ECCLESIASTES
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 -
6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 -
12
TOC
Maps
The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king
in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is
vanity. 3 What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the
sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south, and goes around to the north; round and round
goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 7 All streams run to the
sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they
continue to flow. 8 All things are wearisome; more than one can express; the eye
is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is
what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new
under the sun. 10 Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It
has already been, in the ages before us. 11 The people of long ago are not
remembered, nor will there be any remembrance of people yet to come by those who
come after them. 12 I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13
applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under
heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy
with. 14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity
and a chasing after wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what
is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said to myself, "I have acquired great
wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had
great experience of wisdom and knowledge." 17 And I applied my mind to know
wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a
chasing after wind. 18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and those who
increase knowledge increase sorrow.
Return to Top
I said to myself, "Come now, I will make a test of pleasure;
enjoy yourself." But again, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter, "It is
mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?" 3 I searched with my mind how to cheer
my body with wine--my mind still guiding me with wisdom--and how to lay hold on
folly, until I might see what was good for mortals to do under heaven during the
few days of their life. 4 I made great works; I built houses and planted
vineyards for myself; 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all
kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of
growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born
in my house; I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who
had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold
and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I got singers, both men and
women, and delights of the flesh, and many concubines. 9 So I became great and
surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me.
10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no
pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for
all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had
spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there
was nothing to be gained under the sun. 12 So I turned to consider wisdom and
madness and folly; for what can the one do who comes after the king? Only what
has already been done. 13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels
darkness. 14 The wise have eyes in their head, but fools walk in darkness. Yet I
perceived that the same fate befalls all of them. 15 Then I said to myself,
"What happens to the fool will happen to me also; why then have I been so very
wise?" And I said to myself that this also is vanity. 16 For there is no
enduring remembrance of the wise or of fools, seeing that in the days to come
all will have been long forgotten. How can the wise die just like fools? 17 So I
hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me; for all is
vanity and a chasing after wind. 18 I hated all my toil in which I had toiled
under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me 19 --and
who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all
for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So
I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors
under the sun, 21 because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge
and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This
also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What do mortals get from all the toil and
strain with which they toil under the sun? 23 For all their days are full of
pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This
also is vanity. 24 There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink,
and find enjoyment in their toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God; 25
for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who
pleases him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives
the work of gathering and heaping, only to give to one who pleases God. This
also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
Return to Top
For everything there is a season, and a time for every
matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant,
and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a
time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to
laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to throw away stones, and
a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to
throw away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a
time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time
for peace. 9 What gain have the workers from their toil? 10 I have seen the
business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. 11 He has made
everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future
into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning
to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and
enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 moreover, it is God's gift that all
should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. 14 I know that
whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything
taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him. 15
That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks
out what has gone by. 16 Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of
justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was
there as well. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the
wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work. 18 I
said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show
that they are but animals. 19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is
the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and
humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. 20 All go to one
place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knows whether
the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the
earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that all should enjoy their
work, for that is their lot; who can bring them to see what will be after them?
Return to Top
Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the
sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed--with no one to comfort them! On the side
of their oppressors there was power--with no one to comfort them. 2 And I
thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are
still alive; 3 but better than both is the one who has not yet been, and has not
seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. 4 Then I saw that all toil and
all skill in work come from one person's envy of another. This also is vanity
and a chasing after wind. 5 Fools fold their hands and consume their own flesh.
6 Better is a handful with quiet than two handfuls with toil, and a chasing
after wind. 7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 the case of solitary
individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil,
and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. "For whom am I toiling," they
ask, "and depriving myself of pleasure?" This also is vanity and an unhappy
business. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their
toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is
alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11 Again, if two lie
together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one
might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not
quickly broken. 13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king,
who will no longer take advice. 14 One can indeed come out of prison to reign,
even though born poor in the kingdom. 15 I saw all the living who, moving about
under the sun, follow that youth who replaced the king; 16 there was no end to
all those people whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
Return to Top
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw
near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools; for they do not
know how to keep from doing evil. 2 Never be rash with your mouth, nor let your
heart be quick to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon
earth; therefore let your words be few. 3 For dreams come with many cares, and a
fool's voice with many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay
fulfilling it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow. 5 It is
better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not fulfill it. 6 Do
not let your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that
it was a mistake; why should God be angry at your words, and destroy the work of
your hands? 7 With many dreams come vanities and a multitude of words; but fear
God. 8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of
justice and right, do not be amazed at the matter; for the high official is
watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 9 But all things
considered, this is an advantage for a land: a king for a plowed field. 10 The
lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with
gain. This also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, those who eat them increase;
and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the
sleep of laborers, whether they eat little or much; but the surfeit of the rich
will not let them sleep. 13 There is a grievous ill that I have seen under the
sun: riches were kept by their owners to their hurt, 14 and those riches were
lost in a bad venture; though they are parents of children, they have nothing in
their hands. 15 As they came from their mother's womb, so they shall go again,
naked as they came; they shall take nothing for their toil, which they may carry
away with their hands. 16 This also is a grievous ill: just as they came, so
shall they go; and what gain do they have from toiling for the wind? 17 Besides,
all their days they eat in darkness, in much vexation and sickness and
resentment. 18 This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and
drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the
few days of the life God gives us; for this is our lot. 19 Likewise all to whom
God gives wealth and possessions and whom he enables to enjoy them, and to
accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil--this is the gift of God. 20
For they will scarcely brood over the days of their lives, because God keeps
them occupied with the joy of their hearts.
