| Series Foreword | |
| Acknowledgments | |
| General Introduction: These Three Books | p. 1 |
| Proverbs | p. 9 |
| Poetic Preface | |
| The Goal of Learning (1:1-6) | p. 25 |
| The Fear of the Lord (1:7) | p. 28 |
| Bad Company (1:8-19) | p. 29 |
| Wisdom's Challenge (1:20-33) | p. 31 |
| The Choice between Two Paths (2:1-22) | p. 34 |
| Beyond the Limits of Human Understanding (3:1-12) | p. 39 |
| Laying Hold of Happiness (3:13-26) | p. 42 |
| The Scorners (3:27-35) | p. 46 |
| Loving Wisdom (4:1-9) | p. 47 |
| The Anatomy of Wisdom (4:20-27) | p. 48 |
| Frank Talk about Sex (5:1-23) | p. 50 |
| Standing Surety (6:1-5) | p. 54 |
| Parable of the Ant (6:6-11) | p. 55 |
| Adorned with the Commandments (6:20-24) | p. 57 |
| Femme Fatale (7:1-27) | p. 58 |
| Wisdom's Speech from the Heights (8:1-36) | p. 62 |
| Two Invitations (9:1-18) | p. 70 |
| Proverbs Proper | |
| Constructive and Destructive Criticism (10:10) | p. 75 |
| Joy in Hope (10:28) | p. 77 |
| Gossip (11:11-13) | p. 78 |
| Women's Beauty, Women's Power (11:22) | p. 80 |
| The Root of the Righteous (12:3 and 12:12) | p. 82 |
| Working for Ourselves (12:9) | p. 84 |
| Choosing Companions (13:20) | p. 86 |
| Disciplining Children (13:24) | p. 87 |
| Honoring Solitude (14:10) | p. 90 |
| Joy and Sorrow (14:12-13) | p. 91 |
| Children's Inheritance (14:18,26) | p. 92 |
| The Religious Significance of the Poor (14:20-21) | p. 93 |
| Healing Speech (15:4) | p. 96 |
| Gaining a Heart (15:30-33) | p. 98 |
| Autonomy and Obedience (16:1-9) | p. 100 |
| The Power and the Justice of Kings (16:10-16) | p. 103 |
| Trusting God (16:20) | p. 106 |
| Temperance (16:32 and 25:28) | p. 107 |
| Choosing the Good (17:1) | p. 108 |
| The Danger of Isolation (18:1-2) | p. 109 |
| Deadly and Life-giving Speech (18:20-21) | p. 112 |
| Good Companions (18:22-24) | p. 113 |
| Contentiousness (19:13) | p. 115 |
| Fast Money (20:20-21) | p. 116 |
| Radical Pedagogy (22:6) | p. 119 |
| Thirty Savings (22:17-24:22) | p. 120 |
| The Cost of Laziness (24:30-34) | p. 129 |
| Delivering the Message (25:11-13) | p. 131 |
| Defeating Evil (25:21-22) | p. 133 |
| A Fool's Anger (27:3) | p. 134 |
| Envy (27:4) | p. 134 |
| Choosing Silence (27:14) | p. 136 |
| Closing Frames | |
| The Words of Agur (30:1-33) | p. 138 |
| The Wisdom of Women (31:1-31) | p. 148 |
| Ecclesiastes | |
| Introducing Koheleth (1:1) | p. 169 |
| The Great Question (1:2-3) | p. 170 |
| Instability and Amnesia (1:4-11) | p. 171 |
| Koheleth's Memoir (1:12-2:26) | p. 173 |
| The Pattern Woven in Time (3:1-15) | p. 182 |
| Injustice: Forsaking Our Creaturehood (3:16-22) | p. 186 |
| Perversions of Good Work (4:1-8) | p. 189 |
| The Wisdom of Reticence (5:1-7) | p. 191 |
| Economies of Grief and Joy (5:8-20) | p. 193 |
| Human Limitations (6:10-12) | p. 196 |
| Finding the Balance That Is Wisdom (7:1-22) | p. 198 |
| A Personal Note: Koheleth's Loneliness (7:23-29) | p. 204 |
| Against Presumption (8:1-9) | p. 206 |
| Is There Any Justice? (8:10-17) | p. 208 |
| To Life! (9:1-12) | p. 211 |
| Reckoning with Privilege (10:16-20) | p. 215 |
| The Grace of Not Knowing (11:1-6) | p. 218 |
| Youth and Age (11:7-12:8) | p. 220 |
| The Epilogue (12:9-14) | p. 225 |
| The Song of Songs | |
| Solomon's Best (1:1) | p. 238 |
| Desire and Imagination (1:2-2:7) | p. 241 |
| Seeking, Finding (3:1-5) | p. 254 |
| Up from the Wilderness (3:6) | p. 260 |
| Desire Satisfied (4:1-5:1) | p. 262 |
| Testimony of the Women of Jerusalem (5:2-6:3) | p. 275 |
| Formidable Beauty (6:4-10) | p. 284 |
| The Dancing Shulammite (6:13-7:13) | p. 287 |
| The Strength of Love (8:6-14) | p. 295 |
| Works Cited | p. 303 |
| For Further Reading | p. 306 |
| Abbreviations | p. 306 |
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