1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 
1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 
1:3 What profit has man of all his labor in which he labors under the sun? 
1:4 One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever. 
1:5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to its place where it rises. 
1:6 The wind goes toward the south, and turns about to the north; it turns about continually in its course, and the wind returns again to its circuits. 
1:7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers go, there they go again. 
1:8 All things are full of weariness; man can't utter [it]: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 
1:9 That which has been is that which will be; and that which has been done is that which will be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 
1:10 Is there a thing of which one says, See, this is new? It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us. 
1:11 There is no remembrance of the former [generations]; neither will there be any remembrance of the latter [generations] who are to come, among those who will come after.
1:12 \p I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 
1:13 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is an intense travail that God has given to the sons of man to be exercised with. 
1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, look, all is vanity and a striving after wind. 
1:15 That which is crooked can't be made straight; and that which is lacking can't be numbered. 
1:16 I communed with my own heart, saying, Look, I have gotten myself great wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem; yes, my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 
1:17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind. 
1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
2:1 \p I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, look, this also was vanity. 
2:2 I said of laughter, It is insane; and of mirth, What does it do? 
2:3 I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet guiding [me] with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, until I might see what it was good for the sons of man that they should do under heaven all the days of their life. 
2:4 I made myself great works; I built myself houses; I planted myself vineyards; 
2:5 I made myself gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit; 
2:6 I made myself pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared; 
2:7 I bought male slaves and female slaves, and had slaves born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all who were before me in Jerusalem; 
2:8 I gathered myself also silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I got myself men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of man, many women. 
2:9 So I was great, and increased more than all who were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. 
2:10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I did not withhold my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor; and this was my portion from 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, look, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
2:12 \p And I turned myself to look at wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what [can] man [do] who comes after the king? [Even] that which has been done long ago. 
2:13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness. 
2:14 The wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walks in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happens to them all. 
2:15 Then I said in my heart, As it happens to the fool, so it will happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. 
2:16 For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance forever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. And how the wise man dies even as the fool! 
2:17 So I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun was grievous to me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
2:18 \p And I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to man who will be after me. 
2:19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have rule over all my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. 
2:20 Therefore I turned about to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor in which I had labored under the sun. 
2:21 For there is man whose labor is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with skillfulness; yet to man who has not labored in it he will leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. 
2:22 For what has man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun? 
2:23 For all his days are [but] sorrows, and his travail is grief; yes, even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
2:24 \p Is it not good that man should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor? This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God. 
2:25 For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? 
2:26 For to [the] man who pleases him [God] gives wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
3:1 \p For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under 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 together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 
3:6 a time to seek, 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 silent, and a time to speak; 
3:8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. 
3:9 What profit has he who works in that in which he labors? 
3:10 I have seen the travail which God has given to the sons of man to be exercised with. 
3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time: also he has set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end. 
3:12 I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to do good so long as they live. 
3:13 And also that all of man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God. 
3:14 I know that, whatever God does, it will be forever: nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; and God has done it, that men should fear before him. 
3:15 That which is has been long ago; and that which is to be has long ago been: and God seeks again that which has passed away.
3:16 \p And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness 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, [It is] because of the sons of man, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are [but as] beasts. 
3:19 For that which befalls the sons of man befalls beasts; even one thing befalls them: as the one dies, so dies the other; yes, they all have one breath; and man has no preeminence above the beasts: 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 knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth? 
3:22 Therefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who will bring him [back] to see what will be after him?
4:1 \p Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and, look, 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 Therefore I praised the dead who have been long dead more than the living who are yet alive; 
4:3 yes, better than them both [did I esteem] him who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4:4 \p Then I saw all labor and every skillful work, that for this a man is envied of his fellow man. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. 
4:5 The fool folds his hands together, and eats his own flesh. 
4:6 Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and striving after wind.
4:7 \p Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun. 
4:8 There is one who is alone, and he has not a second; yes, he has neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches. For whom then, [he says], do I labor, and deprive my soul of good? This also is vanity, yes, it is an intense travail. 
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 partner; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and does not have another to lift him up. 
4:11 Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm [alone]? 
4:12 And if a man prevails against him who is alone, two will withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
4:13 \p Better is an indigent and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who doesn't know how to receive admonition anymore. 
4:14 For out of prison he came forth to be king; yes, even in his kingdom he was born poor. 
4:15 I saw all the living who walk under the sun, that they were with the youth, the second, who stood up in his stead. 
4:16 There was no end of all the people, even of all those over whom he was: yet those who come after will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
5:1 \p Keep your foot when you go to the house of God; for to draw near to hear is better than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they don't even know how to do evil. 
5:2 Don't be rash with your mouth, and don't let your heart be in a hurry to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and you are on earth: therefore let your words be few. 
5:3 For a dream comes with a multitude of business, and a fool's voice with a multitude of words. 
5:4 When you vow a vow to God, do not defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools: pay that which you vow. 
5:5 It is better that you should not vow, than you should vow and not pay. 
5:6 Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin; neither say before the messenger, that it was an unintentional [error]: why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands? 
5:7 For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, and in many words: but fear God.
5:8 \p If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter: for one higher than the high regards; and there are higher than those. 
5:9 And the advantage of a land is for everyone. There is a king to [protect] the cultivated field.
5:10 \p He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase: this also is vanity. 
5:11 When goods increase, those who eat them are increased; and what advantage is there to the owner of them, except for looking at [them] with his eyes? 
5:12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the fullness of the rich will not allow him to sleep.
5:13 \p There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, [namely], riches kept by their owner to his hurt: 
5:14 and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he has begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand. 
5:15 As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked he will go again as he came, and will take nothing for 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 he will go: and what profit does he have that he labors for the wind? 
5:17 All his days also he eats in darkness, and he is intensely vexed, and has sickness and wrath.
5:18 \p Look, that which I have seen to be good and to be beautiful is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him: for this is his portion. 
5:19 All among man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has 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 will not remember much the days of his life; because God answers [him] in the joy of his heart.
6:1 \p There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy on man: 
6:2 a man to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but an alien eats it; this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. 
6:3 If a man begets a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not filled with good, and moreover he has no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he: 
6:4 for he comes in vanity, and departs in darkness, and his name is covered with darkness; 
6:5 moreover he has not seen the sun nor known it; this has rest rather than the other: 
6:6 yes, though he lives a thousand years twice told, and yet enjoys no good, do not all go to one place?
6:7 \p All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not filled. 
6:8 For what advantage has the wise more than the fool? [Or] what has the poor man, that knows how to walk before the living? 
6:9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the soul: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
6:10 \p Whatever has been, its name was given long ago; and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him who is mightier than he. 
6:11 Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is the advantage to man? 
6:12 For who knows what is good for man in [his] life, all the days of his vain life which he spends as a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?
7:1 \p A [good] name is better than precious oil; 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 man; 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 glad. 
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 \p 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 extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
7:8 \p Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; [and] the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 
7:9 Don't be in a hurry in your spirit to be angry; for anger rests in the bosom of fools. 
7:10 Don't say, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
7:11 \p Wisdom is as good as an inheritance; yes, more excellent is it for those who see the sun. 
7:12 For wisdom is a defense, even as silver is a defense; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it. 
7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he has made crooked? 
7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything [that will be] after him.
7:15 \p All this I have seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs [his life] in his evildoing. 
7:16 Don't be overly righteous; neither make yourself overly wise: why should you destroy yourself? 
7:17 Don't be overly wicked, neither be foolish: why should you die before your time? 
7:18 It is good that you should take hold of this; yes, also from that do not withdraw your hand: for he who fears God will come forth from them all.
7:19 \p Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. 
7:20 Surely there is not [a] righteous man on earth, who does good, and does not sin. 
7:21 Also don't take heed to all words that are spoken, lest you hear your slave curse you; 
7:22 for oftentimes also your own heart knows that you yourself likewise have cursed others.
7:23 \p All this I have proved in wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. 
7:24 That which is, is far off and exceedingly deep; who can find it out? 
7:25 I turned about, and my heart [was set] to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the inventory [of things], and to know that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness. 
7:26 And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, [and] whose hands are bindings: whoever pleases God will escape from her; but the sinner will be taken by her. 
7:27 Look, this I have found, says the Preacher, [laying] one thing to another, to find out the inventory; 
7:28 which my soul still seeks, but I have not found: of man one among a thousand I have found; but a woman among all those I have not found. 
7:29 Look, this only I have found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
8:1 \p Who is as the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? The wisdom of man makes his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. 
8:2 I [counsel you], Keep the king's command, and that in regard of the oath of God. 
8:3 Don't be in a hurry to go out of his presence; don't persist in an evil thing: for he does whatever pleases him. 
8:4 For the king's word [has] power; and who may say to him, What are you doing? 
8:5 Whoever keeps the commandment will know no evil thing; and a wise man's heart discerns time and judgment: 
8:6 for to every purpose there is a time and judgment; because the misery of man is great on him: 
8:7 for he doesn't know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be? 
8:8 Man does not have power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war: neither will wickedness deliver him who is given to it.
8:9 \p All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: [there is] a time in which man has power over man to his hurt. 
8:10 So I saw the wicked buried, and they came [to the grave]; and those who had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity. 
8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of man is fully set in them to do evil. 
8:12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and prolong his [days], yet surely I know that it will be well with those who 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 does not fear before God.
8:14 \p There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous 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. 
8:15 Then I commended mirth, because man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will go with him in his labor [all] the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
8:16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (for there is also one who neither day nor night sees sleep with his eyes), 
8:17 then I saw all the work of God, that man can't find out the work that is done under the sun: because however much man labors to seek it out, yet he will not find it; and even though a wise man thinks to know it, yet he will not be able to find it. 
9:1 For all this I took to heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hatred, man does not know it; all is before them.
9:2 \p 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 who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice; as is the good, so is the sinner; [and] he who swears, as he who fears an oath. 
9:3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes also, the heart of the sons of man 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 who is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 
9:5 For the living know that they will die: but the dead don't know anything, neither have they a reward anymore; for the memory of them is forgotten. 
9:6 Their love as well, as their hatred and their envy, has perished long ago; neither have they anymore a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.
9:7 \p Go your way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. 
9:8 Let your garments always be white; and don't let your head lack oil. 
9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun. 
9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do [it] with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you go.
9:11 \p 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 happens to them all. 
9:12 For man also doesn't know his time: as the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of man snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.
9:13 \p I have also seen wisdom under the sun on this wise, and it seemed great to me: 
9:14 There was a little city, and few men inside 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 an indigent wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet man did not remember that same indigent man. 
9:16 \p Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the indigent man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. 
9:17 The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools. 
9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.
10:1 \p Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to gush forth a stench; [so] does a little folly outweigh 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 Yes also, when the fool walks by the way, his understanding fails him, and he says to everyone [that] he is a fool. 
10:4 If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, don't leave your place; for gentleness allays great offenses.
10:5 \p There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as it were an unintentional [error] which proceeds from the ruler: 
10:6 folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place. 
10:7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking like slaves on the earth.
10:8 \p He who digs a pit will fall into it; and whoever breaks through a wall, a serpent will bite him. 
10:9 Whoever cuts out stones will be hurt with them; [and] he who splits wood is endangered by it. 
10:10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not whet the edge, then he must use more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. 
10:11 If the serpent bites before it is charmed, then is there no advantage to the master of the tongue.
10:12 \p 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 mouth is mischievous madness. 
10:14 A fool also multiplies words: [yet] man doesn't know what will be; and that which will be after him, who can tell him? 
10:15 The labor of fools wearies every one of them; for he doesn't know how to go to the city.
10:16 \p Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes eat in the morning! 
10:17 You are happy, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! 
10:18 By slothfulness the roof sinks in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaks. 
10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes glad the life; and silver answers all things. 
10:20 Don't revile the king, no, not in your thought; and don't revile the rich in your bedchamber: for a bird of the heavens will carry the voice, and that which has wings will tell the matter.
11:1 \p Cast your bread on the waters; for you will find it after many days. 
11:2 Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don't know what evil will be on the earth. 
11:3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will be. 
11:4 He who observes the wind will not sow; and he who regards the clouds will not reap. 
11:5 As you don't know what the way of the wind is, [nor] how the bones [grow] in the womb of her who is pregnant; even so you don't know the work of God who does all. 
11:6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don't withhold your hand; for you don't know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both will be alike good. 
11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to see the sun. 
11:8 Yes, if man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is vanity.
11:9 \p Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know, that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 
11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
12:1 \p Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, I have no pleasure in them; 
12:2 before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; 
12:3 in the day when the keepers of the house will tremble, and the strong men will bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows will be darkened, 
12:4 and the doors will be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one will rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music will be brought low; 
12:5 yes, they will be afraid of [that which is] high, and terrors [will be] in the way; and the almond-tree will blossom, and the grasshopper will be a burden, and desire will fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets: 
12:6 before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 
12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 
12:8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
12:9 \p And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered, and sought out, [and] set in order many proverbs. 
12:10 The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written uprightly, [even] words of truth.
12:11 \p The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are [the words of] the masters of assemblies, [which] are given from one shepherd. 
12:12 And furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
12:13 \p [This is] the end of the matter; all has been heard: fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is [applicable to] all man. 
12:14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
