nkjv Ecclesiastes:7-12 SEEK
Seeker Overlay ON
*
A good name is better than precious ointment ,
And the day of death than the day of one '
s birth ;
*
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 take it to heart .
*
Sorrow is better than laughter ,
For by a sad 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 like the crackling of thorns under a pot ,
So is the laughter of the fool .
This also is vanity .
*
Surely oppression destroys a wise man '
s reason ,
And a bribe debases the heart .
*
The end of a thing is better than its beginning ;
The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit .
*
Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry ,
For anger rests in the bosom of fools .
*
Do not say , "
Why were the former days better than these ?"
For you do not inquire wisely concerning this .
*
Wisdom is good with an inheritance ,
And profitable to those who see the sun .
*
For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense ,
But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it .
*
Consider the work of God ;
For who can make straight what He has made crooked ?
*
In the day of prosperity be joyful ,
But in the day of adversity consider :
Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other ,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him .
*
I have seen everything in my days of vanity :
There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness ,
And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness .
*
Do not be overly righteous ,
Nor be overly wise :
Why should you destroy yourself ?
*
Do not be overly wicked ,
Nor be foolish :
Why should you die before your time ?
*
It is good that you grasp this ,
And also not remove your hand from the other ;
For he who fears God will escape them all .
*
Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city .
*
For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin .
*
Also do not take to heart everything people say ,
Lest you hear your servant cursing you .
*
For many times ,
also ,
your own heart has known That even you have cursed others .
*
All this I have proved by wisdom .
I said , "
I will be wise ";
But it was far from me .
*
As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep ,
Who can find it out ?
*
I applied my heart to know ,
To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things ,
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 ,
Whose hands are fetters .
He who pleases God shall escape from her ,
But the sinner shall be trapped by her .
* "
Here is what I have found ,"
says the Preacher , "
Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason ,
*
Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find :
One man among a thousand I have found ,
But a woman among all these I have not found .
*
Truly ,
this only I have found :
That God made man upright ,
But they have sought out many schemes ."
*
Who is like a wise man ?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing ?
A man '
s wisdom makes his face shine ,
And the sternness of his face is changed .
*
I say , "
Keep the king '
s commandment for the sake of your oath to God .
*
Do not be hasty to go from his presence .
Do not take your stand for an evil thing ,
for he does whatever pleases him ."
*
Where the word of a king is ,
there is power ;
And who may say to him , "
What are you doing ?"
*
He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful ;
And a wise man '
s heart discerns both time and judgment ,
*
Because for every matter there is a time and judgment ,
Though the misery of man increases greatly .
*
For he does not know what will happen ;
So who can tell him when it will occur ?
*
No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit ,
And no one has power in the day of death .
There is no release from that war ,
And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it .
*
All this I have seen ,
and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun :
There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt .
*
Then I saw the wicked buried ,
who had come and gone from the place of holiness ,
and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done .
This also is vanity .
*
Because the 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 does evil a hundred times ,
and his days are prolonged ,
yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God ,
who fear before Him .
*
But it will not be well with the wicked ;
nor will he prolong his days ,
which are as a shadow ,
because he does not fear before God .
*
There is a vanity which occurs on earth ,
that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked ;
again ,
there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous .
I said that this also is vanity .
*
So I commended enjoyment ,
because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat ,
drink ,
and be merry ;
for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun .
*
When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth ,
even though one sees no sleep day or night ,
*
then I saw all the work of God ,
that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun .
For though a man labors to discover it ,
yet he will not find it ;
moreover ,
though a wise man attempts to know it ,
he will not be able to find it .
*
For I considered all this in my heart ,
so that I could declare it all :
that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God .
People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them .
*
All things come alike to all :
One event happens to the righteous and the wicked ;
To the good ,
the clean ,
and the unclean ;
To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice .
As is the good ,
so is the sinner ;
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath .
*
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun :
that one thing happens to all .
Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil ;
madness is in their hearts while they live ,
and after that they go to the dead .
*
But for him who 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 will die ;
But the dead know nothing ,
And they have no more reward ,
For the memory of them is forgotten .
*
Also their love ,
their hatred ,
and their envy have now perished ;
Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun .
*
Go ,
eat your bread with joy ,
And drink your wine with a merry heart ;
For God has already accepted your works .
*
Let your garments always be white ,
And let your head lack no oil .
*
Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun ,
all your days of vanity ;
for that is your portion in life ,
and in the labor which you perform under the sun .
*
Whatever your hand finds to do ,
do it with your might ;
for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going .
*
I returned and saw under the sun that --
The race is not to the swift ,
Nor the battle to the strong ,
Nor bread to the wise ,
Nor riches to men of understanding ,
Nor favor to men of skill ;
But time and chance happen to them all .
*
For man also does not know his time :
Like fish taken in a cruel net ,
Like birds caught in a snare ,
So the sons of men are snared in an evil time ,
When it falls suddenly upon them .
