MacWorld 1996 July/Macworld (1996-07).dmg/Shareware World/Communication/WarpSearch CGI 1.0/The_Bible/ecclesiastes.txt

Text File | 1996-04-13 | 29.5 KB | 587 lines | [TEXT/R*ch]

The next file is: ECCLESIASTES
1:1 The words of the preacher, the son of David, king of
 Jerusalem.
1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities;
 all [is] vanity.
1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labor, which he taketh
 under the sun?
1:4 [One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation
 cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
1:5 The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to
 his place where he arose.
1:6 The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about to the
 north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth
 again according to its circuits.
1:7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea [is] not full;
 to the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return
 again.
1:8 All things [are] full of labor; man cannot utter [it]: the
 eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with
 hearing.
1:9 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.
1:10 Is there [any] thing of which it may be said, See, this
 [is] new? it hath been already of old time, which was before
 us.
1:11 [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.
1:12 I the preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
1:13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom
 concerning all [things] that are done under heaven: this
 grievous labor hath God given to the sons of man to be
 exercised with it.
1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and
 behold, all [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
1:15 [That which is] crooked cannot be made straight: and that
 which is wanting cannot be numbered.
1:16 I communed with my own heart, saying, Lo, I have come to
 great estate, and have gained more wisdom than all [they] that
 have been before me in Jerusalem: and my heart had great
 experience of wisdom and knowledge.
1:17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and
 folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
1:18 For in much wisdom [is] much grief: and he that increaseth
 knowledge increaseth sorrow.
2:1 I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth,
 therefore enjoy pleasure: and behold, this also [is] vanity.
2:2 I said of laughter, [It is] mad: and of mirth, What doeth
 it?
2:3 I sought in my heart, to give myself to wine, yet
 acquainting my 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.
2:4 I made me great works; I built me houses; I planted me
 vineyards:
2:5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them
 of all [kind of] fruits:
2:6 I made me pools of water, to water with them the wood that
 bringeth forth trees:
2:7 I procured [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:
2:8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar
 treasure of kings, and of the provinces: I procured me
 men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of
 men, [as] musical instruments, and of all sorts.
2:9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before
 me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.
2:10 And whatever my eyes desired I kept not from them, I
 withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in
 all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor.
2:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought,
 and on the labor that I had labored to do: and behold, all
 [was] vanity and vexation of spirit, and [there was] no profit
 under the sun.
2:12 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.
2:13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light
 excelleth darkness.
2:14 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.
2:15 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.
2:16 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.
2:17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought
 under the sun [is] grievous to me: for all [is] vanity and
 vexation of spirit.
2:18 Yes, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun:
 because I should leave it to the man that shall be after me.
2:19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise [man] or a fool?
 yet shall he have rule over all my labor in which I have
 labored, and in which I have showed myself wise under the sun.
 This [is] also vanity.
2:20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all
 the labor which I took under the sun.
2:21 For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom, and in
 knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not labored in
 it, shall he leave it [for] his portion. This also [is] vanity
 and a great evil.
2:22 For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of
 his heart, in which he hath labored under the sun?
2:23 For all his days [are] sorrows, and his labor grief; yes,
 his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
2:24 [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
 labor. This also I saw, that it [was] from the hand of God.
2:25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten [to it] more than
 I?
2:26 For [God] giveth to a man who [is] good in his sight,
 wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth
 toil, to gather, and to amass, that he may give to [him that
 is] good before God. This also [is] vanity and vexation of
 spirit.
3:1 To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every
 purpose under the heaven:
3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a
 time to pluck up [that which is] planted;
3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down,
 and a time to build up;
3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a
 time to dance;
3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a
 time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a
 time to cast away;
3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence,
 and a time to speak;
3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a
 time of peace.
3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that in which he
 laboreth?
3:10 I have seen the labor, which God hath given to the sons of
 men to be exercised in it.
3:11 He hath made every [thing] beautiful in its 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.
3:12 I know that [there is] no good in them, but for [a man] to
 rejoice, and to do good in his life.
3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the
 good of all his labor, it [is] the gift of God.
3:14 I know that, whatever God doeth, it shall be for ever:
 nothing can be added to it, nor any thing taken from it: and
 God doeth [it], that [men] should fear before him.
3:15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath
 already been; and God requireth that which is past.
3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment,
 [that] wickedness [was] there; and the place of righteousness,
 [that] iniquity [was] there.
3:17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the
 wicked: for [there is] a time there for every purpose and for
 every work.
3:18 I said in my heart concerning the state of the sons of men,
 that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they
 themselves are beasts.
3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts;
 even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the
 other; yes, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no
 pre-eminence above a beast: for all [is] vanity.
3:20 All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to
 dust again.
3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the
 spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
3:22 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?
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.
4:2 Wherefore I praised the dead who are already dead more than
 the living who are yet alive.
4:3 Yes, better is [he] than both they, who hath not yet been,
 who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4:4 Again, I considered all labor, and every right work, that
 for this a man is envied by his neighbor. This [is] also vanity
 and vexation of spirit.
4:5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own
 flesh.
