{1:1} The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in
Jerusalem. {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. {1:10} Is there
[any] thing whereof it may be said, See, this [is] new? it hath been
already of old time, which was before us. {1:11} [There is] no
remembrance of former [things;] neither shall there be [any]
remembrance of [things] that are to come with [those] that shall come
after.
{1:12} I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. {1:13} And
I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all
[things] that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given
to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. {1:14} I have seen all
the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all [is] vanity and
vexation of spirit. {1:15} [That which is] crooked cannot be made
straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. {1:16} I
communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate,
and have gotten more wisdom than all [they] that have been before me in
Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
{1:17} And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and
folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. {1:18} For in
much wisdom [is] much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge
increaseth sorrow.
{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 Jerusalem before me: {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 Jerusalem:
also my wisdom remained with me. {2:10} And whatsoever mine eyes
desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for
my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my
labour. {2:11} Then I looked on all the works that my hands had
wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all
[was] vanity and vexation of spirit, and [there was] no profit under
the sun. {2:12} And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and
folly: for what [can] the man [do] that cometh after the king? [even]
that which hath been already done. {2:13} Then I saw that wisdom
excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. {2:14} The wise
man's eyes [are] in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I
myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. {2:15} Then
said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even
to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this
also [is] vanity. {2:16} For [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 dieth the wise [man?] as the fool.
{2:17} Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under
the sun is grievous unto me: for all [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
{2:18} Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun:
because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. {2:19}
And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise [man] or a fool? yet shall
he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I
have shewed myself wise under the sun. This [is] also vanity. {2:20}
Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour
which I took under the sun. {2:21} For there is a man whose labour [is]
in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not
laboured therein shall he leave it [for] his portion. This also [is]
vanity and a great evil. {2:22} For what hath man of all his labour,
and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the
sun? {2:23} For all his days [are] sorrows, and his travail grief; yea,
his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
{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. {2:25} For
who can eat, or who else can hasten [hereunto,] more than I? {2:26} For
[God] giveth to a man that [is] good in his sight wisdom, and
knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and
to heap up, that he may give to [him that is] good before God. This
also [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
{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? {3:10} I have seen the
travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
{3:11} He hath made every [thing] beautiful in his time: also he hath
set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that
God maketh from the beginning to the end. {3:12} I know that [there is]
no good in them, but for [a man] to rejoice, and to do good in his
life. {3:13} And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy
the good of all his labour, it [is] the gift of God. {3:14} I know
that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to
it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth [it,] that [men] should
fear before him. {3:15} That which hath been is now; and that which is
to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
{3:16} And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment,
[that] wickedness [was] there; and the place of righteousness, [that]
iniquity [was] there. {3:17} I said in mine heart, God shall judge the
righteous and the wicked: for [there is] a time there for every purpose
and for every work. {3:18} I said in mine heart concerning the estate
of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might
see that they themselves are beasts. {3:19} For that which befalleth
the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the
one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a
man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all [is] vanity. {3:20} All
go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
{3:21} Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit
of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? {3:22} Wherefore 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?
{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. {12:10} The preacher sought to find out acceptable
words: and [that which was] written [was] upright, [even] words of
truth. {12:11} The words of the wise [are] as goads, and as nails
fastened by the masters of assemblies, [which] are given from one
shepherd. {12:12} And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of
making many books [there is] no end; and much study [is] a weariness of
the flesh.
{12:13} Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,
and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.
{12:14} For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.