10 Whatever aexists has already been named, and it is known what man is; and he bcannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is. 11 For there are many words which increase vanity. What then is the advantage to a man? 12 For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few days of his vain life? He will make do with them like a ashadow. For who can tell a man bwhat will be after him under the sun?
Wisdom and Folly Contrasted
Better is a agood name than good oil,
And better is the bday of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.
2 Better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting
Because that is the aend of all mankind,
And the living bputs this in his heart.
3 aBetter is vexation than laughter,
For bwhen a face is sad a heart may be merry.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.
5 Better to alisten to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling sound of athorn bushes under a pot,
So is the blaughter of the fool;
And this too is vanity.
7 For aoppression gives a wise man over to madness,
And a bbribe destroys the heart.
8 Better is the aend of a matter than its beginning;
bBetter is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit.
9 Do not be aeager in your spirit to be vexed,
For vexation rests in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good
And an aadvantage to those who see the sun.
12 For awisdom is a bshadow of protection as money is a shadow of protection,
And the advantage of knowledge is that cwisdom preserves the lives of its masters.
13 See the awork of God,
For who is bable to straighten what He has bent?
14 aIn the day when there is good be of good cheer,
But bin the day when there is evil see—
God has made the one as well as the other
So that man will cnot find out anything that will be after him.
15 I have seen everything during my adays of vanity; there is ba righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is ca wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Do not be excessively arighteous, and do not bbe overly wise. Why should you make yourself desolate? 17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a simpleminded fool. Why should you adie before your time? 18 It is good that you seize one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who afears God comes forth with both of them.
19 aWisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten men with power who are in a city. 20 Indeed, athere is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. 21 Also, do not give your heart to all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your slave acursing you. 22 For your heart also knows that you likewise have many times cursed others.
23 I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” abut it was far from me. 24 What has been is far away and aexceedingly deep. bWho can find it? 25 I aturned my heart to know, to explore, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the wickedness of foolishness and the simpleminded folly of madness. 26 And I found more abitter than death the woman whose heart is bsnares and nets, whose hands are chains. cOne who is good before God will escape from her, but dthe sinner will be captured by her.
27 “See, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28 which my soul still seeks but has not found. I have found one man out of a thousand, but I have not found a awoman among all these. 29 See, I have found only this, that aGod made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”
Keep the Command of the King
Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom aillumines his face and causes his bstern face to beam.
2 I say, “Keep the command of the king because of the asworn oath before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry ato go from his presence. Do not stand in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.” 4 Since the word of the king is powerful, awho will say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 He who akeeps a royal command bexperiences no evil thing, for a wise heart knows the proper time and custom. 6 For athere is a proper time and custom for every matter, though a man’s trouble is multiplied upon him. 7 If no one aknows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen? 8 aThere is no man who has power to restrain the wind with the wind, and there is none who has power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and bwickedness will not provide escape to its masters. 9 All this I have seen and given my heart to every work that has been done under the sun wherein a man has apower over another man to his calamity.
10 So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are asoon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is vanity. 11 Because the asentence against an evil work is not executed quickly, therefore bthe hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. 12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may aprolong his life, still I know that it will be bwell for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. 13 But it will anot be well for the wicked man, and he will not prolong his days like a bshadow, because he does not fear God openly.
14 There is vanity which is done on the earth, that is, there are arighteous men to whom it happens according to the works of the wicked. On the other hand, there are bwicked men to whom it happens according to the works of the righteous. I say that this too is vanity. 15 So I laud gladness, for there is nothing good for aa man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will join with him in his labor throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
16 When I agave my heart to know wisdom and to see the endeavor which has been done on the earth (even though one bnever sees sleep with his eyes day or night), 17 and I saw every work of God, I concluded that aman cannot find out the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not find it out; and bthough the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot find it out.
Mankind Is in the Hand of God
For I have given all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their service are ain the hand of God. bMan does not know whether it will be clove or hatred; anything may be before him.
2 aIt is the same for all. There is bone fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is aone fate for all. Furthermore, bthe hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and cmadness is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. 4 For whoever is joined with all the living, there is confidence; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know they will die; but the dead ado not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for the bmemory of them is forgotten. 6 Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will never again have a aportion in all that is done under the sun.
