Ecclesiastes

Old Testament · 12 chapters · 222 verses.

Chapter 1

1:1The words of the Preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
1:2“Vanity of vanities,” said the Preacher; “vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
1:3What advantage does a man have in all his labor at which he labors under the sun?
1:4A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
1:5The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and it hastens to the place where it rises again.
1:6The wind goes toward the south and turns around toward the north; turning around and around, the wind goes, and upon its circuits the wind returns.
1:7All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow.
1:8All things are wearisome; a man is not able to express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing.
1:9What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing entirely new under the sun.
1:10Is there a thing of which one says, “See, this is new”? It has already been in the ages before us.
1:11There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be remembrance of later things among those who come afterward.
1:12I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
1:13And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. It is an unhappy task God has given to the sons of man to be occupied with.
1:14I have seen all the works done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.
1:15What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
1:16I spoke with my heart, saying, “Behold, I have greatly increased in wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my heart has seen an abundance of wisdom and knowledge.”
1:17Then I gave my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is striving after wind.
1:18For in an abundance of wisdom is an abundance of grief, and whoever increases knowledge increases pain.

Chapter 2

2:1I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But behold, this also was vanity.
2:2Of laughter I said, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?”
2:3I searched in my heart how to cheer my body with wine—while my heart still guided me with wisdom—and how to lay hold of folly, until I might see what is good for the sons of man to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
2:4I made my works great; I built houses for myself and planted vineyards for myself.
2:5I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted in them trees of every kind of fruit.
2:6I made pools of water for myself, from which to water a forest growing with trees.
2:7I acquired male servants and female servants, and servants born in my house were mine. I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, more than all who were before me in Jerusalem.
2:8I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasures of kings and provinces. I acquired men singers and women singers and the delights of the sons of man—many concubines.
2:9So I became great and increased beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also remained with me.
2:10Whatever my eyes desired I did not withhold from them. I did not keep my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was my portion from all my labor.
2:11Then I looked upon all the works my hands had done and upon the labor at which I had labored, and behold, all was vanity and striving after wind, and there was no advantage under the sun.
2:12Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.
2:13And I saw that wisdom has an advantage over folly, as light has an advantage over darkness.
2:14The wise man has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also knew that one event happens to them all.
2:15Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I become so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.
2:16For there is no enduring remembrance of the wise man or of the fool, since in the days to come all will be forgotten. And how does the wise man die? Just like the fool.
2:17So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and striving after wind.
2:18And I hated all my labor at which I labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.
2:19And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor at which I labored and in which I acted wisely under the sun. This also is vanity.
2:20So I turned and gave my heart over to despair concerning all the labor at which I had labored under the sun.
2:21For there is a man whose labor is done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, yet he must give his portion to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
2:22For what does a man have from all his labor and from the striving of his heart at which he labors under the sun?
2:23For all his days are sorrows, and his occupation is grief; even at night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
2:24There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in his labor. This also I have seen—that it is from the hand of God.
2:25For who can eat, and who can have enjoyment, more than I?
2:26For to the man who is pleasing before Him, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and heaping up, only to give it to one who is pleasing before God. This also is vanity and striving after wind.

Chapter 3

3:1For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under the heavens:
3:2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.
3:3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.
3:4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
3:5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
3:6A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
3:7A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
3:8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
3:9What advantage does the worker have from that at which he labors?
3:10I have seen the task that God has given to the sons of man to be occupied with.
3:11He has made everything beautiful in its season. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet man cannot find out the work that God has done from beginning to end.
3:12I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good during their life,
3:13And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—this is a gift of God.
3:14I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken from it. God has done it so that men may fear before Him.
3:15What is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
3:16And again I saw under the sun: in the place of judgment, wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there.
3:17I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every matter and for every work.”
3:18I said in my heart concerning the sons of man, “God is testing them, that they may see that they themselves are beasts.”
3:19For what happens to the sons of man also happens to beasts; one event happens to them both. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have one breath. Man has no advantage over the beast, for all is vanity.
3:20All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all return to the dust.
3:21Who knows whether the spirit of the sons of man rises upward, and whether the spirit of the beast descends into the earth?
3:22So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man rejoice in his works, for that is his portion; for who can bring him to see what will be after him?

Chapter 4

4:1Again I turned and saw all the oppressions done under the sun; and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter. Power was in the hand of their oppressors, and they had no comforter.
4:2And I praised the dead who have already died more than the living who are still alive.
4:3But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work done under the sun.
4:4And I saw that all labor and all skill in work arise from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and striving after wind.
4:5The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
4:6Better is one handful with rest than two handfuls with labor and striving after wind.
4:7Again I turned and saw vanity under the sun:
4:8There is one alone, with no companion; he has neither son nor brother, yet there is no end to all his labor. His eye is not satisfied with riches, and he never says, “For whom am I laboring and depriving myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grievous task.
4:9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.
4:10For if they fall, one will raise up his companion. But woe to the one who falls and has no companion to raise him up.
4:11Again, if two lie down together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?
4:12And though one may overpower one who is alone, two can withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
4:13Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive warning.
4:14For the youth came out from the house of prisoners to reign, though he was born poor in his kingdom.
4:15I saw all the living who walk under the sun following the second youth who would stand in his place.
4:16There was no end to all the people, to all who went before them; yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and striving after wind.
4:17Guard your steps when you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing evil.

