Ecclesiastes |
1:1: The words of the Preacher, the son of
David, king in |
1:2: Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher,
vanity of vanities; all is vanity. |
1:3: What profit hath a man of all his labour
which he taketh under the sun? |
1:4: One generation passeth away, and another
generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. |
1:5: The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth
down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. |
1:6: The wind goeth toward the south, and
turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind
returneth again according to his circuits. |
1:7: All the rivers run into the sea; yet the
sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they
return again. |
1:8: All things are full of labour; man
cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled
with hearing. |
1:9: The thing that hath been, it 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. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2:1: I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will
prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is
vanity. |
2:2: I said of laughter, It is mad: and of
mirth, What doeth it? |
2:3: I sought in mine heart to give myself
unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly,
till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do
under the heaven all the days of their life. |
2:4: I made me great works; I builded me
houses; I planted me vineyards: |
2:5: I made me gardens and orchards, and I
planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: |
2:6: I made me pools of water, to water
therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: |
2:7: I got me servants and maidens, and had
servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small
cattle above all that were in |
2:8: I gathered me also silver and gold, and
the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and
women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments,
and that of all sorts. |
2:9: So I was great, and increased more than
all that were before me in |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2:24: There is nothing better for a man, than
that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in
his labour. This also I saw, that it
was from the hand of God. |
|
|
3:1: To every thing there is a season, and a
time to every purpose under the heaven: |
3:2: A time to be born, and a time to die; a
time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; |
3:3: A time to kill, and a time to heal; a
time to break down, and a time to build up; |
3:4: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a
time to mourn, and a time to dance; |
3:5: A time to cast away stones, and a time
to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing; |
3:6: A time to get, and a time to lose; a
time to keep, and a time to cast away; |
3:7: A time to rend, and a time to sew; a
time to keep silence, and a time to speak; |
3:8: A time to love, and a time to hate; a
time of war, and a time of peace. |
3:9: What profit hath he that worketh in that
wherein he laboureth? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4:1: So 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. |
4:2: Wherefore I praised the dead which are
already dead more than the living which are yet alive. |
4:3: Yea, better is he than both they, which
hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. |
4:4: Again, I considered all travail, and
every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. |
4:5: The fool foldeth his hands together, and
eateth his own flesh. |
4:6: Better is an handful with quietness,
than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit. |
4:7: Then I returned, and I saw vanity under
the sun. |
4:8: There is one alone, and there is not a
second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all
his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For
whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore
travail. |
4:9: Two are better than one; because they
have a good reward for their labour. |
4:10: For if they fall, the one will lift up
his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not
another to help him up. |
4:11: Again, if two lie together, then they
have heat: but how can one be warm alone? |
4:12: And if one prevail against him, two
shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. |
4:13: Better is a poor and a wise child than
an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. |
4:14: For out of prison he cometh to reign;
whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor. |
4:15: I considered all the living which walk
under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead. |
4:16: There is no end of all the people, even
of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not
rejoice in him. Surely this also is
vanity and vexation of spirit. |
5:1: Keep thy foot when thou goest to the
house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools:
for they consider not that they do evil. |
5:2: Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not
thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and
thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. |
5:3: For a dream cometh through the multitude
of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. |
5:4: When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer
not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast
vowed. |
5:5: Better is it that thou shouldest not
vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. |
5:6: Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh
to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore
should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? |
5:7: For in the multitude of dreams and many
words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God. |
5:8: If thou seest the oppression of the
poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel
not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and
there be higher than they. |
5:9: Moreover the profit of the earth is for
all: the king himself is served by the field. |
5:10: He that loveth silver shall not be
satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is
also vanity. |
5:11: When goods increase, they are increased
that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the
beholding of them with their eyes? |
5:12: The sleep of a labouring man is sweet,
whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer
him to sleep. |
5:13: There is a sore evil which I have seen
under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. |
5:14: But those riches perish by evil
travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. |
5:15: As he came forth of his mother's womb,
naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour,
which he may carry away in his hand. |
5:16: And this also is a sore evil, that in
all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath
laboured for the wind? |
5:17: All his days also he eateth in
darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. |
5:18: Behold 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
labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God
giveth him: for it is his portion. |
5:19: Every man also to whom God hath given
riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his
portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. |
5:20: For he shall not much remember the days
of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart. |
6:1: There is an evil which I have seen under
the sun, and it is common among men: |
6:2: A man to whom God hath given riches,
wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he
desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth
it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. |
6:3: If a man beget an hundred children, and
live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not
filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely
birth is better than he. |
6:4: For he cometh in with vanity, and
departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. |
6:5: Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor
known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. |
6:6: Yea, though he live a thousand years
twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place? |
6:7: All the labour of man is for his mouth,
and yet the appetite is not filled. |
6:8: For what hath the wise more than the
fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth
to walk before the living? |
6:9: Better is the sight of the eyes than the
wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. |
6:10: That which hath been is named already,
and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier
than he. |
6:11: Seeing there be many things that
increase vanity, what is man the better? |
6:12: For who knoweth what is good for man in
this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after
him under the sun? |
7:1: A good name is better than precious
ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. |
7:2: It 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. |
7:3: Sorrow is better than laughter: for by
the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. |
7:4: The heart of the wise is in the house of
mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. |
7:5: It is better to hear the rebuke of the
wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. |
7:6: For as the crackling of thorns under a
pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity. |
7:7: Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad;
and a gift destroyeth the heart. |
7:8: Better is the end of a thing than the
beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in
spirit. |
7:9: Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry:
for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. |
7:10: Say not thou, What is the cause that
the former days were better than these?
