From the time of King Solomon until after the exile of the Jews in Babylon, sages and scribes composed and collected the passages that make up the Old Testament books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The powerful phrases and images they used have had a profound impact on subsequent conceptions of what it means to be wise or foolish. Even today many of these wise sayings are part of common parlance. The complete text of the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are reproduced here, along with helpful commentary on the literary influence of key images and quotations.