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Ecclesiastes 1
1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2Vanity of
vanities, says the
Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. 3What profit has a man of all his labor
which he takes under the sun?
4One generation passes away and another generation comes:
but the earth abides for ever.
5 Also the sun rises and the sun goes down and hurries to the place where it rose.
6The wind
goes toward the south and turns about to the north; it whirls about continually and the wind
returns again according to its circuits. 7All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea
is not full; to
the place from where the rivers come, there they return again. 8All things are full of
labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9The thing that has been, is that which shall be; and that which is done is
that which shall
be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10Is there any thing
of which it may be said,
See, this is new? it has been already from old time, which was before us.
11There is no
remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance with
those that shall come after of things that are to come.
12I, the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I gave my heart to seek
and search
out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail has God given
to the sons of man to be exercised with it. 14I have seen all the works that are done under the
sun; and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 15That which is crooked
cannot be made
straight: and that which is lacking cannot be numbered. 16I communed with my own heart,
saying, Lo, I have come to great estate and have gotten more wisdom than all those who have been
before me in Jerusalem: yes, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 17And I
gave my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is
vexation of spirit. 18For in much wisdom is much grief: and he who increases knowledge
increases sorrow.
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Chapter 2
1I said in my heart, Go to now, I will prove you with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and
behold, this also is vanity. 2I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth,
What does it? 3I sought in
my heart to give myself to wine, yet acquainting my heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly,
till I might see what was good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven
all the days of their life. 4I made great works; I built houses; I planted vineyards:
5I made
gardens and orchards and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: 6I made pools
of water, to
water the woods that brings forth trees: 7I got servants and maidens and had servants born
in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all who were in
Jerusalem before me: 8I also gathered silver and gold and the peculiar treasure of kings and of
the provinces: I got men singers and women singers and the delights of the sons of men, as
musical instruments and that of all sorts. 9So I was great and increased more than all who were
before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. 10And what ever my eyes desired I did
not keep from them, I did not withhold my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor:
and this was my portion of all my labor. 11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had
worked and on the labor that I had labored to do: and behold, all was vanity and vexation of
spirit and there was no profit under the sun.
12And I turned myself to behold wisdom and madness and folly: for what can the man
do
who comes after the king? even that which has been already done. 13Then I saw that wisdom
excels folly, as far as light excels darkness. 14The wise man's eyes are in his head;
but the fool
walks in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happens to them all. 15Then I said
in my heart, As it happens to the fool, so it happens even to me; and why then was I more wise?
Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. 16For there is no
remembrance of the wise more
than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And
how does the wise man die? even as the fool.
17Therefore I hated life; because the work that is worked under the sun is grievous
to me: for
all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 18Yes, I hated all my labor which I had taken under
the sun:
because I would leave it to the man who shall be after me. 19And who knows whether he shall
be a wise man or a fool? yet he shall have rule over all my labor in which I have labored and in
which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
20Therefore I went about to
cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun. 21For there is a man whose
labor is in wisdom and in knowledge and in equity; yet he
shall leave it to a man who has not labored there for his portion. This also is vanity and
a great evil. 22For what has man of all his
labor and of the vexation of his heart, in which he has labored under the sun? 23For all his days
are sorrows and his travail grief; yes, his heart takes no rest in the night. This is also vanity.
24There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink and
that he should make
his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
25For who can
eat, or who else can hurry to it, more than I? 26For God gives to a man who
is good in his sight
wisdom and knowledge and joy: but to the sinner he gives travail, to gather and to heap up, that
he may give it to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
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Chapter 3
1To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2A time to
be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which 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 together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; 6A time to get,
and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast 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 he who works in that in which he labors?
10I have seen the travail, which God has given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11He has made every thing beautiful in its time: also he has set the world in their
heart, so
that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end. 12I know that
there is no other good in them, but for a man to rejoice and to do good in his
life. 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, what ever God does, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken
from it: and God does it, so that men should fear before him. 15That which has
been is now; and that which is to be has already been; and God requires that which is past.