4:6 Better [is] a handful [with] quietness, than both the hands
 full [with] toil and vexation of spirit.
4:7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
4:8 There is one [alone], and [there is] not a second; yes, he
 hath neither child nor brother: yet [is there] no end of all
 his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither
 [saith he], For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good?
 This [is] also vanity, yes, it [is] a grievous labor.
4:9 Two [are] better than one; because they have a good reward
 for their labor.
4:10 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 to rise.
4:11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how
 can one be warm [alone]?
4:12 And if one prevaileth against him, two shall withstand him;
 and a three-fold cord is not quickly broken.
4:13 Better [is] a poor and a wise child, than an old and
 foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
4:14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also [he that
 is] born in his kingdom becometh poor.
4:15 I considered all the living who walk under the sun, with
 the second child that shall stand up in his stead.
4:16 [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.
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.
5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty
 to utter [any] thing before God: for God [is] in heaven, and
 thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
5:3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a
 fool's voice [is known] by a multitude of words.
5:4 When thou vowest a vow to God, defer not to pay it; for [he
 hath] no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5:5 Better [is it] that thou shouldst not vow, than that thou
 shouldst vow and not pay.
5:6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say
 thou before the angel, that it [was] an error: why should God
 be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?
5:7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words [there are]
 also [divers] vanities: but fear thou God.
5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent
 perversion of judgment and justice in a province, wonder not at
 the matter: for [he that is] higher than the highest regardeth;
 and [there are] higher than they.
5:9 Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all: the king
 [himself] is served by the field.
5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver;
 nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this [is] also
 vanity.
5:11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and
 what good [is there] to the owners of them, saving the
 beholding [of them] with their eyes?
5:12 The sleep of a laboring man [is] sweet, whether he eateth
 little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer
 him to sleep.
5:13 There is a grievous evil [which] I have seen under the sun,
 [namely], riches kept for the owners of them to their hurt.
5:14 But those riches perish by evil labor: and he begetteth a
 son, and [there is] nothing in his hand.
5:15 As he came into the world, naked shall he return to go as
 he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may
 carry away in his hand.
5:16 And this also [is] a grievous evil, [that] in all points as
 he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath
 labored for the wind?
5:17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and [he hath] much
 sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
5:18 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
 labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life,
 which God giveth him: for it [is] his portion.
5:19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth,
 and hath given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion,
 and to rejoice in his labor; this [is] the gift of God.
5:20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life;
 because God answereth [him] in the joy of his heart.
6:1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it
 [is] common among men:
6:2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so
 that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth,
 yet God giveth him not power to eat of it, but a stranger
 eateth it: this [is] vanity, and it [is] an evil disease.
6:3 If a man begetteth a hundred [children], and liveth many
 years, so that the days of his years are many, and his soul is
 not filled with good, and also [that] he hath no burial; I say,
 [that] an untimely birth [is] better than he.
6:4 For he cometh with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and
 his name shall be covered with darkness.
6:5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known [any thing]:
 this hath more rest than the other.
6:6 Yes, though he liveth a thousand years twice [told], yet
 hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
6:7 All the labor of man [is] for his mouth, and yet the
 appetite is not filled.
6:8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the
 poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
6:9 Better [is] the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the
 desire: this [is] also vanity and vexation of spirit.
6:10 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.
6:11 Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what
 [is] man the better?
6:12 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?
7:1 A good name [is] better than precious ointment; and the day
 of death than the day of one's birth.
7:2 [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.
7:3 Sorrow [is] better than laughter: for by the sadness of the
 countenance the heart is made better.
7:4 The heart of the wise [is] in the house of mourning; but the
 heart of fools [is] in the house of mirth.
7:5 [It is] better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a
 man to hear the song of fools.
7:6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so [is] the
 laughter of the fool: this also [is] vanity.
7:7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift
 destroyeth the heart.
7:8 Better [is] the end of a thing than its beginning: [and] the
 patient in spirit [is] better than the proud in spirit.
7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in
 the bosom of fools.
7:10 Say not thou, What is [the cause] that the former days were
 better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning
 this.
7:11 Wisdom [is] good with an inheritance: and [by it there is]
 profit to them that see the sun.
7:12 For wisdom [is] a defense, [and] money [is] a defense: but
 the excellence of knowledge [is], [that] wisdom giveth life to
 them that have it.
7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make [that] straight,
 which he hath made crooked?
7:14 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.
7:15 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.
7:16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise:
 why shouldst thou destroy thyself?
7:17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why
 shouldst thou die before thy time?
7:18 [It is] good that thou shouldst take hold of this; yes,
 also from this withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God
 shall escape from them all.
7:19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty [men]
 who are in the city.
7:20 For [there is] not a just man upon earth, that doeth good,
 and sinneth not.
7:21 Also take no heed to all words that are spoken; lest thou
 hear thy servant curse thee:
7:22 For often also thy own heart knoweth that thou thyself
 likewise hast cursed others.
7:23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise;
 but it [was] far from me.
7:24 That which is far off, and exceedingly deep, who can find
 it out?
7:25 I applied my 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:
7:26 And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart
 [is] snares and nets, [and] her hands [as] bands: whoever
 pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be
 taken by her.