7 Go then, aeat your bread in gladness and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. 8 Let your aclothes be white all the time, and let not boil be lacking on your head. 9 See life with the woman whom you love all the days of your avain life, which He has given to you under the sun—all the days of your avanity; for this is your bportion in life and in your labor in which you have labored under the sun.
Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, ado it with all your might; for there is no bworking or explaining or knowledge or wisdom in cSheol where you are going.
11 I again saw under the sun that the arace is not to the swift and the bbattle is not to the mighty, and neither is bread to the wise nor criches to the discerning nor favor to men who know; for time and dmisfortune overtake them all. 12 Moreover, man does not aknow his time: like fish seized in an evil net and bbirds seized in a trap, so the sons of men are censnared at an evil time when it dsuddenly falls on them.
13 Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me. 14 There awas a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and built large siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it a apoor wise man, and he provided a way of escape for the city bby his wisdom. Yet cno one remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, “aWisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard. 17 The awords of the wise heard in restfulness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 aWisdom is better than weapons of war, but bone sinner destroys much good.
The Folly of a Simpleminded Fool
Dead flies make a aperfumer’s oil stink, so a little simpleminded folly is weightier than wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish aman’s heart directs him toward the left. 3 Even when the simpleminded fool walks along the road, his heart lacks wisdom, and he asays to all that he is a simpleminded fool. 4 If the ruler’s temper rises against you, ado not abandon your position, because bcalmness causes great offenses to be abandoned.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake which goes forth from the one in power— 6 afolly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. 7 I have seen aslaves riding bon horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.
8 aHe who digs a pit may fall into it, and a bserpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. 9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. 10 If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. 11 If the serpent bites abefore being charmed, there is no advantage for the charmer. 12 aWords from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, but the lips of a bfool swallow him up; 13 the beginning of the words of his mouth is simpleminded folly, and the end of what comes from his mouth is evil amadness. 14 Yet the asimpleminded fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him bwhat will come after him? 15 The labor of a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city. 16 Woe to you, O land, whose aking is a young man and whose princes eat in the morning. 17 Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for might and not for adrinking. 18 Through aindolence the beams sag, and through slack hands the house leaks. 19 Men prepare bread for laughter, and awine makes life glad, and bmoney is the answer to everything. 20 Furthermore, ain your bedchamber do not bcurse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the sky will bring the sound and the winged creature will tell the matter.
Cast Your Bread on the Waters
aCast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you awill find it after many days. 2 aDivide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what bcalamity may occur on the earth. 3 If the clouds are full, they empty the rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies. 4 He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. 5 Just as you do not aknow the path of the wind and bhow bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not cknow the work of God who works all things.
6 Sow your seed ain the morning and do not put your hands down in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.
7 The light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to asee the sun. 8 Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him abe glad in them all, and let him remember the bdays of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be vanity.
9 Be glad, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be merry during the days of young manhood. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the asights of your eyes. Yet know that bGod will bring you to judgment for all these things. 10 So, remove vexation from your heart and put away aevil from your flesh because childhood and the prime of life are vanity.
Remember Your Creator in Your Youth
aRemember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the bevil days happen and the years draw near in which you will say, “I have no delight in them”; 2 before the asun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; 3 in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and valiant men abend down, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and bthose who look through windows grow dark; 4 and the doors on the street are shut as the asound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the bdaughters of song will sing softly. 5 Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blooms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal ahome, but the bmourners go about in the street. 6 Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the agolden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is broken and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 7 then the adust will return to the earth as it was, and the bspirit will return to cGod who gave it. 8 “aVanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”
Fear God and Keep His Commandments
9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and arranged amany proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find adelightful words and bwords of truth written uprightly.
11 The awords of wise men are like bgoads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven cnails; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 But in addition to this, my son, be warned: the making of amany books is endless, and much bdevotion to books is wearying to the flesh.
13 The end of the matter, all that has been heard: afear God and bkeep His commandments, because this is the end of the matter for call mankind. 14 For aGod will bring every work to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.