16And moreover I saw the place of judgment under the sun, that wickedness
was there; and
the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 17I said in my heart,
God shall judge the
righteous and the wicked: for there is a time for every purpose and for every work.
18I said
in my heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them and that
they might see that they themselves are animals. 19For that which befalls the sons of men befalls
animals; even one thing befalls them: as the one dies, so the other dies; yes, they all have one
breath; so that a man has no preeminence above an animal: for all is vanity.
20All go to one place;
all are of the dust and all turn to dust again. 21Who knows the spirit of man that goes upward,
and the spirit of the animal that goes downward to the earth? 22Therefore I perceive that
there is
nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who
shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
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Chapter 4
1So I returned and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the
tears of such as were oppressed and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors
there was power; but they had no comforter. 2Therefore I praised the dead which are
already dead more than the living which are yet alive. 3Yes, better is he who has not
seen the evil work that is done under the sun and who has not yet been than both of them.
4Again, I considered all travail and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his
neighbor. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 5The fool folds his hands
together and eats
his own flesh. 6Better is a handful with quietness, than both the hands full
with travail and vexation of spirit.
7Then I returned and I saw vanity under the sun. 8There is one alone and
there is not a
second; yes, he has neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labor; nor is his
eye satisfied with riches; nor does he say, For whom do I labor and bereave my soul of
good? This is also vanity, yes, it is a sore travail. 9Two are better
than one; because they have a
good reward for their labor. 10For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him
who is alone when he falls; for he does not have another to help him up.
11Again, if two lie together,
then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? 12And if one prevails against him, two
shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will not be
admonished any more. 14For he comes to reign; out of prison whereas also he who is
born in his kingdom
becomes poor. 15I considered all the living who walk under the sun, with the second child who
shall stand up in his place. 16There is no end of all the people, even
of all who have been before them: they also who come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this
also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
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Chapter 5
1Keep your foot when you go to the house of God and be more ready to hear, than to give the
sacrifice of fools: for they do not consider that they do evil. 2Do not be rash with your mouth and
let not your heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven and you on earth:
therefore let your words be few. 3For a dream comes through the multitude of business; and a
fool's voice is known by multitude of words.
4When you vow a vow to God, defer not to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools:
pay that
which you have vowed. 5Better is it that you should not vow, than that you should vow
and not
pay. 6Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin; nor say before the angel, that it
was an
error: why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
7For in the
multitude of dreams and many words there are also different vanities: but fear God.
8If you see
the oppression of the poor and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, do not marvel
at the matter: for he who is higher than the highest regards; and he is higher than they.
9Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the
field. 10He who
loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance with increase: this is
also vanity. 11When goods increase, they are increased who eat them: and what good
is there to
the owners of it, except the beholding of 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 allow him to sleep.
13There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept
for the owners of it to
their hurt. 14But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begets a son and there is
nothing in
his hand. 15As he came out of his mother's womb, naked he shall return to go as he came and
shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. 16And this also is
a sore
evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit has he who has labored for the
wind? 17All his days also he eats in darkness and he has much sorrow and wrath with his
sickness.
18Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one
to eat and to drink and to
enjoy the good of all his labor that he takes under the sun all the days of his life, which God
gives him: for it is his portion. 19Every man also to whom God has given riches and
wealth and
has given him power to eat of it and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labor; this is the
gift of God. 20For he shall not remember many of the days of his life; because God answers
him in the joy of his heart.
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Chapter 6
1There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is common among men:
2A man to
whom God has given riches, wealth and honor, so that he wants nothing for his soul of all that
he desires, yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a stranger eats it: this is vanity
and
it is an evil disease. 3If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years,
so that the days
of his years are many and his soul is not filled with good and also that he has no burial; I say,
that an untimely birth is better than he. 4For he comes in with vanity and
departs in darkness,
and his name shall be covered with darkness. 5Moreover he has not seen the sun, nor known any
thing: this has more rest than the other. 6Yes, though he lives twice a thousand years, yet he
has seen no good: do not all go to one place?
