Ecclesiastes 6–8

6Here is a tragedy I have observed under the sun, ^qand it weighs heavily on humanity: ^r2God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor ^sso that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, ^tbut God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy. ³A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, ^uif he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, ^vI say that a stillborn child is better off than he. ^w4For he comes in futility and he goes in darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness. ⁵Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he. ⁶And if he lives a thousand years twice, but does not experience happiness, do not both go to the same place?

⁷All man’s labor is for his stomach, ^xy

yet the appetite is never satisfied.

⁸What advantage then does the wise man have over the fool? ^zWhat advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others? ⁹Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. ^aThis too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. ^b

¹⁰Whatever exists was given its name long ago, ^cdand it is known what man is. But he is not able to contend with the One stronger than he. ^e11For when there are many words, they increase futility. ^fWhat is the advantage for man? ¹²For who knows what is good for man in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? ^gWho can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?

Wise Sayings

7A good name is better than fine perfume, ^h

and the day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth. ⁱ

²It is better to go to a house of mourning

than to go to a house of feasting,

since that is the end of all mankind,

and the living should take it to heart. ^j

³Grief is better than laughter,

for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad. ^k

⁴The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

⁵It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person

than to listen to the song of fools, ^l

⁶for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot, ^m

so is the laughter of the fool.

This too is futile.

⁷Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, ⁿ

and a bribe destroys the mind. ^o

⁸The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit. ^p

⁹Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry,

for anger abides in the heart of fools. ^q

¹⁰Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” ^r

since it is not wise of you to ask this.

¹¹Wisdom is as good as an inheritance

and an advantage to those who see the sun,

¹²because wisdom is protection as money is protection,

and the advantage of knowledge

is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner. ^s

¹³Consider the work of God, ^t

for who can straighten out

what He has made crooked? ^u

¹⁴In the day of prosperity be joyful, ^vbut in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, ^wso that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

Avoiding Extremes

¹⁵In my futile life ^xI have seen everything: ^ythere is a righteous man who perishes in spite of his righteousness, ^zand there is a wicked man who lives long in spite of his evil. ^a16Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. ^bWhy should you destroy yourself? ¹⁷Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time? ^c18It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

¹⁹Wisdom makes the wise man stronger

than ten rulers of a city. ^d

²⁰There is certainly no righteous man on the earth

who does good and never sins. ^e

²¹Don’t pay attention ^fto everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you, ^g22for you know that many times you yourself have cursed others.

What the Teacher Found

²³I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me. ²⁴What exists is beyond reach and very deep. ^hWho can discover it? ²⁵I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and seek wisdom ⁱand an explanation for things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness. ²⁶And I find more bitter than death ^jthe woman who is a trap, ^kher heart a net, and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her. ²⁷“Look,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation, ²⁸which my soul continually searches for but does not find: among a thousand people I have found one true man, but among all these I have not found a true woman. ^l29Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, ^mbut they pursued many schemes.”

Wisdom, Authorities, and Inequities

8Who is like the wise person, and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed. ⁿ

²Keep ^othe king’s command because of your oath made before God. ^p3Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, ^qand don’t persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants. ⁴For the king’s word is authoritative, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?” ^r5The one who keeps a command will not experience anything harmful, ^sand a wise heart knows the right time and procedure. ⁶For every activity there is a right time and procedure, ^teven though man’s troubles are heavy on him. ⁷Yet no one knows what will happen ^ubecause who can tell him what will happen? ⁸No one has authority over the wind ^vto restrain it, ^wand there is no authority over the day of death; ^xthere is no furlough in battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape. ⁹All this I have seen, applying my mind to all the work that is done under the sun, at a time when one man has authority over another to his harm.

¹⁰In such circumstances, I saw the wicked buried. They came and went from the holy place, ^yand they were praised ^zin the city where they did so. This too is futile. ¹¹Because the sentence against a criminal act is not carried out quickly, ^athe heart of people is filled with the desire to commit crime. ¹²Although a sinner commits crime a hundred times and prolongs his life, ^byet I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people, ^cfor they are reverent before Him. ¹³However, it will not go well with the wicked, ^dand they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, ^efor they are not reverent before God.

¹⁴There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, ^fand there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. ^gI say that this too is futile. ¹⁵So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, ^hfor this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

¹⁶When I applied my mind to know wisdom ⁱand to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one’s eyes do not close in sleep day or night), ¹⁷I observed all the work of God and concluded that man is unable to discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though a man labors hard to explore it, he cannot find it; ^jeven if the wise man claims to know it, he is unable to discover it.