for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this. |
7:11: Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and
by it there is profit to them that see the sun. |
7:12: For wisdom is a defence, and money is a
defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them
that have it. |
7:13: Consider the work of God: for who can
make that straight, which he hath made crooked? |
7:14: In the day of prosperity be joyful, but
in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the
other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. |
7:15: All things have I seen in the days of
my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there
is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. |
7:16: Be not righteous over much; neither
make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? |
7:17: Be not over much wicked, neither be
thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? |
7:18: It is good that thou shouldest take
hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that
feareth God shall come forth of them all. |
7:19: Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than
ten mighty men which are in the city. |
7:20: For there is not a just man upon earth,
that doeth good, and sinneth not. |
7:21: Also take no heed unto all words that
are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee: |
7:22: For oftentimes also thine own heart
knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others. |
7:23: All this have I proved by wisdom: I
said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. |
7:24: That which is far off, and exceeding
deep, who can find it out? |
7:25: I applied mine 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: |
7:26: And I find more bitter than death the
woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth
God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. |
7:27: Behold, this have I found, saith the
preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: |
7:28: Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find
not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have
I not found. |
7:29: Lo, this only have I found, that God
hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. |
8:1: Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a
thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face
to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. |
8:2: I counsel thee to keep the king's
commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. |
8:3: Be not hasty to go out of his sight:
stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. |
8:4: Where the word of a king is, there is
power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? |
8:5: Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel
no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. |
8:6: Because to every purpose there is time
and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. |
8:7: For he knoweth not that which shall be:
for who can tell him when it shall be? |
8:8: There is no man that hath power over the
spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and
there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those
that are given to it. |
8:9: All this have I seen, and applied my
heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one
man ruleth over another to his own hurt. |
8:10: And 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 so done: this is also vanity. |
8:11: Because 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. |
8:12: Though a sinner do evil an hundred
times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well
with them that fear God, which fear before him: |
8:13: But it shall not be well with the
wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he
feareth not before God. |
8:14: There is a vanity which is done upon
the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the
work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth
according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity. |
8:15: Then I commended mirth, because a man
hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be
merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which
God giveth him under the sun. |
8:16: When I applied mine heart to know
wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there
is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:) |
8:17: Then 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 labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a
wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it. |
9:1: For 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 knoweth either love or hatred by all that is
before them. |
9:2: All 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 that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not:
as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an
oath. |
9:3: This is an evil among all things that
are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, 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. |
9:4: For to him that is joined to all the
living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. |
9:5: For the living know that they shall die:
but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the
memory of them is forgotten. |
9:6: Also their love, and their hatred, and
their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in
any thing that is done under the sun. |
9:7: Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and
drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. |
9:8: Let thy garments be always white; and
let thy head lack no ointment. |
9:9: Live joyfully with the wife whom thou
lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under
the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life,
and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. |
9:10: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do
it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor
wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. |
9:11: I returned, and saw under the sun, that
the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread
to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of
skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. |
9:12: For man also knoweth not his time: as
the fishes 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 falleth
suddenly upon them. |
9:13: This wisdom have I seen also under the
sun, and it seemed great unto me: |
9:14: There was a little city, and few men
within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built
great bulwarks against it: |
9:15: Now there was found in it a poor wise
man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same
poor man. |
9:16: Then said I, Wisdom is better than
strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are
not heard. |
9:17: The words of wise men are heard in
quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. |
9:18: Wisdom is better than weapons of war:
but one sinner destroyeth much good. |
10:1: Dead flies cause the ointment of the
apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that
is in reputation for wisdom and honour. |
10:2: A wise man's heart is at his right
hand; but a fool's heart at his left. |
10:3: Yea also, when he that is a fool
walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he
is a fool. |
10:4: If the spirit of the ruler rise up
against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences. |
10:5: There is an evil which I have seen
under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: |
10:6: Folly is set in great dignity, and the
rich sit in low place. |
10:7: I have seen servants upon horses, and
princes walking as servants upon the earth. |
10:8: He that diggeth a pit shall fall into
it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. |
10:9: Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt
therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. |
10:10: If the iron be blunt, and he do not
whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to
direct. |
10:11: Surely the serpent will bite without
enchantment; and a babbler is no better. |
10:12: The words of a wise man's mouth are
gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. |
10:13: The beginning of the words of his
mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. |
10:14: A fool also is full of words: a man cannot
tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? |
10:15: The labour of the foolish wearieth
every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. |
10:16: Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is
a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! |
10:17: Blessed art thou, O land, when thy
king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength,
and not for drunkenness! |
10:18: By much slothfulness the building
decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. |
10:19: A feast is made for laughter, and wine
maketh merry: but money answereth all things. |
10:20: Curse not the king, no not in thy
thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air
shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. |
11:1: Cast thy bread upon the waters: for
thou shalt find it after many days. |
11:2: Give a portion to seven, and also to
eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. |
11:3: If the clouds be full of rain, they
empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or
toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. |
11:4: He that observeth the wind shall not
sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. |
11:5: As thou knowest not what is the way of
the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child:
even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. |
11:6: In the morning sow thy seed, and in the
evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper,
either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. |
11:7: Truly the light is sweet, and a
pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: |
11:8: But if a man live many years, and
rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they
shall be many. All that cometh is
vanity. |
11:9: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and
let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of
thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all
these things God will bring thee into judgment. |
11:10: Therefore remove sorrow from thy
heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. |
12:1: Remember now thy Creator in the days of
thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou
shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; |
12:2: While the sun, or the light, or the
moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: |
12:3: In 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 that look out of the windows
be darkened, |
12:4: And 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 musick shall be brought low; |
12:5: Also 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 goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: |
12:6: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or
the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the
wheel broken at the cistern. |
12:7: Then shall the dust return to the earth
as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. |
12:8: Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher;
all is vanity. |
12:9: And moreover, because the preacher was
wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and
sought out, and set in order many proverbs. |
|
|
|
|
|