7All the labor of man is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not filled.
8For what has the
wise more than the fool? what has the poor who knows to walk before the living? 9Better
is the
sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
10That which has been is already named and it is known that it is man: neither may he
contend with him who is mightier than he.
11Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?
12For who knows
what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spends as a
shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
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Chapter 7
1A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of
one's
birth. 2It is better 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 lay it to his heart. 3Sorrow is better
than laughter: for by
the sadness of the 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 as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
7Surely oppression makes a wise man mad; and a gift destroys the heart.
8Better is the end of
a thing than the beginning of it: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in
spirit. 9Do not
be hasty to be angry in your spirit: for anger rests in the bosom of fools. 10Do not say,
What is the
cause that the former days were better than these? for you do not enquire wisely concerning this.
11Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to those
who see the sun. 12For
wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense: but the excellency of knowledge
is, that wisdom
gives life to those who have it. 13Consider the work of God: for who can make that
straight,
which he has made crooked? 14In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity
consider: God also has set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing
after him. 15All things I have seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just
man who perishes in
his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness.
16Do not be
overly righteous; neither make yourself overly wise: why should you destroy yourself?
17Do not be overly wicked, neither be foolish: why should you die before your time?
18It is good
that you should take hold of this; yes, also do not withdraw your hand from this: for he who fears
God shall come out of them all. 19Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten mighty men
who
are in the city. 20For there is not a just man on earth, who does good and does not sin.
21Also take no
heed to all words that are spoken; lest you hear your servant curse you: 22For oftentimes also
your own heart knows that you yourself likewise have cursed others.
23All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
24Who can find it out that
which is far off and exceedingly deep? 25I applied my heart to know and to
search and to seek out wisdom and the reason of things and 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 and her hands are as bands: who ever pleases God shall escape from her;
but the
sinner shall be taken by her. 27Behold, this I have found, says the preacher, counting
one by one,
to find out the account: 28Which my soul still seeks, but I have not found: One man among a
thousand I
have found; but a woman among all those I have not found. 29Lo, this only have I found, that
God has made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
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Chapter 8
1Who is as the wise man? and who knows the interpretation of a thing?
a man's wisdom
makes his face to shine and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
2I counsel you to keep the
king's commandment and that in regard of the oath of God. 3Do not be hasty to go out of
his sight:
do not stand in an evil thing; for he does what ever pleases him. 4Where the word of a king is,
there is power: and who may say to him, What do you do? 5Who ever keeps the commandment shall
feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment.
6Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man
is great on him. 7For he does not know that which shall be: for who can tell him when
it shall be? 8There
is no man who has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither has he power in the day of
death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness 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. 10And so I saw the wicked buried, who
had come and gone from the place of the holy and they were forgotten in the city where they
had done so: this is also vanity. 11Because 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 shall be well with those who
fear God, who fear before him: 13But it shall not be well with the wicked because he does not
fear God, nor shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow.
14There is a vanity which is done on the 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 happen according
to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity. 15Then I commended mirth,
because a
man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat and to drink and to be merry: for that shall
abide with him from his labor 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 the earth: (for also
there is one who does not see sleep with his eyes day nor night:) 17Then I beheld all
the work of God,
that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labors to
seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man thinks to
know it, yet he shall not be able to find it.
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Chapter 9
1For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous and the wise
and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knows either love or hatred by all
that is before
them. 2All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to
the wicked; to the
good and to the clean and to the unclean; to him who sacrifices and to him who who does not sacrifice:
as the good is, so is the sinner; and he who swears, as he who fears an
oath. 3This is an evil
among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes,
also the heart of
the sons of men is full of evil and madness is in their heart while they live and after that
they go to the dead.
