Ecclesiastes 10–12

10^†Dead flies cause the ointment of the ^aapothecary to ^bsend forth a stinking savour: so doth a little ^cfolly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.

²A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left. ³Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, ^†his wisdom faileth him, and ^dhe saith to every one that he is a fool.

⁴If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, ^eleave not thy place; for ^fyielding ^gpacifieth great offences.

⁵There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an ^herror which proceedeth ^†from the ⁱruler: ^6kFolly is set ^†in great dignity, and the rich sit in ^llow place. ^7mI have seen servants ⁿupon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.

^8oHe that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso ^pbreaketh an hedge, ^qa serpent shall bite him. ⁹Whoso ^rremoveth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that ^scleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.

¹⁰If the iron ^tbe blunt, and he do not ^uwhet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is ^xprofitable to ^ydirect.

¹¹Surely the serpent will bite without ^zenchantment; and ^†a babbler is no ^xbetter. ^12aThe words of a wise man’s mouth are ^†gracious; but ^bthe lips of a fool will swallow up himself. ¹³The beginning of the words of his mouth is ^cfoolishness: and the end of ^†his talk is mischievous ^dmadness. ^14eA fool also ^†is full of words: ^fa man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, ^gwho can tell him? ¹⁵The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.

^16hWoe to thee, O land, when ⁱthy king is ^ja child, and thy princes ^keat in the morning! ¹⁷Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes ^leat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

¹⁸By much slothfulness the building ^mdecayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house ⁿdroppeth through.

¹⁹A feast is made for laughter, and ^owine ^†maketh merry: but ^pmoney answereth all things.

^20qCurse not the king, no not in thy ^||thought; and curse not the rich ^rin thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and ^sthat which hath wings shall tell the matter.

11Cast thy bread ^a†upon the waters: ^bfor thou shalt find it after many days. ^2cGive a portion to ^dseven, and also to eight; ^efor thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. ³If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the ^fsouth, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. ⁴He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and ^ghe that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. ⁵As thou knowest not what is the way of the ^hspirit, nor ⁱhow the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. ⁶In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening ^kwithhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether ^†shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be ^lalike good.

⁷Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to ^mbehold the sun: ⁸But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember ⁿthe days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

^9oRejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy ^pyouth, and ^qwalk in the ways of thine heart, and in ^rthe sight of thine eyes: ^sbut know thou, that for all these things ^tGod will bring thee into judgment. ¹⁰Therefore remove ^||sorrow from thy heart, and ^uput away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

12Remember now thy Creator ^ain the days of thy ^byouth, ^swhile ^cthe evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when ^dthou shalt say, I have no ^epleasure in them; ^2sWhile the sun, or ^fthe light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: ³In the day when the keepers of the house shall ^gtremble, and the ^hstrong men shall bow themselves, and ^||the grinders cease because they are few, and ⁱthose that look out of the windows be darkened, ⁴And ^jthe doors shall be shut in the ^kstreets, when ^lthe sound of the grinding ^mis low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all ^dthe daughters of musick shall be ^mbrought low; ⁵Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall ⁿflourish, and the ^ograsshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his ^plong ^qhome, and ^rthe mourners go about the ^kstreets: ^6sOr ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden ^tbowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. ⁷Then shall ^uthe dust return to the earth as it was: and ^xthe spirit shall return unto God ^ywho gave it.

^8zVanity of vanities, saith the ^apreacher; all is vanity.

⁹And ^||bmoreover, because the ^apreacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and ^cset in order ^dmany proverbs. ¹⁰The ^apreacher sought to find out ^†acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. ¹¹The words of the wise are as goads, and as ^enails ^ffastened by the masters of ^gassemblies, which are given from ^hone shepherd. ¹²And ^bfurther, by these, my son, ⁱbe admonished: ^kof making many books there is no end; and ^lmuch ^||study is a weariness of the flesh.

^13||Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: ^mFear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. ¹⁴For ⁿGod shall bring every work into ^ojudgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.