Ecclesiastes 10–12

10Dead ¹flies ²putrefy the perfumer’s ointment,

And cause it to give off a foul odor;

So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.

²A wise man’s heart is at his right hand,

But a fool’s heart at his left.

³Even when a fool walks along the way,

He lacks wisdom,

^aAnd he shows everyone that he is a fool.

⁴If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,

^bDo not leave your post;

For ^cconciliation ³pacifies great offenses.

⁵There is an evil I have seen under the sun,

As an error proceeding from the ruler:

^6dFolly is set in ⁴great dignity,

While the rich sit in a lowly place.

⁷I have seen servants ^eon horses,

While princes walk on the ground like servants.

^8fHe who digs a pit will fall into it,

And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.

⁹He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,

And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.

¹⁰If the ax is dull,

And one does not sharpen the edge,

Then he must use more strength;

But wisdom ⁵brings success.

¹¹A serpent may bite ^gwhen it is not charmed;

The ⁶babbler is no different.

^12hThe words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,

But ⁱthe lips of a fool shall swallow him up;

¹³The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,

And the end of his talk is raving madness.

^14jA fool also multiplies words.

No man knows what is to be;

Who can tell him ^kwhat will be after him?

¹⁵The labor of fools wearies them,

For they do not even know how to go to the city!

^16lWoe to you, O land, when your king is a child,

And your princes feast in the morning!

¹⁷Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles,

And your ^mprinces feast at the proper time—

For strength and not for drunkenness!

¹⁸Because of laziness the ⁷building decays,

And ⁿthrough idleness of hands the house leaks.

¹⁹A feast is made for laughter,

And ^owine makes merry;

But money answers everything.

^20pDo not curse the king, even in your thought;

Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom;

For a bird of the air may carry your voice,

And a bird in flight may tell the matter.

The Value of Diligence

11Cast your bread ^aupon the waters,

^bFor you will find it after many days.

^2cGive a serving ^dto seven, and also to eight,

^eFor you do not know what evil will be on the earth.

³If the clouds are full of rain,

They empty themselves upon the earth;

And if a tree falls to the south or the north,

In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.

⁴He who observes the wind will not sow,

And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

⁵As ^fyou do not know what is the way of the ¹wind,

^gOr how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,

So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.

⁶In the morning sow your seed,

And in the evening do not withhold your hand;

For you do not know which will prosper,

Either this or that,

Or whether both alike will be good.

⁷Truly the light is sweet,

And it is pleasant for the eyes ^hto behold the sun;

⁸But if a man lives many years

And ⁱrejoices in them all,

Yet let him ^jremember the days of darkness,

For they will be many.

All that is coming is vanity.

Seek God in Early Life

⁹Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,

And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;

^kWalk in the ²ways of your heart,

And ³in the sight of your eyes;

But know that for all these

^lGod will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Therefore remove ⁴sorrow from your heart,

And ^mput away evil from your flesh,

ⁿFor childhood and ⁵youth are vanity.

12Remember ^anow your Creator in the days of your youth,

Before the ¹difficult days come,

And the years draw near ^bwhen you say,

“I have no pleasure in them”:

²While the sun and the light,

The moon and the stars,

Are not darkened,

And the clouds do not return after the rain;

³In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,

And the strong men bow down;

When the grinders cease because they are few,

And those that look through the windows grow dim;

⁴When the doors are shut in the streets,

And the sound of grinding is low;

When one rises up at the sound of a bird,

And all ^cthe daughters of music are brought low.

⁵Also they are afraid of height,

And of terrors in the way;

When the almond tree blossoms,

The grasshopper is a burden,

And desire fails.

For man goes to ^dhis eternal home,

And ^ethe mourners go about the streets.

⁶Remember your Creator before the silver cord is ²loosed,

Or the golden bowl is broken,

Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,

Or the wheel broken at the well.

^7fThen the dust will return to the earth as it was,

^gAnd the spirit will return to God ^hwho gave it.

⁸“Vanity ⁱof vanities,” says the Preacher,

“All is vanity.”

The Whole Duty of Man

⁹And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and ^jset ³in order many proverbs. ¹⁰The Preacher sought to find ⁴acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. ¹¹The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of ⁵scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. ¹²And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and ^kmuch study is wearisome to the flesh.

¹³Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

^lFear God and keep His commandments,

For this is man’s all.

¹⁴For ^mGod will bring every work into judgment,

Including every secret thing,

Whether good or evil.