Chapter 5

5:1Do not be rash with your mouth, and do not let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God; for God is in the heavens, and you are upon the earth. Therefore let your words be few.
5:2For a dream comes through much busyness, and a fool’s voice through many words.
5:3When you vow a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow.
5:4Better that you should not vow than that you vow and do not fulfill it.
5:5Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
5:6For in the abundance of dreams and vanities, words also abound. But fear God.
5:7If you see oppression of the poor and the violent denial of judgment and righteousness in a province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one higher than the high watches, and still higher ones are over them.
5:8Yet the profit of the land is for all; even a king is served by the field.
5:9Whoever loves silver is not satisfied with silver, and whoever loves abundance is not satisfied with increase. This also is vanity.
5:10When goods increase, those who consume them increase; and what advantage is there to their owner except to see them with his eyes?
5:11Sweet is the sleep of the laborer, whether he eats little or much; but the fullness of the rich does not permit him to sleep.
5:12There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: riches kept by their owner to his own harm.
5:13Those riches are lost through a bad venture; and when he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
5:14As he came from his mother’s womb, naked he returns, going as he came; and he takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.
5:15This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so he goes. And what advantage does he have who labors for wind?
5:16Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much grief, sickness, and anger.
5:17Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and enjoy the good of all one’s labor at which he labors under the sun during the number of the days of his life that God has given him; for this is his portion.
5:18Also, every man to whom God has given wealth and riches and has given power to eat of them, to accept his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is a gift of God.
5:19For he does not dwell much upon the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

Chapter 6

6:1There is an evil I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavily upon man:
6:2A man to whom God gives wealth, riches, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all he desires, yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a stranger eats it. This is vanity and a grievous affliction.
6:3If a man begets one hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, yet his soul is not satisfied with good and he is not even given burial, I say that an untimely birth is better than he.
6:4For it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered.
6:5Though it has neither seen nor known the sun, it has more rest than that man.
6:6Even though he lived twice one thousand years, yet did not see good—do not all go to one place?
6:7All the labor of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not filled.
6:8For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have who knows how to walk before the living?
6:9Better is what the eyes see than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and striving after wind.
6:10Whatever has been, its name was called long ago, and it is known what man is; and he cannot contend with One stronger than he.
6:11For the more words there are, the more vanity increases. What advantage is there to man?
6:12For who knows what is good for man in life, during the few days of his vain life that he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?

Chapter 7

7:1A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death than the day of birth.
7:2Better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for that is the end of every man, and the living will lay it to heart.
7:3Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made better.
7:4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
7:5Better to hear the rebuke of a wise man than for a man to hear the song of fools.
7:6For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.
7:7Surely oppression makes a wise man foolish, and a bribe destroys the heart.
7:8Better is the end of a matter than its beginning; better is the patient in spirit than the proud in spirit.
7:9Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.
7:10Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
7:11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and it is an advantage to those who see the sun.
7:12For wisdom is a shelter, as money is a shelter; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
7:13Consider the work of God; for who can make straight what He has made crooked?
7:14In the day of prosperity, be joyful; and in the day of calamity, consider: God has made the one alongside the other, so that man may not find out anything that will come after him.
7:15I have seen everything in the days of my vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness.
7:16Do not be overly righteous, nor make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
7:17Do not be exceedingly wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
7:18It is good that you take hold of this, and also do not let your hand release that; for whoever fears God will come through them all.
7:19Wisdom strengthens the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
7:20For there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin.
7:21Also, do not give your heart to all the words that are spoken, lest you hear your servant reviling you.
7:22For your own heart knows that many times you yourself have reviled others.
7:23All this I tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.
7:24Whatever has been is far off and exceedingly deep; who can find it?
7:25I turned, I and my heart, to know and to search and to seek out wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the madness of foolishness.
7:26And I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are chains. He who is pleasing before God escapes from her, but the sinner is captured by her.
7:27“See, this I have found,” said the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find the scheme,
7:28Which my soul still sought but I did not find: one man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I did not find.
7:29See, this alone I found: God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