*
This wisdom I have also seen under the sun ,
and it seemed great to me :
*
There was a little city with few men in it ;
and a great king came against it ,
besieged it ,
and built great snares around it .
*
Now there was found in it a poor wise man ,
and he by his wisdom delivered the city .
Yet no one remembered that same poor man .
*
Then I said : "
Wisdom is better than strength .
Nevertheless the poor man '
s wisdom is despised ,
And his words are not heard .
*
Words of the wise ,
spoken quietly ,
should be heard Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools .
*
Wisdom is better than weapons of war ;
But one sinner destroys much good ."
*
Dead flies putrefy the perfumer '
s ointment ,
And cause it to give off a foul odor ;
So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor .
*
A wise man '
s heart is at his right hand ,
But a fool '
s heart at his left .
*
Even when a fool walks along the way ,
He lacks wisdom ,
And he shows everyone that he is a fool .
*
If the spirit of the ruler rises against you ,
Do not leave your post ;
For conciliation pacifies great offenses .
*
There is an evil I have seen under the sun ,
As an error proceeding from the ruler :
*
Folly is set in great dignity ,
While the rich sit in a lowly place .
*
I have seen servants on horses ,
While princes walk on the ground like servants .
*
He who digs a pit will fall into it ,
And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent .
*
He who quarries stones may be hurt by them ,
And he who splits wood may be endangered by it .
*
If the ax is dull ,
And one does not sharpen the edge ,
Then he must use more strength ;
But wisdom brings success .
*
A serpent may bite when it is not charmed ;
The babbler is no different .
*
The words of a wise man '
s mouth are gracious ,
But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up ;
*
The words of his mouth begin with foolishness ,
And the end of his talk is raving madness .
*
A fool also multiplies words .
No man knows what is to be ;
Who can tell him what will be after him ?
*
The labor of fools wearies them ,
For they do not even know how to go to the city !
*
Woe to you ,
O land ,
when your king is a child ,
And your princes feast in the morning !
*
Blessed are you ,
O land ,
when your king is the son of nobles ,
And your princes feast at the proper time --
For strength and not for drunkenness !
*
Because of laziness the building decays ,
And through idleness of hands the house leaks .
*
A feast is made for laughter ,
And wine makes merry ;
But money answers everything .
*
Do not curse the king ,
even in your thought ;
Do not curse the rich ,
even in your bedroom ;
For a bird of the air may carry your voice ,
And a bird in flight may tell the matter .
*
Cast your bread upon the waters ,
For you will find it after many days .
*
Give a serving to seven ,
and also to eight ,
For you do not know what evil will be on the earth .
*
If the clouds are full of rain ,
They empty themselves upon the earth ;
And if a tree falls to the south or the north ,
In the place where the tree falls ,
there it shall lie .
*
He who observes the wind will not sow ,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap .
*
As you do not know what is the way of the wind ,
Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child ,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything .
*
In the morning sow your seed ,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand ;
For you do not know which will prosper ,
Either this or that ,
Or whether both alike will be good .
*
Truly the light is sweet ,
And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun ;
*
But if a man lives many years And rejoices in them all ,
Yet let him remember the days of darkness ,
For they will be many .
All that is coming is vanity .
*
Rejoice ,
O young man ,
in your youth ,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth ;
Walk in the ways of your heart ,
And in the sight of your eyes ;
But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment .
*
Therefore remove sorrow from your heart ,
And put away evil from your flesh ,
For childhood and youth are vanity .
*
Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth ,
Before the difficult days come ,
And the years draw near when you say , "
I have no pleasure in them ":
*
While the sun and the light ,
The moon and the stars ,
Are not darkened ,
And the clouds do not return after the rain ;
*
In the day when the keepers of the house tremble ,
And the strong men bow down ;
When the grinders cease because they are few ,
And those that look through the windows grow dim ;
*
When the doors are shut in the streets ,
And the sound of grinding is low ;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird ,
And all the daughters of music are brought low .
*
Also they are afraid of height ,
And of terrors in the way ;
When the almond tree blossoms ,
The grasshopper is a burden ,
And desire fails .
For man goes to his eternal home ,
And the mourners go about the streets .
*
Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed ,
Or the golden bowl is broken ,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain ,
Or the wheel broken at the well .
*
Then the dust will return to the earth as it was ,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it .
* "
Vanity of vanities ,"
says the Preacher , "
All is vanity ."
*
And moreover ,
because the Preacher was wise ,
he still taught the people knowledge ;
yes ,
he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs .
*
The Preacher sought to find acceptable words ;
and what was written was upright--words of truth .
*
The words of the wise are like goads ,
and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails ,
given by one Shepherd .
*
And further ,
my son ,
be admonished by these .
Of making many books there is no end ,
and much study is wearisome to the flesh .
*
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter :
Fear God and keep His commandments ,
For this is man '
s all .
*
For God will bring every work into judgment ,
Including every secret thing ,
Whether good or evil .