Ecclesiastes
1 The words of the Preacher, the son
of David, king in
2"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher;
"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
3What profit has a man from all his labor In which he
toils under the sun?
4One generation passes away, and another generation
comes; But the earth abides forever.
5The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And
hastens to the place where it arose.
6The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to
the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit.
7All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not
full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again.
8All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.
9That which has been is what will be, That which is
done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.
10Is there anything of which it may be said, "See,
this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before us.
11There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will
there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come
after.
12I, the Preacher, was king over
13And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom
concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to
the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.
14I have seen all the works that are done under the
sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
15What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is
lacking cannot be numbered.
16I communed with my heart, saying, "Look, I have
attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in
17And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness
and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.
18For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who
increases knowledge increases sorrow.
2I said in my heart, "Come now,
I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure"; but surely, this
also was vanity.
2I said of laughter--"Madness!"; and of
mirth, "What does it accomplish?"
3I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine,
while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might
see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their
lives.
4I made my works great, I built myself houses, and
planted myself vineyards.
5I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all
kinds of fruit trees in them.
6I made myself water pools from which to water the
growing trees of the grove.
7I acquired male and female servants, and had servants
born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all
who were in
8I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the
special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female
singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds.
9So I became great and excelled more than all who were
before me in
10Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I
did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my
labor; And this was my reward from all my labor.
11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping
for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.
12Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness
and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?-- Only what he has
already done.
13Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels
darkness.
14The wise man's eyes are in his head, But the fool
walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived That the same event happens to them
all.
15So I said in my heart, "As it happens to the
fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?" Then I said in
my heart, "This also is vanity."
16For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of
the fool forever, Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die? As the fool!
17Therefore I hated life because the work that was done
under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the
wind.
18Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under
the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.
19And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet
he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown
myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.
20Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the
labor in which I had toiled under the sun.
21For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge,
and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it.
This also is vanity and a great evil.
22For what has man for all his labor, and for the
striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?
23For all his days are sorrowful, and his work
burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
24Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat
and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw,
was from the hand of God.
25For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than
I?
26For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man
who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and
collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity
and grasping for the wind.
3To everything there is a season, A
time for every purpose under heaven:
2A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to
plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
3A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break
down, And a time to build up;
4A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather
stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
6A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep
silence, And a time to speak;
8A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war,
And a time of peace.
9What profit has the worker from that in which he
labors?
10I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of
men are to be occupied.
11He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He
has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that
God does from beginning to end.
12I know that nothing is better for them than to
rejoice, and to do good in their lives,
13and also that every man should eat and drink and
enjoy the good of all his labor--it is the gift of God.
14I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men
should fear before Him.
15That which is has already been, And what is to be has
already been; And God requires an account of what is past.
16Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of
judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was
there.
17I said in my heart, "God shall judge the
righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for
every work."
18I said in my heart, "Concerning the condition of
the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are
like animals."
19For what happens to the sons of men also happens to
animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they
all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.
20All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all
return to dust.
21Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes
upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?
22So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man
should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring
him to see what will happen after him?
4Then I returned and considered all
the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the
oppressed, But they have no comforter-- On the side of their oppressors there
is power, But they have no comforter.
2Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More
than the living who are still alive.
3Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful
work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the
wind.
5The fool folds his hands And consumes his own flesh.
6Better a handful with quietness Than both hands full,
together with toil and grasping for the wind.
7Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:
8There is one alone, without companion: He has neither
son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye
satisfied with riches. But he never asks, "For whom do I toil and deprive
myself of good?" This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.
9Two are better than one, Because they have a good
reward for their labor.
10For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But
woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.
11Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
12Though one may be overpowered by another, two can
withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish
king who will be admonished no more.
14For he comes out of prison to be king, Although he
was born poor in his kingdom.
15I saw all the living who walk under the sun; They
were with the second youth who stands in his place.
16There was no end of all the people over whom he was
made king; Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this
also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
5Walk prudently when you go to the
house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools,
for they do not know that they do evil.
2Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your
heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on
earth; Therefore let your words be few.
3For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool's
voice is known by his many words.
4When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it;
For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed--
5Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.
6Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor
say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry
at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands?
7For in the multitude of dreams and many words there
is also vanity. But fear God.
8If you see the oppression of the poor, and the
violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at
the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials
are over them.
9Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the
king is served from the field.
10He who loves silver will not be satisfied with
silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.
11When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So
what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes?
12The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats
little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
13There is a severe evil which I have seen under the
sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
14But those riches perish through misfortune; When he
begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
15As he came from his mother's womb, naked shall he
return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may
carry away in his hand.
16And this also is a severe evil-- Just exactly as he
came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?
17All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has
much sorrow and sickness and anger.
18Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for
one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils
under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his
heritage.
19As for every man to whom God has given riches and
wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice
in his labor--this is the gift of God.
20For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life,
because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
6There is an evil which I have seen
under the sun, and it is common among men:
2A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and
honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not
give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and
it is an evil affliction.
3If a man begets a hundred children and lives many
years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied
with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is
better than he--
4for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and
its name is covered with darkness.
5Though it has not seen the sun or known anything,
this has more rest than that man,
6even if he lives a thousand years twice--but has not
seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?
7All the labor of man is for his mouth, And yet the
soul is not satisfied.
8For what more has the wise man than the fool? What
does the poor man have, Who knows how to walk before the living?
9Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of
desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
10Whatever one is, he has been named already, For it is
known that he is man; And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.
11Since there are many things that increase vanity, How
is man the better?
12For who knows what is good for man in life, all the
days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what
will happen after him under the sun?
7A good name is better than precious
ointment, And the day of death than the day of one's birth;
2Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to
the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take
it to heart.
3Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad
countenance the heart is made better.
