In the First Epistle of the Apostle Peter: "And if the righteous are scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and sinner appear?" (1 Peter 4:18) is also a quotation from the Book of Proverbs, from the 11th chapter (Proverbs 11:31) and is also quoted in accordance with the Greek text.

In the Second Epistle of the Apostle Peter in the 2nd chapter: "But it happens to them according to the true proverb: The dog returns to his vomit, and the washed pig goes to wallow in the mud" (2 Peter 2:22) – also a quote from the Book of Proverbs (Proverbs 26:11).

In the Epistle to the Romans in the 12th chapter: "Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him to drink: for in doing this you will heap burning coals on his head" (Romans 12:20) – this is a quote from the 25th chapter of the Book of Proverbs (Proverbs 25:21-22).

In the Epistle to the Hebrews in the 12th chapter it says: "You have not yet fought unto blood, struggling against sin, and you have forgotten the consolation that is offered to you as sons: My son! Do not despise the chastisement of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. For the Lord chastens whom He loves; and he smites every son whom he receives" (Hebrews 12:4-6) – this is the 3rd chapter (Proverbs 3:11-12), and the Book of Proverbs is quoted from the text of the Septuagint, and not from the Masoretic.

You can also study parables according to liturgical use, paying attention to how they are used in paremias. We have already said that the Greek word "paremia" itself means "parable". Thus, the Book of Proverbs gives a name to all the Old Testament readings during divine services.

Paremias from the Book of Proverbs are read at services to the Cross, the Mother of God, and the saints.

Parables are read during divine services on all weekdays of Great Lent. According to Professor A. Olesnitsky, "after the Psalms, the Church more often than other Old Testament books offers the book of Proverbs for reading, especially in the days of St. John. Forty days, since, according to the testimony of St. Gregory and other Fathers, the teaching of the Book of Proverbs imparts spiritual flexibility in the feats of holy life. In the days of fasting and repentance, more than ever, man recognizes himself as a pilgrim who has no abiding city, and the book of Proverbs, or, according to its Greek name, the paremia, contains, as the ancient interpreters explain, precisely the parting words of the road to pilgrims" [57, p. 73].

22.2. Ecclesiastes

"The words of Ecclesiastes the son of David, king in Jerusalem" (Ecclesiastes 1:1) – this is how this book begins. The word "Ecclesiastes" is Greek, meaning "preacher". Solomon's name is not directly mentioned in it, but in another place the author says that he "was king over Israel in Jerusalem" (Ecclesiastes 1:12). Actually, there were only two kings over Israel in Jerusalem: David and Solomon, at the time of Rehoboam's accession to the throne, there had already been a division, so the choice was small. If the author says that he is the son of David, it is obvious that we are left with only Solomon.

I will remind you again of the above interpretation of St. Gregory of Nyssa regarding the authorship of the books of Solomon. Concerning the verse under discussion, he says, "that the power of these words also is traced back to Him Who established the Church on the Gospel, for it is said, 'The words of Ecclesiastes, the son of David.' And so Matthew calls Him at the beginning of the Gospel, calling the Lord the Son of David" [19, p. 7].

This book, unlike other biblical books, was popular even among the unbelieving intelligentsia in Soviet times. And this is not surprising, because Ecclesiastes surprises with its unbridled skepticism, markedly different from the calm poise of Proverbs and contradicting the praise of the Psalms and the enthusiasm of the Song of Songs. Therefore, it is necessary to understand what is the matter here, does this book really carry only negative content, or does it still contain something positive?

At the beginning of his commentary, St. Gregory of Nyssa writes: "Ecclesiastes is offered to us for interpretation, the difficulty of looking at which is equal to the greatness of the benefit it gives. For after the mind has already been taught to inflow thoughts, in which, according to what is said in the preface to the book of Proverbs, there are dark words, and wise sayings, and divination, and various figures of speech (Proverbs 1:6), only those who have already come of age and are capable of hearing the most perfect lessons are able to ascend to this sublime and divinely inspired scripture. Therefore, if the parable and the exercise that prepares us for these lessons are something difficult and inconvenient, then how much work is needed to delve into these sublime thoughts that are now offered to us for review?" [19, pp. 4–5].

From what angle should we approach the understanding of the book? You can try to use a technique similar to the one we used in the analysis of the Book of Proverbs. The author himself gives us a few hints for this. He prefaces the book with a small introduction with the following content: "Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities, all is vanity! What profit does a man have from all his labors with which he labors under the sun? A generation passes away, and a generation comes, but the earth abides forever. The sun rises, and the sun sets, and hastens to its place where it rises. The wind goes south, and passes to the north, whirling, whirling as it goes, and the wind returns to its circles. All rivers flow into the sea, but the sea does not overflow: to the place from which the rivers flow, they return to flow again. All things are in labor: a man cannot retell everything; the eye will not be satisfied with sight, nor will the ear be filled with hearing. What has been, will be; and what has been done will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. There is something about which they say: "Look, this is new"; but [this] was already in the ages that were before us. There is no memory of the past; and of what will be, there will be no remembrance of those who will come after" (1:2-11).

It should be noted right away that these statements about vanity, about usefulness, about the inviolability of the earth, about the lack of memory and novelty contradict the biblical teaching already known to us, which cannot but be alarming. One might suspect that Ecclesiastes is using them to draw our attention to something important. However, let's move in order. The first two phrases contain a mention of vanity and the question of the usefulness of labor. Let us take them as the basis of our study, assuming that Ecclesiastes uses them to show us the way to understand the meaning of his book. The first pointer is the verdict that is passed from time to time that the discussed is vanity. The second is the questions that he asks throughout the book, addressing himself and the reader at the same time.