Ecclesiastes 5:8–8:1
Powerful Bureaucrats Exploit the Helpless Poor
8 Do not be surprised if you see the poor being oppressed with violence
or do not see justice and righteousness in the province.
For one official is watched by a higher official,
and there are even higher officials over them!
9 The produce of the land is exploited by everyone;
⌊even the king profits from the field of the poor⌋!c
There is Never Enough Money to Satisfy
10 Whoever loves money is not satisfied with money,
and whoever loves wealth is not satisfied with profit.
This also is vanity!
those who consume it increase.
⌊So its owner gains nothing,
except to see his wealth before it is spent⌋.d
12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant, whether he eats little or much,
but the wealth of the rich man does not allow him to rest.
13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth ⌊hoarded⌋e by its owner to his harm. 14 That wealth was lost in a bad venture. Although he has borne a child, ⌊he has nothing to leave to him⌋.f 15 Just as he came from his mother’s womb naked, ⌊he will depart⌋g just as he came; he will take nothing with him for his toil. 16 This also is a grievous illness. Exactly as he came, so he will go. What profit does he gain for all his toil for the wind? 17 Also, he eats in darkness all his days; he is frustrated in much sickness and resentment.
If You Have Wealth, Enjoy It as God Enables
18 Look! I have discovered what is good and fitting: to eat and to drink and ⌊to enjoy⌋h all the fruit of the toil with which one toils under the sun during the number of the days of his life that God gives to him—for this is his lot.i 19 This indeed is a gift of God: everyone to whom God gives wealth and possessions, he also empowers him ⌊to enjoy them⌋,j to accept his lot, and to rejoice in the fruit of his toil. 20 For he does not remember the brief days of his life, for God keeps his heart preoccupied with enjoyment of life.
Those Who Have Wealth but Do Not Enjoy It Are Pitiful
6 Here is another misfortune that I have seen under the sun, and it is prevalent among humankind. 2 God gives a man wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; yet God does not enable him to enjoy it—instead someone else ends up enjoying it. This is vanity—indeed, it is a grievous ill!
3 Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, if his hearta is not satisfied with ⌊his prosperity⌋b and ⌊he does not receive a proper burial⌋,c I deem the stillborn better than him. 4 For he comes into vanity and departs into darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness. 5 He has neither seen nor known the sun, yet he has more rest than him. 6 Even if a mand lives a thousand years twice, if hee does not enjoy ⌊prosperity⌋,f ⌊both suffer the same fate⌋!g
One Must Learn to Be Content with What One Has
7 All of a man’s toil is for his mouth—
yet his appetite is never satisfied.
8 So do the wise really have an advantage over fools?
⌊Can the poor really gain anything by knowing how to act in front of others⌋?h
9 ⌊Better to be content with what your eyes see
than for your soul to constantly crave more⌋.i
This also is vanity and chasing wind!
It is Futile for Humans to Complain about God’s Irresistible Will
10 Whatever is—it was already determined,
⌊what will be—it has already been decided⌋.j
As for man, he cannot argue
against what is more powerful than him.
11 ⌊Increasing words only multiplies futility⌋,k
how does that profit anyone?
The Future is Inscrutable to Humans
12 For who knows what is good for a man in his life during the few days of his fleeting life, which are fleeting as a shadow? For who can tell anyone what will happen ⌊in the future⌋l under the sun?
People Generally Do Not Know What is Best for Them
7 A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth.
2 Better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for death is the end of every person,
and the living should take it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of countenance the heart is made good.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 Better to listen to the rebuke of the wise
than for a man to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the sound of thorns under a pot,
so also the laughter of fools.
This also is vanity!
Wisdom—Although Vulnerable—is Beneficial
7 Surely oppression makes a fool of the wise,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
⌊better to be slow to anger than hot-headed⌋.a
9 Do not be quick in your spirit to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance;
⌊it benefits the living⌋.b
12 ⌊For wisdom offers protection like money offers protection⌋.c
But knowledge has an advantage—wisdom restores life to its possessor.
Humans Must Accept God’s Will and Make the Best of It
13 Consider the work of God.
For who is able to make straight what he made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity, rejoice!
But in the day of adversity, consider!
For God made one in place of another
so that mortals cannot find out what will happen ⌊in the future⌋.d
The Law of Retribution Does Not Always Work—but It Does Sometimes
15 I have seen all these things in my vain life:
Sometimes a righteous man perishes in spite of his righteousness,
and sometimes a wicked man lives a long life in spite of his evil.
16 Do not be excessivelye righteous,
and do not act excessively wise, lest you destroy yourself.
17 Do not act excessively wicked,
and do not be a fool, lest you die before your time.
18 It is good to take hold of the one and also must not let go of the other;
for whoever fears God will hold both of them secure.
Wisdom is Valuable, but No One is Completely Righteous
19 Wisdom gives more strength to the wise
than ten rulers who are in the city.
20 Surely there is no one righteous on the earth
who continually does good and never sins.
21 Do not pay attention to everything people say,
lest you hear your own servant curse you.
that you also have cursed others many times.
Absolute Wisdom is Unattainable
23 All this I have tested with wisdom. I said, “I will be wise!” but ⌊it was beyond my grasp⌋.f 24 ⌊Whatever is—it is far beyond comprehension⌋.g Who can discover it?
25 I set my mind to try to seek wisdom and the plan, and to know that wickedness is foolishness and that folly is delusion. 26 I myself found that more bitter than death is the woman who is a trap, whose heart is a snare, and whose hands are bonds. The one who pleases God escapes from her, but the sinner is caught by her. 27 “Look! I found this,” said the Teacher,h “while trying to find how the plan fits together. 28 What my heart sought, I did not find. Although I found one righteous man among one thousand, I did not find one upright woman among all these. 29 Look! This alone I found: God made mankind upright, but they have devised many schemes.”
8 Who is like the sage?
Who knows the interpretation of a thing?
A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,
and the hardness of his face is changed.