This is what the Lord says:“ Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches.

耶和华如此说：“智慧人不要因他的智慧夸口，勇士不要因他的勇力夸口，财主不要因他的财物夸口。

耶和华如此说：“智慧人不要因他的智慧夸口，勇士不要因他的力气夸口，财主也不要因他的财富夸口；

耶和华如此说：“智慧人不要因他的智慧夸口，勇士不要因他的力气夸口，财主也不要因他的财富夸口；

耶和华说：“智者不要夸耀自己的智慧，勇士不要夸耀自己的力量，富人不要夸耀自己的财富。

耶和华这样说：“智慧人不可夸耀自己的智慧，勇士不可夸耀自己的勇力，财主不可夸耀自己的财富。

耶和華如此說：「智慧人不要因他的智慧誇口，勇士不要因他的勇力誇口，財主不要因他的財物誇口。

耶和華如此說：「智慧人不要因他的智慧誇口，勇士不要因他的力氣誇口，財主也不要因他的財富誇口；

耶和華如此說：「智慧人不要因他的智慧誇口，勇士不要因他的力氣誇口，財主也不要因他的財富誇口；

耶和華說：「智者不要誇耀自己的智慧，勇士不要誇耀自己的力量，富人不要誇耀自己的財富。

耶和華這樣說：“智慧人不可誇耀自己的智慧，勇士不可誇耀自己的勇力，財主不可誇耀自己的財富。

永恆主這麼說：智慧人不要誇耀自己的智慧，勇士不要誇耀自己的勇力，財主也不要誇耀自己的財富；

耶和華曰、智者勿誇其智、勇者勿誇其勇、富者勿誇其富、

耶和華曰、賢者毋自其誇賢、能者毋自矜其能、富者毋自炫其富。

主如是云、智者勿誇其智、勇者勿誇其勇、富者勿誇其富、

This is what the Lord says:“ Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches,

The Lord says,“ Do not let wise people brag about how wise they are. Do not let strong people boast about how strong they are. Do not let rich people brag about how rich they are.

Thus says the Lord:“ Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,

“‘ This is what the LORD says: The wise person should not boast in his wisdom; the strong should not boast in his strength; the wealthy should not boast in his wealth.

This is what the Lord says:“ Let no wise man boast of his wisdom, nor let the mighty man boast of his might, nor a rich man boast of his riches;

Thus says the Lord:“ Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches;

This is what the Lord says: The wise man must not boast in his wisdom; the strong man must not boast in his strength; the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise[ man] glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty[ man] glory in his might, let not the rich[ man] glory in his riches:

The LORD says,“ Wise people should not boast that they are wise. Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. Rich people should not boast that they are rich.

Yahweh says,“ Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom. Don’t let the mighty man glory in his might. Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches.

Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.

Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise.For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say,“ He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”And again,“ The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.”

Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.

Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death.

But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

As the Scriptures say,“ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.

“ They will throw their money in the streets, tossing it out like worthless trash. Their silver and gold won’t save them on that day of the Lord’s anger. It will neither satisfy nor feed them, for their greed can only trip them up.

Then Ben hadad sent this message to Ahab:“ May the gods strike me and even kill me if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide even a handful for each of my soldiers.”The king of Israel sent back this answer:“ A warrior putting on his sword for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.”

They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches.Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God.Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enoughto live forever and never see the grave.Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind.The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves,but their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals.This is the fate of fools, though they are remembered as being wise. Interlude

The righteous will see it and be amazed. They will laugh and say,“ Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”

He did all this so you would never say to yourself,‘ I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’

Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life.

“ Son of man, give the prince of Tyre this message from the Sovereign Lord:“ In your great pride you claim,‘ I am a god! I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.’ But you are only a man and not a god, though you boast that you are a god.You regard yourself as wiser than Daniel and think no secret is hidden from you.With your wisdom and understanding you have amassed great wealth— gold and silver for your treasuries.Yes, your wisdom has made you very rich, and your riches have made you very proud.“ Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you think you are as wise as a god,I will now bring against you a foreign army, the terror of the nations. They will draw their swords against your marvelous wisdom and defile your splendor!They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die in the heart of the sea, pierced with many wounds.Will you then boast,‘ I am a god!’ to those who kill you? To them you will be no god but merely a man!

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

The people gave him a great ovation, shouting,“ It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

“ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”

“ Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold?Have I gloated about my wealth and all that I own?

As he looked out across the city, he said,‘ Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’“ While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven,‘ O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom.

Your silver and gold will not save you on that day of the Lord’s anger. For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a terrifying end of all the people on earth.

After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish his purposes on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will turn against the king of Assyria and punish him— for he is proud and arrogant.He boasts,“ By my own powerful arm I have done this. With my own shrewd wisdom I planned it. I have broken down the defenses of nations and carried off their treasures. I have knocked down their kings like a bull.

He will say,‘ Each of my princes will soon be a king.

Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall!He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds.He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder.The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites.“ Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called.“ I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me!If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!”

Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty, majesty, glory, and honor to your predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar.He made him so great that people of all races and nations and languages trembled before him in fear. He killed those he wanted to kill and spared those he wanted to spare. He honored those he wanted to honor and disgraced those he wanted to disgrace.But when his heart and mind were puffed up with arrogance, he was brought down from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.He was driven from human society. He was given the mind of a wild animal, and he lived among the wild donkeys. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God rules over the kingdoms of the world and appoints anyone he desires to rule over them.“ You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself.For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone— gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!

He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed.He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted.They find it is dark in the daytime, and they grope at noon as if it were night.

The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.“ Because you said,‘ The Nile River is mine; I made it,’

Your fastest runners will not get away. The strongest among you will become weak. Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.The archers will not stand their ground. The swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to escape. Even those riding horses won’t be able to save themselves.On that day the most courageous of your fighting men will drop their weapons and run for their lives,” says the Lord.

The best equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory— for all its strength, it cannot save you.

I thought,“ Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate.Both will die. So I said to myself,“ Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!”For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.

This amazed them. But Jesus said again,“ Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God.

“ I’ll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them!With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers?

And I’ll sit back and say to myself,“ My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’“ But God said to him,‘ You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid.For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.In this life they consider themselves fortunate and are applauded for their success.

sneering in contempt at this ruddy faced boy.

I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless!