1 Chronicles
Bible, King James Version
Ecclesiastes
Qoh.1
[
1] The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in
Jerusalem.
[
2] Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of
vanities; all is vanity.
[
3] What profit hath a man of all his labour
which he taketh under the sun?
[
4] One generation passeth away, and
another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
[
5] The sun
also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he
arose.
[
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.
[
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.
[
8] All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye
is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
12] I the Preacher was king over
Israel in Jerusalem.
[
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.
[
14] I
have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity
and vexation of spirit.
[
15] That which is crooked cannot be made
straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
[
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.
[
17] And I gave my
heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also
is vexation of spirit.
[
18] For in much wisdom is much grief: and he
that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Qoh.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]
I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
[
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.
[
4] I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me
vineyards:
[
5] I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in
them of all kind of fruits:
[
6] I made me pools of water, to water
therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:
[
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:
[
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.
[
9] So I
was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my
wisdom remained with me.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
13] Then I saw that
wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
20] Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of
all the labour which I took under the sun.
[
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.
[
22] For what hath man of all his labour, and of the
vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
[
23]
For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not
rest in the night. This is also vanity.
[
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.
[
25] For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than
I?
[
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.
Qoh.3
[
1] To every thing there is a season, and a time to every
purpose under the heaven:
[
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] 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 cast away stones, and a time to gather
stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing;
[
6] A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and
a time to cast away;
[
7] A time to rend, 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 of war, and a time of peace.
[
9] What profit hath he that
worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
[
10] I have seen the travail,
which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
[
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.
[
12] I know that there is no good in them, but for a man
to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
[
13] And also that every man
should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of
God.
[
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.
[
15] That which hath been is now; and that
which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is
past.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
20] All go unto one place; all are of the dust,
and all turn to dust again.
[
21] Who knoweth the spirit of man that
goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the
earth?
[
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?
Qoh.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.
[
2] Wherefore I praised the dead which are already
dead more than the living which are yet alive.
[
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] 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.
[
5] The fool foldeth his hands together, and
eateth his own flesh.
[
6] Better is an handful with quietness, than
both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
[
7] Then I
returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
[
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.
[
9] Two are better than one; because they have a
good reward for their labour.
[
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.
[
11] Again, if two lie together, then they
have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
[
12] And if one prevail
against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly
broken.
[
13] Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish
king, who will no more be admonished.
[
14] For out of prison he cometh
to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh
poor.
[
15] I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with
the second child that shall stand up in his stead.
[
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.
Qoh.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.
[
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.
[
3] For a dream
cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by
multitude of words.
[
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] Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou
shouldest vow and not pay.
[
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?
[
7] For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are
also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
[
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.
[
9] Moreover the profit of
the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.
[
10] He
that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth
abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
[
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?
[
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.
[
13] There is a sore evil which
I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their
hurt.
[
14] But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a
son, and there is nothing in his hand.
[
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.
[
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?
[
17] All his days also he eateth
in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
[
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.
[
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.
[
20] For he shall not much
remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his
heart.
Qoh.6
[
1] There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and
it is common among men:
[
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.
[
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.
[
4] For he cometh in with
vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with
darkness.
[
5] Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing:
this hath more rest than the other.
[
6] Yea, though he live a thousand
years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one
place?
[
7] All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the
appetite is not filled.
[
8] For what hath the wise more than the fool?
what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
[
9] Better
is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity
and vexation of spirit.
[
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.
[
11] Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what
is man the better?
[
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?
Qoh.7
[
1] A good name is better than precious ointment; and the
day of death than the day of one's birth.
[
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.
[
3] Sorrow is
better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made
better.
[
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 for a man to hear the song of fools.
[
6] For
as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this
also is vanity.
[
7] Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a
gift destroyeth the heart.
[
8] Better is the end of a thing than the
beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in
spirit.
[
9] Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth
in the bosom of fools.
[
10] Say not thou, What is the cause that the
former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning
this.
[
11] Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is
profit to them that see the sun.
[
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.
[
13] Consider the work of God: for who can make
that straight, which he hath made crooked?
[
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.
[
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.
[
16] Be not righteous over
much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy
thyself?
[
17] Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why
shouldest thou die before thy time?
[
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.
[
19] Wisdom
strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the
city.
[
20] For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good,
and sinneth not.
[
21] Also take no heed unto all words that are
spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
[
22] For oftentimes
also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed
others.
[
23] All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise;
but it was far from me.
[
24] That which is far off, and exceeding
deep, who can find it out?
[
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:
[
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.
[
27] Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher,
counting one by one, to find out the account:
[
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.
[
29] Lo, this only have I found,
that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
Qoh.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.
[
2] I counsel thee to keep the
king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.
[
3] Be not
hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth
whatsoever pleaseth him.
[
4] Where the word of a king is, there is
power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
[
5] Whoso keepeth
the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both
time and judgment.
[
6] Because to every purpose there is time and
judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
[
7] For he
knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall
be?
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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:
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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:)
[
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.
Qoh.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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
4] For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope:
for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
[
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.
[
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.
[
7] Go thy
way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now
accepteth thy works.
[
8] Let thy garments be always white; and let thy
head lack no ointment.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
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.
[
13] This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed
great unto me:
[
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:
[
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.
[
16] Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless
the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
[
17]
The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth
among fools.
[
18] Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner
destroyeth much good.
Qoh.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.
[
2] A wise man's heart is at his right hand;
but a fool's heart at his left.
[
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.
[
4] If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not
thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.
[
5] There is an evil
which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the
ruler:
[
6] Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low
place.
[
7] I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as
servants upon the earth.
[
8] He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it;
and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
[
9] Whoso
removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be
endangered thereby.
[
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.
[
11] Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a
babbler is no better.
[
12] The words of a wise man's mouth are
gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
[
13] The
beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is
mischievous madness.
[
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?
[
15] The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them,
because he knoweth not how to go to the city.
[
16] Woe to thee, O
land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the
morning!
[
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!
[
18] By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and
through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
[
19] A feast
is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all
things.
[
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.
Qoh.11
[
1] Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it
after many days.
[
2] Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for
thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
[
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.
[
4] He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and
he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
[
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.
[
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.
[
7] Truly the light is sweet,
and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
[
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.
[
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.
[
10] Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away
evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
Qoh.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;
[
2] While the sun, or the light, or the
moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the
rain:
[
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,
[
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;
[
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:
[
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.
[
7] Then shall the
dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who
gave it.
[
8] Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is
vanity.
[
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.
[
10] The preacher sought to find out acceptable
words: and that which was written was upright, even words of
truth.
[
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]
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.
[
13] Let us hear the
conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is
the whole duty of man.
[
14] For God shall bring every work into
judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be
evil.
