to the dead.
4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead
lion.
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any
more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more
a portion for ever in any thingthat is done under the sun.
7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now
accepteth thy works.
8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he
hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that isthy portion in thislife, and
in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do itwith thy might; for there isno work, nor device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race isnot to the swift, nor the battle to the
strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to
men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the
birds that are caught in the snare; so arethe sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth
suddenly upon them.
13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemedgreat unto me:
14 There wasa little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and
besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no
man remembered that same poor man.
16 Then said I, Wisdom isbetter than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is
despised, and his words are not heard.
17 The words of wise men areheard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
18 Wisdom isbetter than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so dotha
little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom andhonour.
2 A wise man's heart isat his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.
3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to
every one thathe isa fool.
4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great
offences.
5 There is an evil whichI have seen under the sun, as an error whichproceedeth from the ruler:
6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.
7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.
8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; andhe that cleaveth wood shall be
endangered thereby.
10 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but
wisdom isprofitable to direct.
11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.
12 The words of a wise man's mouth aregracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up
himself.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth isfoolishness: and the end of his talk is
14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him,
who can tell him?
15 The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to
the city.
16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king isa child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
17 Blessed artthou, O land, when thy king isthe son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due
season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house
droppeth through.
19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.
20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird
of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.
1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the
earth.
3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselvesupon the earth: and if the tree fall toward
the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
5 As thou knowest not what isthe way of the spirit, norhow the bones do growin the womb of
her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not
whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall bealike good.
7 Truly the light issweet, and a pleasant thing it isfor the eyes to behold the sun:
8 But if a man live many years, andrejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of
darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh isvanity.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and
walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these
thingsGod will bring thee into judgment.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and
youth arevanity.
1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return
after the rain:
3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow
themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the
windows be darkened,
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall
rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
5 Also whenthey shall be afraid of that which ishigh, and fears shall bein the way, and the
almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because
man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the
fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who
gave it.
8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all isvanity.
9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he
set in order many proverbs.
10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which waswritten wasupright,
evenwords of truth.
11 The words of the wise areas goads, and as nails fastened bythe masters of assemblies,
whichare given from one shepherd.
12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there isno end; and
much study isa weariness of the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for
this isthe whole dutyof man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it begood,
or whether it beevil.