7:27 Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, [counting]
 one by one, to find out the account:
7:28 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.
7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright;
 but they have sought out many inventions.
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.
8:2 I [counsel thee] to keep the king's commandment, and [that]
 in regard of the oath of God.
8:3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil
 thing; for he doeth whatever pleaseth him.
8:4 Where the word of a king [is], [there is] power: and who may
 say to him, what doest thou?
8:5 He who keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and
 a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.
8:6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment,
 therefore the misery of man [is] great upon him.
8:7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him
 when it shall be?
8:8 [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.
8:9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart to every work
 that is done under the sun: [there is] a time in which one man
 ruleth over another to his own hurt.
8:10 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.
8:11 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.
8:12 Though a sinner doeth evil a hundred times, and his [days]
 are prolonged, yet surely I know that it will be well with them
 that fear God, who fear before him:
8:13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he
 prolong [his] days, [which are] as a shadow; because he feareth
 not before God.
8:14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there
 are just [men], to whom it happeneth according to the work of
 the wicked; again, there are wicked [men], to whom it happeneth
 according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also
 [is] vanity.
8:15 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 labor the days of his life,
 which God giveth him under the sun.
8:16 When I applied my 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:)
8:17 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
 may labor to seek [it] out, yet he shall not find [it]; yes
 further; though a wise [man] thinketh to know [it], yet shall
 he not be able to find [it].
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.
9:2 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.
9:3 This [is] an evil among all [things] that are done under the
 sun, that [there is] one event to all: yes, 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.
9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope:
 for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
9:5 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.
9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, hath now
 perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any
 [thing] that is done under the sun.
9:7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with
 a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
9:8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no
 ointment.
9:9 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 labor which thou takest under the sun.
9:10 Whatever 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.
9:11 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 favor
 to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
9:12 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.
9:13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it [seemed]
 to me great:
9:14 [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:
9:15 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.
9:16 Then said I, wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless
 the poor man's wisdom [is] despised, and his words are not
 heard.
9:17 The words of wise [men are] heard in quiet more than the
 cry of him that ruleth among fools.
9:18 Wisdom [is] better than weapons of war: but one sinner
 destroyeth much good.
10:1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send
 forth an offensive odor: [so doth] a little folly him that is
 in reputation for wisdom [and] honor.
10:2 A wise man's heart [is] at his right hand; but a fool's
 heart [is] at his left.
10:3 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.
10:4 If the spirit of the ruler riseth against thee, leave not
 thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offenses.
10:5 There is an evil [which] I have seen under the sun, as an
 error [which] proceedeth from the ruler:
10:6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low
 place.
10:7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as
 servants upon the earth.
10:8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoever
 breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
10:9 Whoever removeth stones shall be hurt by them; [and] he
 that cleaveth wood shall be endangered by it.
10:10 If the iron is blunt, and he doth not whet the edge, then
 must he use more strength: but wisdom [is] profitable to
 direct.
10:11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a
 babbler is no better.
10:12 The words of a wise man's mouth [are] gracious; but the
 lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
10:13 The beginning of the words of his mouth [is] foolishness:
 and the end of his talk [is] mischievous madness.
10:14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall
 be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?
10:15 The labor of the foolish wearieth every one of them,
 because he knoweth not how to go to the city.
10:16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king [is] a child, and thy
 princes eat in the morning!
10:17 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!
10:18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through
 idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but
 money answereth all [things].
10:20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not
 the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air will carry
 the voice, and that which hath wings will tell the matter.
11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it
 after many days.
11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou
 knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
11:3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty [themselves]
 upon the earth: and if the tree falleth towards the south, or
 towards the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there
 it shall be.
11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that
 regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
11:5 As thou knowest not what [is] the way of the spirit, [nor]
 the structure of the parts of conception in her that is with
 child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh
 all.
11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold
 not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper,
 either this or that, or whether they both [shall be] alike
 good.
11:7 Truly the light [is] sweet, and a pleasant [thing it is]
 for the eyes to behold the sun:
11:8 But if a man shall 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.
11:9 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 thy
 heart, and in the sight of thy eyes: but know thou, that for
 all these [things] God will bring thee into judgment.
11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil
 from thy flesh: for childhood and youth [are] vanity.
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;
12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are
 not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
12:3 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
 shall be darkened,
12:4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound
 of the grinding shall be low, and he shall rise up at the voice
 of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought
 low.
12:5 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:
12:6 Or ever the silver cord shall be loosed, or the golden bowl
 be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the
 wheel broken at the cistern.
12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the
 spirit shall return to God who gave it.
12:8 Vanity of vanities saith the preacher; all [is] vanity.
12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still
 taught the people knowledge: yes, he gave good heed, and sought
 out, [and] set in order many proverbs.
12:10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and
 [that which was] written [was] upright, [even] words of truth.
12:11 The words of the wise [are] as goads, and as nails
 fastened [by] the masters of assemblies, [which] are given from
 one shepherd.
12:12 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.
12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,
 and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of
 man.
12:14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with every
 secret thing, whether [it is] good, or whether [it is] evil.