Return to Top
There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies
heavy upon humankind: 2 those to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor,
so that they lack nothing of all that they desire, yet God does not enable them
to enjoy these things, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a
grievous ill. 3 A man may beget a hundred children, and live many years; but
however many are the days of his years, if he does not enjoy life's good things,
or has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it
comes into vanity and goes into darkness, and in darkness its name is covered; 5
moreover it has not seen the sun or known anything; yet it finds rest rather
than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no
good--do not all go to one place? 7 All human toil is for the mouth, yet the
appetite is not satisfied. 8 For what advantage have the wise over fools? And
what do the poor have who know how to conduct themselves before the living? 9
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is
vanity and a chasing after wind. 10 Whatever has come to be has already been
named, and it is known what human beings are, and that they are not able to
dispute with those who are stronger. 11 The more words, the more vanity, so how
is one the better? 12 For who knows what is good for mortals while they live the
few days of their vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For who can tell
them what will be after them under the sun?
Return to Top
A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of
death, than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than
to go to the house of feasting; for this is the end of everyone, and the living
will lay it to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of
countenance the heart is made glad. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of
mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better to
hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. 6 For like the
crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools; this also is
vanity. 7 Surely oppression makes the wise foolish, and a bribe corrupts the
heart. 8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; the patient in spirit
are better than the proud in spirit. 9 Do not be quick to anger, for anger
lodges in the bosom of fools. 10 Do not say, "Why were the former days better
than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. 11 Wisdom is as good
as an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. 12 For the protection
of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is
that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it. 13 Consider the work of God;
who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be
joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as
the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.
15 In my vain life I have seen everything; there are righteous people who perish
in their righteousness, and there are wicked people who prolong their life in
their evildoing. 16 Do not be too righteous, and do not act too wise; why should
you destroy yourself? 17 Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should
you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of the one,
without letting go of the other; for the one who fears God shall succeed with
both. 19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise more than ten rulers that are in a
city. 20 Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever
sinning. 21 Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your
servant cursing you; 22 your heart knows that many times you have yourself
cursed others. 23 All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, "I will be wise,"
but it was far from me. 24 That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who
can find it out? 25 I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek
wisdom and the sum of things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that
foolishness is madness. 26 I found more bitter than death the woman who is a
trap, whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters; one who pleases
God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her. 27 See, this is what I found,
says the Teacher, adding one thing to another to find the sum, 28 which my mind
has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found,
but a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that
God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes.
Return to Top
Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation
of a thing? Wisdom makes one's face shine, and the hardness of one's countenance
is changed. 2 Keep the king's command because of your sacred oath. 3 Do not be
terrified; go from his presence, do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, for
he does whatever he pleases. 4 For the word of the king is powerful, and who can
say to him, "What are you doing?" 5 Whoever obeys a command will meet no harm,
and the wise mind will know the time and way. 6 For every matter has its time
and way, although the troubles of mortals lie heavy upon them. 7 Indeed, they do
not know what is to be, for who can tell them how it will be? 8 No one has power
over the wind to restrain the wind, or power over the day of death; there is no
discharge from the battle, nor does wickedness deliver those who practice it. 9
All this I observed, applying my mind to all that is done under the sun, while
one person exercises authority over another to the other's hurt. 10 Then I saw
the wicked buried; they used to go in and out of the holy place, and were
praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. 11
Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the human heart
is fully set to do evil. 12 Though sinners do evil a hundred times and prolong
their lives, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because
they stand in fear before him, 13 but it will not be well with the wicked,
neither will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in
fear before God. 14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are
righteous people who are treated according to the conduct of the wicked, and
there are wicked people who are treated according to the conduct of the
righteous. I said that this also is vanity. 15 So I commend enjoyment, for there
is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy
themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life
that God gives them under the sun. 16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom, and
to see the business that is done on earth, how one's eyes see sleep neither day
nor night, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that no one can find out what is
happening under the sun. However much they may toil in seeking, they will not
find it out; even though those who are wise claim to know, they cannot find it
out.