4For to 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 shall die: but the dead do not know any thing, nor have they
any more reward; for the memory of them is forgotten under the sun. 6Also their love and their hatred and
their envy, is now perished; nor have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is
done under the sun. 7Go your way, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry
heart; for God now accepts your works. 8Let your garments be always white; and let your head
not lack ointment. 9Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of the life of your
vanity and in your labor which he has given you under the sun, all the days of your vanity: for that
is your portion
in this life which you take under the sun. 10What ever your hand finds to do,
do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom,
in the grave where you will go.
11I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle
to the
strong, yet neither is bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men
of skill; but time and chance happens to them all. 12For also man does not know his time: as the
fish
that are taken in an evil net and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men
snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.
13This wisdom I have seen also under the sun and it seemed great to me:
14There was a little
city and few men in it; and there came a great king against it and besieged it and built great
bulwarks against it: 15Now there was a poor wise man found in it and he delivered the city by his
wisdom; yet no man 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.
17The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him who rules among fools.
18Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroys much good.
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Chapter 10
1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor:
so does a
little folly him who is in reputation for wisdom and honor. 2A wise man's heart
is at his right
hand; but a fool's heart at his left. 3Yes also, when he who is a fool walks by the way, his
wisdom fails him and he says to every one that he is a fool.
4If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, do not leave your place; for yielding pacifies
great offences. 5There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error
which proceeds
from the ruler: 6Folly is set in great dignity and the rich sits in a low place.
7I have seen servants
on horses and princes walking as servants on the earth. 8He who digs a pit shall fall into it; and
whoever breaks a hedge, a serpent shall bite him. 9Whoever removes stones shall be hurt with
them; and he who cleaves wood shall be endangered by it. 10If the iron is blunt and he
does not
whet the edge, then he must put more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.
11Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.
12The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up
himself. 13The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his
talk is
mischievous madness. 14A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what
shall be after him, who can tell him? 15The labor of the foolish wearies every one of them,
because he does not know how to go to the city.
16Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child and your princes eat in the morning!
17Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles and your princes eat in due
season, for strength and not for drunkenness! 18By much slothfulness the building decays; and
through idleness of the hands the house drops through. 19A feast is made for laughter and wine
makes merry: but money answers all things. 20Do not curse the king, no not in your
thought; and
do not curse the rich in your bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice and that
which has wings shall tell the matter.
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Chapter 11
1Cast your bread on the waters: for you shall find it after many days.
2Give a portion to
seven and also to eight; for you do not know what evil shall be on the earth. 3If the clouds are
full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth: and if the tree falls toward the south, or toward
the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall be. 4He who observes the wind shall not
sow; and he who regards the clouds shall not reap. 5As you know not what is the way of the
spirit, nor how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child: even so you do not know
the works of God who makes all. 6Sow your seed in the morning and in the evening do not
withhold your hand: for you do not know whether it shall prosper, either this or that, or whether
they both alike shall be good.
7Truly the light is sweet and a pleasant thing it is 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 shall be many. All that comes is vanity. 9Rejoice, O young man, in your youth; and
let your
heart cheer you in the days of your youth and walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of
your eyes: but know that for all these things 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.
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Chapter 12
1Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, while the evil days do not come, nor
the years draw nigh, when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them; 2While the sun, or the light,
or the moon, or the stars, are not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: 3In the day when
the keepers of the house shall tremble and the strong men shall bow themselves and the
grinders cease because they are few and those who look out of the windows are darkened, 4And
the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low and he shall rise up
at the voice of the bird and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; 5Also when
they
shall be afraid of that which is high and fears shall be in the way and the almond tree
shall
flourish and the grasshopper shall be a burden and desire shall fail: because man goes to his
long home and the mourners go about the streets: 6Or whenever the silver cord is loosed, or the
golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7Then the dust shall return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.
8Vanity of vanities, says the preacher; all is vanity. 9And moreover,
because the preacher was
wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he gave good heed and sought out, and set in
order many proverbs. 10The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and
that which was
written was upright, even words of truth. 11The words of the wise
are as goads and as nails
fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12And further, by
these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a
weariness of the flesh.
13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for
this is the whole duty of man. 14For God shall bring every work into judgment,
with every secret
thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
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