouble.
27They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man,
and are at their wits’ end.
28Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he brings them out of their distress.
29He makes the storm a calm,
so that its waves are still.
30Then they are glad because it is calm,
so he brings them to their desired haven.
31Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!
32Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people,
and praise him in the seat of the elders.
33He turns rivers into a desert,
water springs into a thirsty ground,
34and a fruitful land into a salt waste,
for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35He turns a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into water springs.
36There he makes the hungry live,
that they may prepare a city to live in,
37sow fields, plant vineyards,
and reap the fruits of increase.
38He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly.
He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease.
39Again, they are diminished and bowed down
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
40He pours contempt on princes,
and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction,
and increases their families like a flock.
42The upright will see it, and be glad.
All the wicked will shut their mouths.
43Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things.
They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh.
The Book of Ecclesiastes is classified as part of the "wisdom literature" of the ancient Hebrews. This genre may be said to encompass all literary writings current in ancient Mesopotamia (as well as in the neighboring lands of the Near East, including Egypt) whose content is concerned, in one way or another, with life and nature, and with man's evaluation of them, based either on direct observation or insight. Helpful to a determination of the usage of the term "Wisdom Literature” is an understanding of the root hkm, which underlies the basic expression of "wisdom" in Hebrew and its cognate languages. The root hkm in Akkadian has the meaning of "clever, cunning" as well as "wise" when applied to kings, elders, scribes, diviners, and especially craftsmen and technicians. The notion of skillful "making" gave rise to various adjectives meaning "experienced, able." The force of the term "wisdom" in Akkadian, therefore, was upon a skill or experience that brought expertise or enablement in an endeavor. In Biblical Hebrew, this same basic nuance of "skill" is evident in all derivatives of hkm. For example, the term is used of the special ability of "artisans" in Exod 28:3; 31:1-11; 35:30, 35; 36:1-3, of the technical expertise of "stonemasons" in 1 Chr 22:15, of the trained ability of "goldsmiths" in Jer 10:9, of the experienced competence of "mariners" in Ps 107:27, of the craftsmanship of "ship builders" in Ezek 27:8-9, of the artistry of "artificers" in 1 Kings 7:14, and of the wizardry (unusual art) of magicians in Isa 3:3. It also is employed to denote the peculiar prowess enabling the heads of tribes, judges, and kings to perform either special or official tasks (cf. Deut 1:13,15; 16:19; 2 Sam 14:20). Of the 318 uses of the root hkm in the Tanach, 196 instances appear in Wisdom Literature (i.e. Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and some Psalms). In these contexts it bears an ethical/moral nuance, for just as in the secular realm it had been applied to technical skill, so here it is applied to the ability to cope with life in general. Scott in his study of the term in the Wisdom writings concluded: "thus “wisdom” (Hebrew hokmah) gained the sense of 'skill in living,' the trained ability to live in equilibrium with the moral order of the world." The Israelites viewed the world as an ordered system (under the control of G-d, cf. Job 1:21; 42:1-2; Prov 16:1-4; 21:1; Eccl 3:1-8; 5:18-19; 12:14), and the responsibility of wisdom was the instruction of men in the practical affairs of life in such a system. This wisdom is, however, neither simply utilitarian or amoral, but linked inseparably with the concepts of "righteousness" and “the fear of the LORD" (Prov 9:9-10). Therefore, for the Israelite, "wisdom" and the literature that develops a “skill in living life” is related to God's righteous order that has been established ultimately for man's good. As part of this genre, Ecclesiastes was designed as a means of training youth in the often unequal and contradictory experiences of life in this world while reminding them of the godly values and virtues that order the world (Eccl 3:11-12; 8:11-12). Understanding these “facts of life” (Eccl 8:17; 10:2; 11:5) and how to maintain “spiritual balance” throughout the tests of life (Eccl 11:9-10; 12:1, 6, 14) is the product of “wisdom.”