Ecclesiastes 1–12

The words of the ^aPreacher, the son of David, ^bking in Jerusalem.

^2cVanity of vanities, saith the ^aPreacher, ^cvanity of vanities; ^dall is ^evanity. ^3fWhat profit hath a man ^gof all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

^4hOne generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but ⁱthe earth abideth for ever. ^5kThe sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. ^6lThe wind goeth toward ^mthe south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. ⁷ⁿAll the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place ^ofrom whence the rivers come, thither they return again. ⁸All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: ^pthe eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. ^9qThe 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. ¹⁰Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been ^ralready of old time, which was before us. ¹¹There is ^sno remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

¹²I the ^aPreacher was ^tking over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³And ^uI gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done ^vunder heaven: ^wthis sore ^xtravail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. ¹⁴I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is ^eyvanity and ^yvexation of spirit. ^15zThat which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. ¹⁶I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, ^aI am come to great estate, and have ^agotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. ¹⁷And ^bI gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know ^cmadness and ^dfolly: I perceived that this also is ^evexation of spirit. ¹⁸For ^fin much wisdom is much ^ggrief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth ^gsorrow.

II.I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore ^aenjoy pleasure: and behold, this also is vanity. ^2bI said of laughter, It is ^cmad: and of mirth, What doeth it? ^3dI sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, (^ddyet acquainting mine heart with wisdom) and to lay hold on ^efolly, 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. ⁴I made me great works; ^fI builded me houses; ^gI planted me vineyards: ⁵I made me ^hgardens and ⁱorchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: ⁶I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: ⁷I ^kgot me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of ^lgreat and small cattle above all that were ^min Jerusalem before me: ⁸ⁿI gathered me also silver and gold, and the ^opeculiar treasure of ^pkings and of the ^qprovinces: I gat me ^rmen singers and women singers, and the ^sdelights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. ⁹So ^tI was great, and increased more than all that were before me ^min Jerusalem: also ^umy wisdom remained with me. ¹⁰And whatsoever mine eyes desired I ^xkept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and ^ythis was my portion of all my labour. ¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and behold, all was ^zvanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no ^aprofit under the sun.

¹²And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and ^bmadness, and ^cfolly: for what can the man do that cometh ^ccafter the king? ^deven that which hath been ^ealready done. ¹³Then I saw that wisdom excelleth ^cfolly, as far as light ^aexcelleth darkness. ^14fThe wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also ^gthat ^hone event happeneth to them all. ¹⁵Then said I in my heart, As ^hit happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then ⁱmore wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. ¹⁶For there is ^jno remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which ^enow is, in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And ^ghow dieth the wise man? as the fool. ¹⁷Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is ^kvanity and vexation of spirit. ¹⁸Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because ^lI should leave it unto the man that shall be ^mafter me. ¹⁹And ^lwho knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. ²⁰Therefore I ^mmwent about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. ²¹For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in ⁿequity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²²For what hath man ^oof all his labour, and of the ^pvexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? ²³For all ^qhis days are ^rsorrows, and his ^stravail ^rgrief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.

^24tThere is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul ^uenjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, ^wthat it was from the hand of God. ²⁵For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I? ²⁶For ^xGod giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth ^stravail, ^lto gather and to heap up, ^ythat he may give to him that is good before God. This also is ^zvanity and vexation of spirit.

III.To every thing there is a season, and ^aa time to every ^bpurpose under the heaven:

²A time to be born, and a time to ^cdie;

A time to plant, and a time to ^dpluck up that which 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 ^eto laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵A time ^fto cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time ^gto refrain from embracing;

⁶A time to get, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷A time to ^hrent, and a time to sew;

A time ⁱto keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time of war, and a time of peace.

^9jWhat profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

¹⁰I have seen the ^ktravail, which ^lGod hath given to the sons of men ^kto be exercised in it. ¹¹He hath made every thing ^mbeautiful ⁿin his time: also he hath ^oset the world in their heart, so that ^pno man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. ¹²I know ^qthat there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and ^rto do good in his life. ¹³And also ^sthat every man should eat and drink, and ^tenjoy the good of all his labour, ^uit is the gift of God. ¹⁴I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: ^xnothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. ^15yThat which hath been, is ^znow; and that which is to be hath ^zalready been; and God ^arequireth that which is past.

¹⁶And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that ^bwickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. ¹⁷I said in mine heart, ^aGod shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is ^ca time ^dthere for every purpose and for every work.

¹⁸I said in my heart ^econcerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might ^fmanifest them, and that they might see ^gthat they themselves are beasts.¹⁹For ^hthat which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even ⁱone thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. ²⁰All go unto one place; ^kall are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. ²¹Who knoweth ^lthe spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? ²²Wherefore I perceive ^mthat there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for ⁿthat is his portion: for who shall bring him to see ^owhat shall be after him?

IV.So ^aI returned, and considered all the ^boppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had ^cno comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had ^cno comforter. ²Wherefore ^dI praised the dead which are ^ealready dead more than the living which are ^fyet alive. ³Yea, better is he than both they, ^dgwhich hath not ^fyet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

⁴Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man ⁱis envied of his neighbour. This is also ^jvanity and vexation of spirit. ⁵The fool ^kfoldeth his hands together, and ^leateth his own flesh. ^6mBetter is a handful with ⁿquietness, than both the hands full with travail and ^jvexation of spirit.

⁷Then ^oI returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. ⁸There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his ^peye satisfied with riches; neither ^qsaith he, ^rFor whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore ^stravail. ⁹Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. ¹⁰For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but ^twoe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. ¹¹Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but ^uhow can one be warm alone? ¹²And if one ^xprevail…