Ecclesiastes 6:1–8:1

The Futility of Life

¹There is an ^aevil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent ¹among men—

²a man to whom God has ^agiven riches and wealth and honor so that his soul ^blacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner ¹enjoys them. This is ²vanity and a severe affliction.

³If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many ¹they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper ^aburial, then I say, “Better ^bthe miscarriage than he,

⁴for it comes in futility and goes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity.

⁵“It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; ¹it is better off than he.

⁶“Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not ¹enjoy good things—^ado not all go to one place?”

^7aAll a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the ¹appetite is not ²satisfied.

⁸For ^awhat advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living?

⁹What the eyes ^asee is better than what the soul ¹desires. This too is ^bfutility and a striving after wind.

¹⁰Whatever ^aexists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he ^bcannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is.

¹¹For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man?

¹²For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few ¹years of his futile life? He will ²spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man ^awhat will be after him under the sun?

Chapter 7

Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

¹A ^agood name is better than a good ointment,

And the ^bday of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

²It is better to go to a house of mourning

Than to go to a house of feasting,

Because ¹that is the ^aend of every man,

And the living ^2btakes it to ³heart.

^3aSorrow is better than laughter,

For ^bwhen a face is sad a heart may be happy.

⁴The ¹mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,

While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

⁵It is better to ^alisten to the rebuke of a wise man

Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

⁶For as the ¹crackling of ^athorn bushes under a pot,

So is the ^blaughter of the fool;

And this too is futility.

⁷For ^aoppression makes a wise man mad,

And a ^bbribe ¹corrupts the heart.

⁸The ^aend of a matter is better than its beginning;

^bPatience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.

⁹Do not be ^1aeager in your heart to be angry,

For anger resides in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”

For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

¹¹Wisdom along with an inheritance is good

And an ^aadvantage to those who see the sun.

¹²For ^awisdom is ¹protection just as money is protection,

But the advantage of knowledge is that ^bwisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.

¹³Consider the ^awork of God,

For who is ^bable to straighten what He has bent?

^14aIn the day of prosperity be happy,

But ^bin the day of adversity consider—

God has made the one as well as the other

So that man will ^cnot discover anything that will be after him.

¹⁵I have seen everything during my ^1alifetime of futility; there is ^ba righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is ^ca wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness.

¹⁶Do not be excessively ^arighteous and do not ^bbe overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself?

¹⁷Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you ^adie before your time?

¹⁸It is good that you grasp one thing and also not ¹let go of the other; for the one who ^afears God comes forth with ²both of them.

^19aWisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

²⁰Indeed, ^athere is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

²¹Also, do not ¹take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant ^acursing you.

²²For ¹you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.

²³I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” ^abut it was far from me.

²⁴What has been is remote and ^aexceedingly ¹mysterious. ^bWho can discover it?

²⁵I ^1adirected my ²mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness.

²⁶And I discovered more ^abitter than death the woman whose heart is ^bsnares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^cOne who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but ^dthe sinner will be captured by her.

²⁷“Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation,

²⁸which ¹I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a ^awoman among all these.

²⁹“Behold, I have found only this, that ^aGod made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”

Chapter 8

Obey Rulers

¹Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom ^aillumines ¹him and causes his ^bstern face to ²beam.