Return to Top
All this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the
righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is
love or hate one does not know. Everything that confronts them 2 is vanity,
since the same fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good
and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to those who sacrifice and those who
do not sacrifice. As are the good, so are the sinners; those who swear are like
those who shun an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that happens under the sun,
that the same fate comes to everyone. Moreover, the hearts of all are full of
evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the
dead. 4 But whoever is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is
better than a dead lion. 5 The living know that they will die, but the dead know
nothing; they have no more reward, and even the memory of them is lost. 6 Their
love and their hate and their envy have already perished; never again will they
have any share in all that happens under the sun. 7 Go, eat your bread with
enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved
what you do. 8 Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on
your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain
life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and
in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do,
do with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in
Sheol, to which you are going. 11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not
to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to
the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them
all. 12 For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a
cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of
calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them. 13 I have also seen this example of
wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14 There was a little city with
few people in it. A great king came against it and besieged it, building great
siegeworks against it. 15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by
his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 So I
said, "Wisdom is better than might; yet the poor man's wisdom is despised, and
his words are not heeded." 17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of
war, but one bungler destroys much good.
Return to Top
Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a foul
odor; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. 2 The heart of the wise
inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left. 3 Even when fools
walk on the road, they lack sense, and show to everyone that they are fools. 4
If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post, for
calmness will undo great offenses. 5 There is an evil that I have seen under the
sun, as great an error as if it proceeded from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many
high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horseback,
and princes walking on foot like slaves. 8 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it;
and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a snake. 9 Whoever quarries
stones will be hurt by them; and whoever splits logs will be endangered by them.
10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not whet the edge, then more strength must
be exerted; but wisdom helps one to succeed. 11 If the snake bites before it is
charmed, there is no advantage in a charmer. 12 Words spoken by the wise bring
them favor, but the lips of fools consume them. 13 The words of their mouths
begin in foolishness, and their talk ends in wicked madness; 14 yet fools talk
on and on. No one knows what is to happen, and who can tell anyone what the
future holds? 15 The toil of fools wears them out, for they do not even know the
way to town. 16 Alas for you, O land, when your king is a servant, and your
princes feast in the morning! 17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is a
nobleman, and your princes feast at the proper time-- for strength, and not for
drunkenness! 18 Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house
leaks. 19 Feasts are made for laughter; wine gladdens life, and money meets
every need. 20 Do not curse the king, even in your thoughts, or curse the rich,
even in your bedroom; for a bird of the air may carry your voice, or some winged
creature tell the matter.
Return to Top
Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days
you will get it back. 2 Divide your means seven ways, or even eight, for you do
not know what disaster may happen on earth. 3 When clouds are full, they empty
rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the
place where the tree falls, there it will lie. 4 Whoever observes the wind will
not sow; and whoever regards the clouds will not reap. 5 Just as you do not know
how the breath comes to the bones in the mother's womb, so you do not know the
work of God, who makes everything. 6 In the morning sow your seed, and at
evening do not let your hands be idle; for you do not know which will prosper,
this or that, or whether both alike will be good. 7 Light is sweet, and it is
pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. 8 Even those who live many years should
rejoice in them all; yet let them remember that the days of darkness will be
many. All that comes is vanity. 9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and
let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the inclination of
your heart and the desire of your eyes, but know that for all these things God
will bring you into judgment. 10 Banish anxiety from your mind, and put away
pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
Return to Top
Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the
days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no
pleasure in them"; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are
darkened and the clouds return with the rain; 3 in the day when the guards of
the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the women who grind cease
working because they are few, and those who look through the windows see dimly;
4 when the doors on the street are shut, and the sound of the grinding is low,
and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are
brought low; 5 when one is afraid of heights, and terrors are in the road; the
almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails;
because all must go to their eternal home, and the mourners will go about the
streets; 6 before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and
the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern, 7
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who
gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher; all is vanity. 9 Besides being
wise, the Teacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and
arranging many proverbs. 10 The Teacher sought to find pleasing words, and he
wrote words of truth plainly. 11 The sayings of the wise are like goads, and
like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings that are given by one
shepherd. 12 Of anything beyond these, my child, beware. Of making many books
there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13 The end of the
matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the
whole duty of everyone. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
BACK TO TOP
BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS