1.1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king of Israel in Jerusalem.
1.2 Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
1.3 What advantage [is there] to a man in all his labour that he takes under the sun?
1.4 A generation goes, and a generation comes: but the earth stands for ever.
1.5 And the sun arises, and the sun goes down and draws toward its place;
1.6 arising there it proceeds southward, and
goes round toward the north. The wind goes round and round, and the
wind returns to its circuits.
1.7 All the rivers run into the sea; and yet
the sea is not filled: to the place whence the rivers come, thither
they return again.
1.8 All things are full of labour; a man will
not be able to speak [of them]: neither shall the eye be satisfied with
seeing, neither shall the ear be filled with hearing.
1.9 What is that which has been? the very thing
which shall be: and what is that which has been done? the very thing
which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
1.10 [Who is he] that shall speak and say, Behold,
this s new? it has already been in the ages that have passed before us.
1.11 There is no memorial to the first things;
neither to the things that have been last shall their memorial be with
them that shall at the last [time].
1.12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
1.13 And I applied my heart to seek out and examine
by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven, for God has
given to the sons of men an evil trouble to be troubled therewith.
1.14 I beheld all the works that were wrought under
the sun; and, beheld, all were vanity and waywardness of spirit.
1.15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and deficiency cannot be numbered.
1.16 I spoke in my heart, saying, Behold, I am
increased, and have acquired wisdom beyond all who were before me in
Jerusalem: also I applied my heart to know wisdom and knowledge.
1.17 And my heart knew much-- wisdom, and knowledge,
parables and understanding: I perceived that this also is waywardness
of spirit.
1.18 For in the abundance of wisdom is abundance of
knowledge; and he that increases knowledge will increase sorrow.
2.1
I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth, and behold
thou good: and, behold, this is also vanity.
2.2 I said to laughter, Madness: and to mirth, Why doest thou this:
2.3 And I examined whether my heart would
excite my flesh as [with] wine, (though my heart guided [me] in
wisdom,) and [I desired] to lay hold of mirth, until I should see of
what kind is the good to the sons of men, which they should do under
the sun all the days of their life.
2.4 I enlarged my work; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards.
2.5 I made me gardens and orchards, and planted in them every kind of fruit-tree.
2.6 I made me pools of water, to water from them the timber-bearing wood.
2.7 I got servants and maidens, and servants
were born to me in the house: also I had abundant possession of flocks
and herds, beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem.
2.8 Moreover I collected for myself both silver
and gold also, and the peculiar treasures of kings and provinces: I
procured me singing men and singing women, and delights of the sons of
men, a butler and female cupbearers.
2.9 So I became great, and advanced beyond all
that were before in Jerusalem: also my wisdom was established to me.
2.10 And whatever mine eyes desired, I withheld not
from them, I withheld not my heart from all my mirth: for my heart
rejoiced in all my labour; and this was my portion of all my labour.
2.11 And I looked on all my works which my hands had
wrought, and on my labour which I laboured to perform: and behold, all
was vanity and waywardness of spirit, and there is no advantage under
the sun.
2.12 Then I looked on to see wisdom, and madness, and
folly: for who is the man who will follow after counsel, in all things
where in he employs it?
2.13 And I saw that wisdom excels folly, as much as light excels darkness.
2.14 The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the
fool walks in darkness: and I perceived, even I, that one event shall
happen to them all.
2.15 And I said in my heart, As the event of the fool
is, so shall it be to me, even to me: and to what purpose have I gained
wisdom? I said moreover in my heart, This is also vanity, because the
fool speaks of his abundance.
2.16 For there is no remembrance of the wise man with
the fool for ever; forasmuch as now [in] the coming days all things are
forgotten: and how shall the wise man die with the fool?
2.17 So I hated life; because the work that was
wrought under the sun was evil before me: for all is vanity and
waywardness of spirit.
2.18 And I hated the whole of my labour which I took
under the sun; because I must leave it to the man who will come after
me.
2.19 And who knows whether he will be a wise [man] or
a fool? and whether he will have power over all my labour in which I
laboured, and wherein I grew wise under the sun? this is also vanity.
2.20 so I went about to dismiss from my heart all my labour wherein I had laboured under the sun.
2.21 For there is [such] a man that his labour is in
wisdom, and in knowledge, and in fortitude; [yet] this man shall give
his portion to one who has not laboured therein. This is also vanity
and great evil.
2.22 For it happens to a man in all his labour, and
in the purpose of his heart wherein he labours under the sun.
2.23 For all his days [are days] of sorrows, and
vexation of spirit is his; in the night also his heart rests not. This
is also vanity.
2.24 A man has nothing [really] good to eat, and to
drink, and to shew his soul [as] good in his trouble. This also I saw,
that it is from the hand of God.
2.25 For who shall eat, or who shall drink, without him?
2.26 For [God] has given to the man who is good in
his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but he has given to the
sinner trouble, to add and to heap up, that he may give to him that is
good before God; for this is also vanity and waywardness of spirit.
3.1 To all things there is a time, and a season for every matter under heaven.
3.2 A time of birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what has been planted;
3.3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to pull down, and a time to build up;
3.4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to lament, and a time to dance;
3.5 a time to throw stones, and a time to
gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to abstain 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 be silent, 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 advantage [has] he that works in those things wherein he labours?
3.10 I have seen all the trouble, which God has given to the sons of men to be troubled with.
3.11 All the things which he has made are beautiful
in his time: he has also set the whole world in their heart, that man
might not find out the work which God has wrought from the beginning
even to the end.
3.12 I know that there is no good in them, except [for a man] to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
3.13 Also [in the case of] every man who shall eat
and drink, and see good in all his labour, [this] is a gift of God.
3.14 I know that whatsoever things God has done, they
shall be for ever: it is impossible to add to it, and it is impossible
to take away from it: and God has done [it], that [men] may fear before
him.
3.15 That which has been is now; and whatever things
[are appointed] to be have already been; and God will seek out that
which is past.
3.16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of
judgement, there was the ungodly one; and the place of righteousness,
there was the godly one.
3.17 And I said in my heart, God will judge the
righteous and the ungodly: for there is a time there for every action
and for every work.
3.18 I said in my heart, concerning the speech of the
sons of man, God will judge them, and that to shew that they are beasts.
3.19 Also to them is the event of the sons of man,
and the event of the brute; one event befalls them: as is the death of
the one, so also the death of the other; and there is one breath to
all: and what has the man more than the brute? nothing; for all is
vanity.
3.20 All [go] to one place; all were formed of the dust, and all will return to dust.
3.21 And who has seen the spirit of the sons of man,
whether it goes upward? and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes
downward to the earth?
3.22 And I saw that there was no good, but that
wherein a man shall rejoice in his works, for it is his portion, for
who shall bring him to see any thing of that which shall be after him?
4.1
So I returned, and saw all the oppressions that were done under the
sun: and behold the tear of the oppressed, and they had no comforter;
and on the side of them that oppressed them was power; but they had no
comforter:
4.2 and I praised all the dead that had already
died more than the living, as many as are alive until now.
4.3 Better also than both these is he who has
not yet been, who has not seen all the evil work that is done under the
sun.
4.4 And I saw all labour, and all the diligent
work, that this is a man's envy from his neighbour. This is also vanity
and waywardness of spirit.
4.5 The fool folds his hands together, and eats his own flesh.
4.6 Better is a handful of rest than two handfuls of trouble and waywardness of spirit.
4.7 So I returned, and saw vanity under the sun.
4.8 There is one [alone], and there is not a
second; yea, he has neither son nor brother: yet there is no end to all
his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with wealth; and for whom do I
labour, and deprive my soul of good? this is also vanity, and an evil
trouble.
4.9 Two [are] better than one, [seeing] they have a good reward for their labour.
4.10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his
fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falls, and there is not a
second to lift him up.
4.11 Also if two should lie together, they also get heat: but how shall one be warmed [alone?]
4.12 And if one should prevail against [him], the two
shall withstand him; and a threefold cord shall not be quickly broken.
4.13 Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king, who knows not how to take heed any longer.
4.14 For he shall come forth out of the house of the
prisoners to reign, because [he] also that was in his kingdom has
become poor.
4.15 I beheld all the living who were walking under
the sun, with the second youth who shall stand up in each one's place.
4.16 There is no end to all the people, to all who
were before them: and the last shall not rejoice in him: for this also
is vanity and waywardness of spirit.
5.1
Keep thy foot, whensoever thou goest to the house of God; and [when
thou art] near to hear, let thy sacrifice [be] better than the gift of
fools: for they know not that they are doing evil.
5.2 Be not hasty with thy mouth, and let not
thine heart be swift to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven
above, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
5.3 For through the multitude of trial a dream comes; and a fool's voice is with a multitude of words.
5.4 Whenever thou shalt vow a vow to God, defer
not to pay it; for [he has] no pleasure in fools: pay thou therefore
whatsoever thou shalt have vowed.
5.5 [It is] better that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
5.6 Suffer not thy mouth to lead thy flesh to
sin; and say not in the presence of God, It was an error: lest God be
angry at thy voice, and destroy the works of thy hands.
5.7 For [there is evil] in a multitude of dreams and vanities and many words: but fear thou God.
5.8 If thou shouldest see the oppression of the
poor, and the wresting of judgment and of justice in the land, wonder
not at the matter: for [there is] a high one to watch over him that is
high, and high ones over them.
5.9 Also the abundance of the earth is for every one: the king [is dependent on] the tilled field.
5.10 He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with
silver: and who has loved gain, in the abundance thereof? this is also
vanity.
5.11 In the multitude of good they are increased that
eat it: and what virtue has the owner, but the right of beholding [it]
with his eyes?
5.12 The sleep of a servant is sweet, whether he eat
little or much: but to one who is satiated with wealth, there is none
that suffers him to sleep.
5.13 There is an infirmity which I have seen under the sun, [namely], wealth kept for its owner to his hurt.
5.14 And that wealth shall perish in an evil trouble:
and [the man] begets a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
5.15 As he came forth naked from his mother's womb,
he shall return back as he came, and he shall receive nothing for his
labour, that it should go [with him] in his hand.
5.16 And this is also an evil infirmity: for as he
came, so also shall he return: and what is his gain, for which he
vainly labours?
5.17 Yea, all his days are in darkness, and in mourning, and much sorrow, and infirmity, and wrath.
5.18 Behold, I have seen good, that it is a fine
thing [for a man] to eat and to drink, and to see good in all his
labour in which he may labour under the sun, [all] the number of the
days of his life which God has given to him: for it is his portion.
5.19 Yea, and [as for] every man to whom God has
given wealth and possessions, and has given him power to eat thereof,
and to receive his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the
gift of God.
5.20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; for God troubles him in the mirth of his heart.
6.1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is abundant with man:
6.2 a man to whom God shall give wealth, and
substance, and honour, and he wants nothing for his soul of all things
that he shall desire, yet God shall not give him power to eat of it,
for a stranger shall devour it: this is vanity, and an evil infirmity.
6.3 If a man beget a hundred [children], and
live many years, yea, however abundant the days of his years shall be,
yet [if] his soul shall not be satisfied with good, and also he have no
burial; I said, An untimely birth is better than he.
6.4 For he came in vanity, and departs in darkness, and his name shall be covered in darkness.
6.5 Moreover he has not seen the sun, nor known rest: there is [no more rest] to this one than another.
6.6 Though he has lived to the return of a
thousand years, yet he has seen no good: do not all go to one place?
6.7 All the labour of a man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite shall not be satisfied.
6.8 For [what] advantage has the wise man over
the fool, since [even] the poor knows how to walk in the direction of
life?
6.9 The sight of the eyes is better than that
which wanders in soul: this is also vanity, and waywardness of spirit.
6.10 If anything has been, its name has already been
called: and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him
who is stronger than he.
6.11 For there are many things which increase vanity. What advantage has a man?
6.12 for who knows [what is] good for a man in his
life, [during] the number of the life of the days of his vanity? and he
has spent them as a shadow; for who shall tell a man what shall be
after him under he sun?
7.1 A good name is better than good oil; and the day of death than the day of birth.
7.2 [It is] better to go to the house of
mourning, than to go to the banquet house: since this is the end of
every man; and the living man will apply good [warning] to his heart.
7.3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart will be 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 a reproof of a wise man, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
7.6 As the sound of thorns under a caldron, so is the laughter of fools: this is also vanity.
7.7 for oppression makes a wise man mad, and destroys his noble heart.
7.8 The end of a matter is better than the
beginning thereof: the patient is better than the high-minded.
7.9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger will rest in the bosom of fools.
7.10 Say not, What has happened, that the former days
were better than these? for thou dost not enquire in wisdom concerning
this.
7.11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and [there is] an advantage [by it] to them that see the sun.
7.12 For wisdom in its shadow is as the shadow of
silver: and the excellence of the knowledge of wisdom will give life to
him that has it.
7.13 Behold the works of God: for who shall be able to straighten him whom God has made crooked?
7.14 In the day of prosperity live joyfully, and
consider in the day of adversity: consider, [I say], God also has
caused the one to agree with the other for [this] reason, that man
should find nothing after him.
7.15 I have seen all things in the days of my vanity:
there is a just man perishing in his justice, and there is an ungodly
man remaining in his wickedness.
7.16 Be not very just; neither be very wise: lest thou be confounded.
7.17 Be not very wicked; and be not stubborn: lest thou shouldest die before thy time.
7.18 It is well for thee to hold fast by this; also
by this defile not thine hand: for to them tat fear God all things
shall come forth [well].
7.19 Wisdom will help the wise man more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
7.20 For there is not a righteous man in the earth, who will do good, and not sin
7.21 Also take no heed to all the words which ungodly
men shall speak; lest thou hear thy servant cursing thee.
7.22 For many times he shall trespass against thee,
and repeatedly shall he afflict thine heart; for thus also hast thou
cursed others.
7.23 All these things have I proved in wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
7.24 [That which is] far beyond what was, and a great depth, who shall find it out?
7.25 I and my heart went round about to know, and to
examine, and to seek wisdom, and the account [of things], and to know
the folly and trouble and madness of the ungodly man.
7.26 And I find her [to be], and I will pronounce [to
be] more bitter than death the woman which is a snare, and her heart
nets, [who has] a band in her hands: [he that is] good in the sight of
God shall be delivered from her; but the sinner shall be caught by her.
7.27 Behold, this have I found, said the Preacher, [seeking] by one at a time to find out the account,
7.28 which my soul sought after, but I found not: for
I have found one man of a thousand; but a woman in all these I have not
found.
7.29 But, behold, this have I found, that God made man upright; but they have sought out many devices.
8.1
Who knows the wise? and who knows the interpretation of a saying? A
man's wisdom will lighten his countenance; but a man of shameless
countenance will be hated.
8.2 Observe the commandment of the king, and [that] because of the word of the oath of God.
8.3 Be not hasty; thou shalt go forth out of
his presence: stand not in an evil matter; for he will do whatsoever he
shall please,
8.4 even as a king having power: and who will say to him, What doest thou?
8.5 He that keeps the commandment shall not
know an evil thing: and the heart of the wise knows the time of
judgement.
8.6 For to every thing there I time and judgement; for the knowledge of a man is great to him.
8.7 For there is no one that knows what is going to be: for who shall tell him how it shall be?
8.8 There is no man that has power over the
spirit to retain the spirit; and there is no power in the day of death:
and there is no discharge in the day of the battle; neither shall
ungodliness save her votary.
