All Is Vanity
1* The words of the
Preacher, a the son of David, king in
Jerusalem.
2Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4A generation goes, and a generation
comes,
but the earth remains for ever.
5The sun rises and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it
rises.
6The wind blows to the south,
and goes round to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be
done;
and there is nothing new under the
sun.
10Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already,
in the ages before us.
11There is no remembrance of former
things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to happen
among those who come after.
Vanity in Seeking Wisdom
12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel
in Jerusalem.
13And I applied my mind to seek and to search
out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy
business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with.
14I have seen
everything that is done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity
and a striving after wind.
b
15What is crooked cannot be made
straight,
and what is lacking cannot be
numbered.
16 I said to myself,
“I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over
Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom
and knowledge.” 17And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to
know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a
striving after wind.
18For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases
sorrow.
Vanity in Self-indulgence
2
I said to myself, “Come now, I will
make a test of pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this
also was vanity. 2I said of laughter, “It is mad,”
and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3I searched with my
mind how to cheer my body with wine—my mind still guiding me
with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see
what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven during the few
days of their life. 4I made great works; I built houses and
planted vineyards for myself; 5I made myself gardens and parks, and planted
in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6I made myself pools from which to water the
forest of growing trees. 7I bought male and female slaves, and had
slaves who were born in my house; I had also great possessions of
herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in
Jerusalem. 8I also
gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and
provinces; I got singers, both men and women, and many
concubines, c man’s delight.
9 So I became great
and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom
remained with me. 10And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep
from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found
pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.
11Then I
considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in
doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and
there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
Vanity of Folly and Toil
12 So I turned to consider wisdom and
madness and folly; for what can the man do who comes after the
king? Only what he has already done. 13Then I saw that
wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. 14The wise man has his
eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I
perceived that one fate comes to all of them. 15Then I said to
myself, “What befalls the fool will befall me also; why then
have I been so very wise?” And I said to myself that this
also is vanity. 16For of the wise man as of the fool there is
no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will
have been long forgotten. How the wise man dies just like the fool!
17So I hated
life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me; for
all is vanity and a striving after wind.
18 I hated all my
toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave
it to the man who will come after me; 19and who knows whether
he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for
which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is
vanity. 20So I
turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of
my labors under the sun, 21because sometimes a man who has toiled with
wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by a
man who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
22What has a
man from all the toil and strain with which he toils beneath the
sun? 23For all
his days are full of pain, and his work is a vexation; even in the
night his mind does not rest. This also is vanity.
24 There is nothing
better for a man than that he should eat and drink and find
enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God;
25for apart from him
d who can
eat or who can have enjoyment? 26For to the man who
pleases him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the
sinner he gives the work of gathering and heaping, only to give to
one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after
wind.
Everything Has a Season
3
For everything there is a season, and a time
for every matter under heaven:
2a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what
is planted;
3a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build
up;
4a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5a time to cast away stones, and a time to
gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain
from embracing;
6a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast
away;
7a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to
speak;
8a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
9What gain has the worker from his
toil?
God-given Tasks
10 I have seen the business that God has
given to the sons of men to be busy with. 11He has made
everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into
man’s mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done
from the beginning to the end. 12I know that there is nothing better for
them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live;
13also that it
is God’s gift to man that every one should eat and drink and
take pleasure in all his toil. 14I know that whatever God does endures for
ever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God
has made it so, in order that men should fear before him. 15That which is,
already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God
seeks what has been driven away.
Judgment and the Future Belong to
God
16 Moreover I saw under the sun that in the
place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of
righteousness, even there was wickedness.
17I said in my heart, God
will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a
time for every matter, and for every work.
18I said in my heart
with regard to the sons of men that God is testing them to show
them that they are but beasts.
19For the fate of the sons of men and the
fate of beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They
all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts;
for all is vanity.
20All go to one place; all are from the dust,
and all turn to dust again.
21Who knows whether the spirit of man goes
upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth?