4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for
a man to hear the song of fools.
6For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is
the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.
7Surely oppression destroys a wise man's reason, And a
bribe debases the heart.
8The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The
patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger
rests in the bosom of fools.
10Do not say, "Why were the former days better
than these?" For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to
those who see the sun.
12For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But
the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.
13Consider the work of God; For who can make straight
what He has made crooked?
14In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of
adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So
that man can find out nothing that will come after him.
15I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is
a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who
prolongs life in his wickedness.
16Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why
should you destroy yourself?
17Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should
you die before your time?
18It is good that you grasp this, And also not remove
your hand from the other; For he who fears God will escape them all.
19Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of
the city.
20For there is not a just man on earth who does good
And does not sin.
21Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest
you hear your servant cursing you.
22For many times, also, your own heart has known That
even you have cursed others.
23All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, "I
will be wise"; But it was far from me.
24As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep,
Who can find it out?
25I applied my heart to know, To search and seek out
wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of
foolishness and madness.
26And I find more bitter than death The woman whose
heart is snares and nets, Whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God shall
escape from her, But the sinner shall be trapped by her.
27"Here is what I have found," says the
Preacher, "Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
28Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: One man
among a thousand I have found, But a woman among all these I have not found.
29Truly, this only I have found: That God made man
upright, But they have sought out many schemes."
8Who is like a wise man? And who knows
the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, And the
sternness of his face is changed.
2I say, "Keep the king's commandment for the sake
of your oath to God.
3Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take
your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him."
4Where the word of a king is, there is power; And who
may say to him, "What are you doing?"
5He who keeps his command will experience nothing
harmful; And a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment,
6Because for every matter there is a time and
judgment, Though the misery of man increases greatly.
7For he does not know what will happen; So who can
tell him when it will occur?
8No one has power over the spirit to retain the
spirit, And no one has power in the day of death. There is no release from that
war, And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.
9All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every
work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another
to his own hurt.
10Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone
from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had
so done. This also is vanity.
11Because the sentence against an evil work is not
executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them
to do evil.
12Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his
days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear
God, who fear before Him.
13But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he
prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
14There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there
are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again,
there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous.
I said that this also is vanity.
15So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing
better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain
with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the
sun.
16When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the
business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night,
17then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot
find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to
discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to
know it, he will not be able to find it.
9For I considered all this in my
heart, so that I could declare it all: that the righteous and the wise and
their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by
anything they see before them.
2All things come alike to all: One event happens to
the righteous and the wicked; To the good, the clean, and the unclean; To him
who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the
sinner; He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.
3This is an evil in all that is done under the sun:
that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of
evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the
dead.
4But for him who is joined to all the living there is
hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5For the living know that they will die; But the dead
know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is
forgotten.
6Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have
now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun.
7Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with
a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works.
8Let your garments always be white, And let your head
lack no oil.
9Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the
days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of
vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform
under the sun.
10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your
might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where
you are going.
11I returned and saw under the sun that-- The race is
not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor
riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance
happen to them all.
12For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken
in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in
an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them.
13This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it
seemed great to me:
14There was a little city with few men in it; and a
great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it.
15Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by
his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.
16Then I said: "Wisdom is better than strength.
Nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, And his words are not heard.
17Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard
Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.
18Wisdom is better than weapons of war; But one sinner
destroys much good."
10Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's
ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; So does a little folly to one
respected for wisdom and honor.
2A wise man's heart is at his right hand, But a fool's
heart at his left.
3Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks
wisdom, And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
4If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, Do not
leave your post; For conciliation pacifies great offenses.
5There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an
error proceeding from the ruler:
6Folly is set in great dignity, While the rich sit in
a lowly place.
7I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on
the ground like servants.
8He who digs a pit will fall into it, And whoever
breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
9He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, And he
who splits wood may be endangered by it.
10If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge,
Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success.
11A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; The
babbler is no different.
12The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious, But the
lips of a fool shall swallow him up;
13The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And
the end of his talk is raving madness.
14A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to
be; Who can tell him what will be after him?
15The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even
know how to go to the city!
16Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And
your princes feast in the morning!
17Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of
nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time-- For strength and not for
drunkenness!
18Because of laziness the building decays, And through
idleness of hands the house leaks.
19A feast is made for laughter, And wine makes merry;
But money answers everything.
20Do not curse the king, even in your thought; Do not
curse the rich, even in your bedroom; For a bird of the air may carry your
voice, And a bird in flight may tell the matter.
11Cast your bread upon the waters, For
you will find it after many days.
2Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you
do not know what evil will be on the earth.
3If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves
upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place
where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
4He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who
regards the clouds will not reap.
5As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or
how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the
works of God who makes everything.
6In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do
not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or
that, Or whether both alike will be good.
7Truly the light is sweet, And it is pleasant for the
eyes to behold the sun;
8But if a man lives many years And rejoices in them
all, Yet let him remember the days of darkness, For they will be many. All that
is coming is vanity.
9Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, And let your
heart cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, And
in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into
judgment.
10Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, And put away
evil from your flesh, For childhood and youth are vanity.
12Remember now your Creator in the
days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when
you say, "I have no pleasure in them":
2While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain;
3In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And
the strong men bow down; When the grinders cease because they are few, And
those that look through the windows grow dim;
4When the doors are shut in the streets, And the sound
of grinding is low; When one rises up at the sound of a bird, And all the daughters
of music are brought low.
5Also they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the
way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire
fails. For man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets.
6Remember your Creator before the silver cord is
loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
7Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And
the spirit will return to God who gave it.
8"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher,
"All is vanity."
9And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still
taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order
many proverbs.
10The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what
was written was upright--words of truth.
11The words of the wise are like goads, and the words
of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd.
12And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of
making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.
13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear
God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.
14For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.