Ecclesiastes 6:1–8:1

The Frustration of Desires

⁶There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon humankind:^{* 2}those to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that they lack nothing of all that they desire, yet God does not enable them to enjoy these things, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous ill.^{* 3}A man may father a hundred children and live many years, but however many are the days of his years, if he does not enjoy life’s good things or has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.^{* 4}For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered; ⁵moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. ⁶Even though he should live a thousand years twice over yet enjoy no good—do not all go to one place?

⁷All human toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied.^{* 8}For what advantage have the wise over fools? And what do the poor have who know how to conduct themselves before the living?^{* 9}Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.^*

¹⁰Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what humans are and that they are not able to dispute with those who are stronger.^{* 11}The more words, the more vanity, so how is one the better? ¹²For who knows what is good for mortals while they live the few days of their vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For who can tell them what will be after them under the sun?^*

A Disillusioned View of Life

⁷A good name is better than precious ointment,

and the day of death, than the day of birth.^*

²It is better to go to the house of mourning

than to go to the house of feasting,

for this is the end of everyone,

and the living will lay it to heart.^*

³Sorrow is better than laughter,

for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.^*

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

but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

⁵It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise

than to hear the song of fools.^*

⁶For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,

so is the laughter of fools;

this also is vanity.

⁷Surely oppression makes the wise foolish,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.^*

⁸Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;

the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.^*

⁹Do not be quick to anger,

for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.^*

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

For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

¹¹Wisdom is as good as an inheritance,

an advantage to those who see the sun.^*

¹²For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,

and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it.

¹³Consider the work of God;

who can make straight what he has made crooked?^*

¹⁴In the day of prosperity, be joyful, and in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that comes after them.^*

The Riddles of Life

¹⁵In my vain life I have seen everything; there are righteous people who perish in their righteousness, and there are wicked people who prolong their life in their evildoing.^{* 16}Do not be too righteous, and do not act too wise; why should you destroy yourself?^{* 17}Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time? ¹⁸It is good that you should take hold of the one without letting go of the other, for the one who fears God shall succeed with both.

¹⁹Wisdom gives strength to the wise more than ten rulers who are in a city.^*

²⁰Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.^*

²¹Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you; ²²your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.

²³All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.^{* 24}That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?^{* 25}I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness.^{* 26}I found more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, whose heart is nets, whose hands are fetters; one who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.^{* 27}See, this is what I found, says the Teacher, adding one thing to another to find the sum,^{* 28}which my mind has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. ²⁹See, this alone I found, that God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes.^*

Obey the King and Enjoy Yourself

⁸Who is like the wise man?

And who knows the interpretation of a thing?

Being wise makes one’s face shine,

but arrogance changes one’s face.^*