22So I saw
that there is nothing better than that a man should enjoy his work,
for that is his lot; who can bring him to see what will be after
him?
Injustice of Life
4
Again I saw all the oppressions that are
practiced under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed,
and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their
oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.
2And I thought
the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who
are still alive; 3but better than both is he who has not yet
been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the
sun.
4 Then I saw that
all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his
neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
5 The fool folds his
hands, and eats his own flesh.
6 Better is a
handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving
after wind.
7 Again, I saw
vanity under the sun: 8a person who has no one, either son or
brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are
never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom
am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is
vanity and an unhappy business.
Value of Friendship
9 Two are better than one, because they have
a good reward for their toil. 10For if they fall, one will lift up his
fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not
another to lift him up. 11Again, if two lie together, they are warm;
but how can one be warm alone? 12And though a man might prevail against one
who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not
quickly broken.
13 Better is a poor
and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who will no longer
take advice,
14even though he had gone from prison to the
throne or in his own kingdom had been born poor.
15I saw all the living who
move about under the sun, as well as that
f youth, who
was to stand in his place; 16there was no end of all the people; he was
over all of them. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Reverence, Humility, Enjoyment
5
g Guard your steps when you go to
the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than to offer
the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing
evil.
2 h Be not rash with your mouth, nor let
your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in
heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few.
3 For a dream comes
with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.
4 When you vow a vow
to God, do not delay paying it; for he has no pleasure in fools.
Pay what you vow.
5It is better that you should not vow than
that you should vow and not pay.
6Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do
not say before the messenger
i that it was a
mistake; why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the
work of your hands?
7 For when dreams increase,
empty words grow many:
j but you must
fear God.
8 If you see in a
province the poor oppressed and justice and right violently taken
away, do not be amazed at the matter; for the high official is
watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.
9But in all, a king is
an advantage to a land with cultivated fields.
k
10 He who loves
money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth,
with gain: this also is vanity.
11 When goods
increase, they increase who eat them; and what gain has their owner
but to see them with his eyes?
12 Sweet is the
sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much; but the surfeit
of the rich will not let him sleep.
13 There is a
grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by
their owner to his hurt,
14and those riches were lost in a bad
venture; and he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand.
15As he came
from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came,
and shall take nothing for his toil, which he may carry away in his
hand.
16This
also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go; and what
gain has he that he toiled for the wind,
17and spent all his days in
darkness and grief,
l in much
vexation and sickness and resentment?
18 Behold, what I
have seen to be good and to be fitting is to eat and drink and find
enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the
few days of his life which God has given him, for this is his lot.
19Every man
also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to
enjoy them, and to accept his lot and find enjoyment in his
toil—this is the gift of God. 20For he will not much remember the days of
his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his
heart.
Frustration of Desires
6
There is an evil which I have seen under the
sun, and it lies heavy upon men: 2a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions,
and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God
does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them;
this is vanity; it is a sore affliction. 3If a man begets a
hundred children, and lives many years, so that the days of his
years are many, but he does not enjoy life’s good things, and
also has no burial, I say that an untimely birth is better off than
he. 4For it
comes into vanity and goes into darkness, and in darkness its name
is covered; 5moreover it has not seen the sun or known
anything; yet it finds rest rather than he. 6Even though he should
live a thousand years twice told, yet enjoy no good—do not
all go to the one place?
7 All the toil of
man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. 8For what advantage has
the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who
knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9Better is the sight of
the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is vanity and a
striving after wind.
10 Whatever has come to be
has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is
not able to dispute with one stronger than he.
11The more words, the
more vanity, and what is man the better?
12For who knows what is
good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he
passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him
under the sun?
Wisdom and Folly Compared
7
A good name is better than precious oint-
ment;
and the day of death, than the day of
birth.
2It is better to go to the house of
mourning
than to go to the house of feasting;
for this is the end of all men,
and the living will lay it to heart.
3Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of countenance the heart is
made glad.
4The heart of the wise is in the house of
mourning;
but the heart of fools is in the house of
mirth.