8.9 So I saw all this, and I applied my heart
to every work that has been done under the sun; all the things wherein
man has power over man to afflict him.
8.10 And then I saw the ungodly carried into the
tombs, and [that] out of the holy place: and they departed, and were
praised in the city, because they had done thus: this also is vanity.
8.11 Because there is no contradiction made on the
part of those who do evil quickly, therefore the heart of the children
of men is fully determined in them to do evil.
8.12 He that has sinned has done evil from that time,
and long from beforehand: nevertheless I know, that it is well with
them that fear God, that they may fear before him:
8.13 but it shall not be well with the ungodly, and
he shall not prolong his days, [which are] as a shadow; forasmuch as he
fears not before God.
8.14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth;
that there are righteous persons to whom it happens according to the
doing of the ungodly; and there are ungodly men, to whom it happens
according to the doing of the just: I said, This is also vanity.
8.15 Then I praised mirth, because there is no good
for a man under the sun, but to eat, and drink, and be merry: and this
shall attend him in his labour all the days of his life, which God has
given him under the sun.
8.16 Whereupon I set my heart to know wisdom, and to
perceive the trouble that was wrought upon the earth: for there is that
neither by day nor night sees sleep with his eyes.
8.17 And I beheld all the works of God, that a man
shall not be able to discover the work which is wrought under the sun;
whatsoever things a man shall endeavour to seek, however a man may
labor to seek it, yet he shall not find it; yea, how much soever a wise
man may speak of knowing it, he shall not be able to find it: for I
applied all this to my heart, and my heart has seen all this.
9.1
[I saw] that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the
hand of God: yea, there is no man that knows either love or hatred,
[though] all are before their face.
9.2 Vanity is in all: there is one event to the
righteous, and to the wicked; to the good, and to the bad; both to the
pure, and to the impure; both to him that sacrifices, and to him that
sacrifice not: as is the good, so is the sinner: as is the swearer,
even so is he that fears an oath.
9.3 There is this evil in all that is done
under the sun, that there is one event to all: yea, the heart of the
sons of men is filled with evil, and madness is in their heart during
their life, and after that [they go] to the dead.
9.4 for who is he that has fellowship with all
the living? there is hope [of him]: for a living dog is better than a
dead lion.
9.5 For the living will know that they shall
die: but the dead know nothing, and there is no longer any reward to
them; for their memory is lost.
9.6 also their love, and their hatred, and
their envy, have now perished; yea, there is no portion for them any
more for ever in all that is done under the sun.
9.7 Go, eat thy bread with mirth, and drink thy
wine with a joyful heart; for now God has favourably accepted thy works.
9.8 Let thy garments be always white; and let not oil be wanting on thine head.
9.9 And see life with the wife whom thou lovest
all the days of the life of thy vanity, which are given thee under the
sun: for that is thy portion in thy life, and in thy labour wherein
thou labourest under the sun.
9.10 Whatsoever thine hand shall find to do, do with
all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor
wisdom, in Hades wither 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, nor yet bread to the
wise, nor yet wealth to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of
knowledge; for time and chance will happen to them all.
9.12 For surely man also knows not his time: as
fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as birds that are caught in a
snare; even thus the sons of men are snared at an evil time, when it
falls suddenly upon them.
9.13 This I also saw [to be] wisdom under the sun, and it is great before me:
9.14 [suppose there were] a little city, and few men
in it; and there should come against it a great king, and surround it,
and build great mounds against it;
9.15 and should find in it a poor wise man, and he
should save the city through his wisdom: yet no man would remember that
poor man.
9.16 And I said Wisdom is better than power: yet the
wisdom of the poor man is set at nought, and his words not listened to.
9.17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet more than the cry of them that rule in folly.
9.18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: and one sinner will destroy much good.
10.1
Pestilent flies will corrupt a preparation of sweet ointment: [and] a
little wisdom is more precious than great glory of folly.
10.2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.
10.3 Yea, and whenever a fool walks by the way, his heart will fail him, and all that he thinks of is folly.
10.4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee,
leave not thy place; for soothing will put an end to great offences.
