Ecclesiastes:7-12
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A good name is better than precious ointment ;
and the day of death than the day of one '
s birth .
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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 .
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Sorrow is better than laughter :
for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better .
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The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning ;
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth .
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It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise ,
than for a man to hear the song of fools .
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For as the crackling of thorns under a pot ,
so is the laughter of the fool :
this also is vanity .
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Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad ;
and a gift destroyeth the heart .
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Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof :
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit .
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Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry :
for anger resteth in the bosom of fools .
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Say not thou ,
What is the cause that the former days were better than these ?
for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this .
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Wisdom is good with an inheritance :
and by it there is profit to them that see the sun .
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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 .
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Consider the work of God :
for who can make that straight ,
which he hath made crooked ?
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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 .
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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 .
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Be not righteous over much ;
neither make thyself over wise :
why shouldest thou destroy thyself ?
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Be not over much wicked ,
neither be thou foolish :
why shouldest thou die before thy time ?
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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 .
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Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city .
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For there is not a just man upon earth ,
that doeth good ,
and sinneth not .
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Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken ;
lest thou hear thy servant curse thee :
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For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others .
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All this have I proved by wisdom :
I said ,
I will be wise ;
but it was far from me .
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That which is far off ,
and exceeding deep ,
who can find it out ?
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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 :
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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 .
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Behold ,
this have I found ,
saith the preacher ,
counting one by one ,
to find out the account :
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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 .
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Lo ,
this only have I found ,
that God hath made man upright ;
but they have sought out many inventions .
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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 .
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I counsel thee to keep the king '
s commandment ,
and that in regard of the oath of God .
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Be not hasty to go out of his sight :
stand not in an evil thing ;
for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him .
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Where the word of a king is ,
there is power :
and who may say unto him ,
What doest thou ?
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Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing :
and a wise man '
s heart discerneth both time and judgment .
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Because to every purpose there is time and judgment ,
therefore the misery of man is great upon him .
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For he knoweth not that which shall be :
for who can tell him when it shall be ?
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 :
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 :)
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope :
for a living dog is better than a dead lion .
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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 .
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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 .
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Go thy way ,
eat thy bread with joy ,
and drink thy wine with a merry heart ;
for God now accepteth thy works .
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Let thy garments be always white ;
and let thy head lack no ointment .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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This wisdom have I seen also under the sun ,
and it seemed great unto me :
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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 :
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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 .
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Then said I ,
Wisdom is better than strength :
nevertheless the poor man '
s wisdom is despised ,
and his words are not heard .
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The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools .
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Wisdom is better than weapons of war :
but one sinner destroyeth much good .
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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 .
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A wise man '
s heart is at his right hand ;
but a fool '
s heart at his left .
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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 .
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If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee ,
leave not thy place ;
for yielding pacifieth great offences .
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There is an evil which I have seen under the sun ,
as an error which proceedeth from the ruler :
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Folly is set in great dignity ,
and the rich sit in low place .
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I have seen servants upon horses ,
and princes walking as servants upon the earth .
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He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it ;
and whoso breaketh an hedge ,
a serpent shall bite him .
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Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith ;
and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby .
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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 .
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Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment ;
and a babbler is no better .
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The words of a wise man '
s mouth are gracious ;
but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself .
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The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness :
and the end of his talk is mischievous madness .
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A fool also is full of words :
a man cannot tell what shall be ;
and what shall be after him ,
who can tell him ?
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The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them ,
because he knoweth not how to go to the city .
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Woe to thee ,
O land ,
when thy king is a child ,
and thy princes eat in the morning !
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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 !
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By much slothfulness the building decayeth ;
and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through .
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A feast is made for laughter ,
and wine maketh merry :
but money answereth all things .
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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 .
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Cast thy bread upon the waters :
for thou shalt find it after many days .
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Give a portion to seven ,
and also to eight ;
for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth .
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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 .
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He that observeth the wind shall not sow ;
and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap .
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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 .
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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 .
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Truly the light is sweet ,
and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun :
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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 .
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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 .
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Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart ,
and put away evil from thy flesh :
for childhood and youth are vanity .
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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 ;
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While the sun ,
or the light ,
or the moon ,
or the stars ,
be not darkened ,
nor the clouds return after the rain :
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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 ,
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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 ;
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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 :
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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 .
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Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was :
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it .
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Vanity of vanities ,
saith the preacher ;
all is vanity .
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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 .
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The preacher sought to find out acceptable words :
and that which was written was upright ,
even words of truth .
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The words of the wise are as goads ,
and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies ,
which are given from one shepherd .
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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 .
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Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter :
Fear God ,
and keep his commandments :
for this is the whole duty of man .
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For God shall bring every work into judgment ,
with every secret thing ,
whether it be good ,
or whether it be evil .
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