5It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of
the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
6For as the crackling of thorns under a
pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity.
7Surely oppression makes the wise man
foolish,
and a bribe corrupts the mind.
8Better is the end of a thing than its
beginning;
and the patient in spirit is better than the
proud in spirit.
9Be not quick to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom of
fools.
10Say not, “Why were the former days
better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask
this.
11Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
an advantage to those who see the sun.
12For the protection of wisdom is like the
protection of money;
and the advantage of knowledge is that
wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
13Consider the work of God;
who can make straight what he has made
crooked?
14 In the day of
prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has
made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out
anything that will be after him.
Inequalities of Life
15 In my vain life I have seen everything;
there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and
there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evil-doing.
16Be not
righteous overmuch, and do not make yourself overwise; why should
you destroy yourself? 17Be not wicked overmuch, neither be a fool;
why should you die before your time? 18It is good that you
should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand; for
he who fears God shall come forth from them all.
19 Wisdom gives
strength to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a
city.
20 Surely there is
not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Do not give heed
to all the things that men say, lest you hear your servant cursing
you; 22your
heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.
23 All this I have
tested by wisdom; I said, “I will be wise”; but it was
far from me. 24That which is, is far off, and deep, very
deep; who can find it out? 25I turned my mind to know and to search out
and to seek wisdom and the sum of things, and to know the
wickedness of folly and the foolishness which is madness. 26And I found more
bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and
whose hands are fetters; he who pleases God escapes her, but the
sinner is taken by her. 27Behold, this is what I found, says the
Preacher, adding one thing to another to find the sum, 28which my mind has
sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I
found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 29Behold, this alone I
found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many
devices.
Obedience to Rulers
8
Who is like the wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a
thing?
A man’s wisdom makes his face
shine,
and the hardness of his countenance is
changed.
2 Keep
m the
king’s command, and because of your sacred oath be not
dismayed; 3go from his presence, do not delay when the
matter is unpleasant, for he does whatever he pleases.
4For the word of the
king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you
doing?”
5He who obeys a command will meet no harm,
and the mind of a wise man will know the time and way.
6For every matter has
its time and way, although man’s trouble lies heavy upon him.
7For he does
not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be?
8No man has
power to retain the spirit, or authority over the day of death;
there is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those
who are given to it.
9All this I observed while applying my mind
to all that is done under the sun, while man lords it over man to
his hurt.
God’s Ways Are Inscrutable
10 Then I saw the wicked buried; they used
to go in and out of the holy place, and were praised in the city
where they had done such things. This also is vanity.
11Because sentence
against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the
sons of men is fully set to do evil.
12Though a sinner does evil a
hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be
well with those who fear God, because they fear before him;
13but it will
not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like
a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
14 There is a vanity
which takes place on earth, that there are righteous men to whom it
happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked
men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I
said that this also is vanity. 15And I commend enjoyment, for man has no
good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and enjoy himself,
for this will go with him in his toil through the days of life
which God gives him under the sun.
16 When I applied my
mind to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth,
how neither day nor night one’s eyes see sleep; 17then I saw all the
work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under
the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it
out; even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it
out.
Acceptance of Life As It Comes
9
But all this I laid to heart, examining it
all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand
of God; whether it is love or hate man does not know. Everything
before them is vanity, n 2since one fate comes to all, to the righteous and the
wicked, to the good and the evil, o to the clean and the unclean, to him
who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good man,
so is the sinner; and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.
3This is an evil
in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all; also
the hearts of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts
while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4But he who is joined
with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a
dead lion. 5For the living know that they will die, but
the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward; but the memory
of them is lost. 6Their love and their hate and their envy
have already perished, and they have no more for ever any share in
all that is done under the sun.
7 Go, eat your bread
with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has
already approved what you do.
8 Let your garments
be always white; let not oil be lacking on your head.
