The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of
vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a
man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth
abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth
to his place where he arose. 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. 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.
All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with
seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
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. Is there any
thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old
time, which was before us. 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.
I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 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.
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is
vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight:
and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. 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. And I gave my heart to know wisdom,
and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge
increaseth sorrow.
I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy
pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of
mirth, What doeth it? 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. I made me great works; I builded me houses;
I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees
in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the
wood that bringeth forth trees: 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: 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. So I was great, and increased more
than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with
me. 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. 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.
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. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth
darkness. 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.
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. 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.
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.
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. 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. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair
of all the labour which I took under the sun. 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. For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his
heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? For all his days are sorrows,
and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also
vanity.
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. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto,
more than I? 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.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to
pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to
break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a
time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to
gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to
cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a
time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of
peace. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? I have
seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in
it.
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. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to
rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and
drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. 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. That
which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God
requireth that which is past.
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness
was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 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. 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. 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. All go unto one place; all are of
the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth
upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
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?
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. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more
than the living which are yet alive. 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.
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. The fool
foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. Better is an handful with
quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. 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.
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
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. Again, if two lie together,
then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail
against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly
broken.
Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no
more be admonished. For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he
that is born in his kingdom becometh poor. I considered all the living which
walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.
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.
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.
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. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a
fool's voice is known by multitude of words.
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. Better is it that thou
shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 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? For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also
divers vanities: but fear thou God.
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.
Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the
field. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth
abundance with increase: this is also vanity. 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? 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. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely,
riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by
evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 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.
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? All his days also he
eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
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. 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. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God
answereth him in the joy of his heart.
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among
men: 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.
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. For he cometh in with
vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with
darkness. Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath
more rest than the other.
Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do
not all go to one place?
All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For
what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to
walk before the living?
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also
vanity and vexation of spirit. 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.
Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? 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?
A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the
day of one's birth.
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.
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the
heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but
the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the
wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns
under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in
spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry:
for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Say not thou, What is the cause that
the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely
concerning this.
Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see
the sun. 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. Consider the
work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? 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. 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. Be not righteous over much; neither
make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over
much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy
time? 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.
Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the
city. For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant
curse thee: For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself
likewise hast cursed others.
All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out? 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:
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. Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher,
counting one by one, to find out the account: 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. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man
upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
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. I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard
of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil
thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. Where the word of a king is,
there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? Whoso keepeth
the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth
both time and judgment.
Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery
of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who
can tell him when it shall be? 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.
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.
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. 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.
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: 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.
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. 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.
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:) 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.
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. 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. 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.
For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better
than a dead lion. 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. 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.
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for
God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy
head lack no ointment. 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. 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.
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. 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.
This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
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: 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. Then said I, Wisdom is better than
strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are
not heard. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him
that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one
sinner destroyeth much good.
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.
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. 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.
If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding
pacifieth great offences. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as
an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the
rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as
servants upon the earth. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso
breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso removeth stones shall be
hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. 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. Surely the serpent will bite
without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.
The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will
swallow up himself. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness:
and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. A fool also is full of words: a
man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?
The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth
not how to go to the city.
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the
morning! 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!
By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the
hands the house droppeth through.
A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth
all things.
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.
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a
portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be
upon the earth. 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. He that observeth the wind shall not
sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. 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.
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.
Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the
sun: 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.
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.
Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh:
for childhood and youth are vanity.
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; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened,
nor the clouds return after the rain: 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, 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; 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: 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. Then shall the
dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who
gave it.
Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. 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. The preacher sought
to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even
words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by
the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. 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.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every
work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it
be evil.