10.5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, wherein an error has proceeded from the ruler.
10.6 The fool has been set in very high places, while rich men would sit in a low one.
10.7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants on the earth.
10.8 He that digs a pit shall fall into it; and him that breaks down a hedge a serpent shall bite.
10.9 He that removes stones shall be troubled thereby; he that cleaves wood shall be endangered thereby.
10.10 If the axe-head should fall off, then the man
troubles his countenance, and he must put forth more strength: and [in
tat case] skill is of no advantage to a man.
10.11 If a serpent bite when there is no [charmer's] whisper, then there is no advantage to the charmer.
10.12 The words of a wise mouth are gracious: but the lips of a fool will swallow him up.
10.13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly: and the end of his talk mischievous madness.
10.14 A fool moreover multiplies words: man knows not what
has been, nor what will be: who shall tell him what will come after him?
10.15 The labour of fools will afflict them, [as that of one] who knows not to go to the city.
10.16 Woe to thee, O city, whose king is young, and thy princes eat in the morning!
10.17 Blessed art thou, O land, whose king is a son of
nobles, and whose princes shall eat seasonably, for strength, and shall
not be ashamed.
10.18 By slothful neglect a building will be brought low:
and by idleness of the hands the house will fall to pieces.
10.19 Men prepare bread for laughter, and wine and oil that
the living should rejoice: but to money all things will humbly yield
obedience.
10.20 Even in thy conscience, curse not the king; and curse
not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry thy
voice, and that which has wings shall report thy speech.
11.1 Send forth thy bread upon the face of the water: 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 there shall be upon the earth.
11.3 If the clouds be filled with rain, they pour
[it] out upon the earth: and if a tree fall southward, or if it fall
northward, in the place where the tree shall fall, there it shall be.
11.4 He that observes the wind sows not; and he that looks at the clouds will not reap.
11.5 Among whom none knows what is the way of the
wind: as the bones [are hid] in the womb of a pregnant [woman], so thou
shalt not know the works of God, [even] all things whatsoever he shall
do.
11.6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening
let not thine hand be slack: for thou knowest not what sort shall
prosper whether this or that, or whether both shall be good alike.
11.7 Moreover the light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.
11.8 For even if a man should live many years, [and]
rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for
they shall be many. All that comes 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 blameless, but not in the sight of thine eyes: yet know that for
all these things God will bring thee into judgement.
11.10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for youth and folly are vanity.
12.1
And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the days of
evil come, and the years overtake [thee] in which thou shalt say, I
have no pleasure in them.
12.2 While the sun and light are not darkened, nor
the moon and the stars; nor the clouds return after the rain:
12.3 in the day wherein the keepers of the house
shall tremble, and the mighty men shall become bent, and the grinding
[women] cease because they have become few, and the [women] looking out
at the windows be dark;
12.4 and they shall shut the doors in the
market-place, because of the weakness of the voice of her that grinds
[at the mill]; and he shall rise up at the voice of the sparrow, and
all the daughters of song shall be brought low;
12.5 and they shall look up, and fears [shall be] in
the way, and the almond tree shall blossom, and the locust shall
increase, and the caper shall be scattered: because man has gone to his
eternal home, and the mourners have gone about the market:
12.6 before the silver cord be [let go], or the
choice gold be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the
wheel run down to the cistern;
12.7 [before] the dust also return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God who gave it.
12.8 Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher; all is vanity.
12.9 And because the Preacher was wise above [others,
so it was] that he taught man excellent knowledge, and the ear will
trace out the parables.
12.10 The Preacher sought diligently to find out acceptable words, and a correct writing, [even] words of truth.
12.11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails
firmly fastened, which have been given from one shepherd by agreement.
12.12 And moreover, my son, guard thyself by means of them:
of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of
the flesh.
12.13 Hear the end of the matter, the sun: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole man.
12.14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with
everything that has been overlooked, whether [it be] good, or whether
[it be] evil.