9 Enjoy life
with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life which
he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in
life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10Whatever your hand
finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or thought
or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
11 Again I saw that
under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the
strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor
favor to the men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
12For man does
not know his time. Like fish which are taken in an evil net, and
like birds which are caught in a snare, so the sons of men are
snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
Wisdom Superior to Folly
13 I have also seen this example of wisdom
under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14There was a little
city with few men in it; and a great king came against it and
besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. 15But there was found
in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet
no one remembered that poor man. 16But I say that wisdom is better than might,
though the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are
not heeded.
17 The words of the
wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among
fools. 18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but
one sinner destroys much good.
Observations of Wisdom
10
Dead flies make the perfumer’s
ointment give off an evil odor;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and
honor.
2A wise man’s heart inclines him toward
the right,
but a fool’s heart toward the
left.
3Even when the fool walks on the road, he
lacks sense,
and he says to every one that he is a
fool.
4If the anger of the ruler rises against you,
do not leave your place,
for deference will make amends for great
offenses.
5 There is an evil
which I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding
from the ruler: 6folly is set in many high places, and the
rich sit in a low place. 7I have seen slaves on horses, and princes
walking on foot like slaves.
8He who digs a pit will fall into it;
and a serpent will bite him who breaks
through a wall.
9He who quarries stones is hurt by
them;
and he who splits logs is endangered by
them.
10If the iron is blunt, and one does not whet
the edge,
he must put forth more strength;
but wisdom helps one to succeed.
11If the serpent bites before it is
charmed,
there is no advantage in a charmer.
12The words of a wise man’s mouth win
him favor,
but the lips of a fool consume him.
13The beginning of the words of his mouth is
foolishness,
and the end of his talk is wicked
madness.
14A fool multiplies words,
though no man knows what is to be,
and who can tell him what will be after
him?
15The toil of a fool wearies him,
so that he does not know the way to the
city.
16Woe to you, O land, when your king is a
child,
and your princes feast in the morning!
17Happy are you, O land, when your king is
the son of free men,
and your princes feast at the proper
time,
for strength, and not for drunkenness!
18Through sloth the roof sinks in,
and through indolence the house leaks.
19Bread is made for laughter,
and wine gladdens life,
and money answers everything.
20Even in your thought, do not curse the
king,
nor in your bedchamber curse the rich;
for a bird of the air will carry your
voice,
or some winged creature tell the
matter.
The Value of Diligence
11
Cast your bread upon the
waters,
for you will find it after many days.
2Give a portion to seven, or even to
eight,
for you know not what evil may happen on
earth.
3If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty themselves on the earth;
and if a tree falls to the south or to the
north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it
will lie.
4He who observes the wind will not sow;
and he who regards the clouds will not
reap.
5 As you do not know how the
spirit comes to the bones in the womb
p of a woman
with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes
everything.
6 In the morning sow
your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand; for you do not
know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will
be good.
Youth and Old Age
7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the
eyes to behold the sun.
8 For if a man lives
many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that
the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
9 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 the sight of your
eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into
judgment.
10 Remove vexation
from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the
dawn of life are vanity.
Advice to the Young
12
Remember also your Creator in the days of
your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh,
when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
2before the
sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the
clouds return after the rain; 3in the day when the keepers of the house
tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease
because they are few, and those that look through the windows are
dimmed, 4and
the doors on the street are shut; when the sound of the grinding is
low, and one rises up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters
of song are brought low; 5they are afraid also of what is high, and
terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper
drags itself along q and desire fails; because man goes to
his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets;
6before the
silver cord is snapped,r or the golden bowl is broken, or the
pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the
cistern,
7and the dust
returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who
gave it. 8Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all
is vanity.
Epilogue
9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also
taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging
proverbs with great care. 10The Preacher sought to find pleasing words,
and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 The sayings of
the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the
collected sayings which are given by one Shepherd. 12My son, beware of
anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and
much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 The end of the matter; all
has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is
the whole duty of man.
s 14For God will bring every deed into judgment,
with
t every
secret thing, whether good or evil.