Chapter 8

8:1Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
8:2I say: keep the command of the king, because of the oath before God.
8:3Do not be hasty to leave his presence. Do not persist in an evil matter, for he does whatever he pleases.
8:4Where the word of a king is, there is power; and who may say to him, “What are you doing?”
8:5Whoever keeps a commandment will know no evil thing, and the heart of the wise knows the proper time and judgment.
8:6For every matter has its time and judgment, though the misery of man lies heavily upon him.
8:7For he does not know what will be, and who can tell him when it will be?
8:8No man has power over the wind to restrain the wind, nor authority over the day of death. There is no discharge in battle, and wickedness will not deliver those who practice it.
8:9All this I have seen as I gave my heart to every work done under the sun, during the time when one man rules over another to his harm.
8:10And so I saw the wicked buried—those who had come and gone from the holy place—and they were forgotten in the city where they had acted so. This also is vanity.
8:11Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of man is fully set within them to do evil.
8:12Though a sinner does evil one hundred times and prolongs his days, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before Him.
8:13But it will not be well with the wicked, nor will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
8:14There is a vanity done upon the earth: there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked, and there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
8:15So I praised joy, because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat and drink and rejoice; and this will accompany him in his labor through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.
8:16When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task done upon the earth—for even by day and by night one’s eyes see no sleep—
8:17Then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work done under the sun. Though man labors to seek it, he will not find it; and even though the wise man says that he knows, he cannot find it out.

Chapter 9

9:1For I laid all this to my heart and examined it all: the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God. Whether love or hatred, man does not know; all lies before them.
9:2All things come alike to all: one event comes to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and to the clean and to the unclean, to him who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice. As is the good man, so is the sinner; he who swears is as he who fears an oath.
9:3This is an evil among all that is done under the sun: one event comes to all. Also, the heart of the sons of man is full of evil, and madness is in their heart during their life; and afterward they go to the dead.
9:4But whoever is joined to all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
9:5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no more reward, for their remembrance is forgotten.
9:6Their love, their hatred, and their envy have already perished; and they have no more portion forever in anything done under the sun.
9:7Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a glad heart, for God has already approved your works.
9:8Let your garments always be white, and do not let oil be lacking upon your head.
9:9Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life that He has given you under the sun—all your vain days—for this is your portion in life and in your labor at which you labor under the sun.
9:10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom in the realm of the dead, where you are going.
9:11Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the mighty, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the discerning, nor favor to those with knowledge; but time and chance happen to them all.
9:12For man does not know his time. As fish are caught in an evil net, and as birds are caught in a snare, so the sons of man are ensnared at an evil time when it falls suddenly upon them.
9:13I also saw this wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me:
9:14There was a small city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, surrounded it, and built great siegeworks against it.
9:15Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he delivered the city by his wisdom; yet no man remembered that poor man.
9:16Then I said, “Wisdom is better than might, yet the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.”
9:17The quiet words of the wise are heard more than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
9:18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

Chapter 10

10:1Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink and ferment; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
10:2The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.
10:3Even when a fool walks along the way, his heart is lacking, and he tells everyone that he is a fool.
10:4If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.
10:5There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error proceeding from the ruler:
10:6Folly is set in many high places, while the rich sit in a low place.
10:7I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants on the earth.
10:8Whoever digs a pit may fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a serpent.
10:9Whoever quarries stones may be hurt by them, and whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
10:10If the iron is blunt and one does not sharpen its edge, he must exert more strength; but wisdom brings success.
10:11If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.
10:12The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool swallow him up.
10:13The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly, and the end of his speech is wicked madness.
10:14Yet the fool multiplies words. Man does not know what will be, and who can tell him what will be after him?
10:15The labor of fools wearies them, for they do not know the way to the city.
10:16Woe to you, O land, when your king is a youth and your princes feast in the morning.
10:17Blessed are you, O land, when your king is a son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.
10:18Through slothfulness the roof sinks, and through idleness of hands the house leaks.
10:19Bread is made for laughter, and wine makes life joyful; but money answers everything.
10:20Even in your thought do not curse a king, and in your bedchamber do not curse the rich; for a bird of the heavens may carry the voice, and a winged creature may tell the matter.

Chapter 11

11:1Cast your bread upon the surface of the waters, for after many days you will find it.
11:2Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what evil may come upon the earth.
11:3If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
11:4Whoever watches the wind will not sow, and whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
11:5As you do not know the way of the spirit, nor how the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.
11:6In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
11:7Light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.
11:8But if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that is coming is vanity.
11:9Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart gladden you in the days of your young manhood. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
11:10Remove grief from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Chapter 12

12:1Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
12:2Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;
12:3In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows grow dim;
12:4And the doors upon the street are shut, when the sound of grinding is low, and one rises at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;
12:5Also when they are afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caperberry fails; for man is going to his enduring home, and the mourners go about the street;
12:6Before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, and the wheel is broken at the well;
12:7And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
12:8“Vanity of vanities,” said the Preacher; “all is vanity.”
12:9And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; and he pondered and sought out and arranged many proverbs.
12:10The Preacher sought to find pleasing words, and that which was written uprightly—words of truth.
12:11The words of the wise are like goads, and like well-driven nails are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.
12:12And beyond these, my son, be warned: of making many scrolls there is no end, and much study is weariness to the flesh.
12:13The end of the whole matter—let us hear it: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man.
12:14For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.