Ecclesiastes 1
1The words of the
Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all
is vanity.
3What profit hath a man
of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
4One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but
the earth abideth for ever.
5The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his
place where he arose.
6The
wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it
whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to
his circuits.
7All
the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place
from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is
not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9The
thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done
is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it
hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11There
is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any
remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come
after.
12I the Preacher was
king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13And
I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things
that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the
sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and,
behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
15That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which
is wanting cannot be numbered.
16I
communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate,
and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in
Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and
folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth
knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Ecclesiastes 2
- I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth,
therefore
enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
- I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
- I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet
acquainting mine
heart
with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that
good
for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days
of their life.
- I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me
vineyards:
- I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of
all kind
of fruits:
- I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that
bringeth
forth
trees:
- I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my
house; also
I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were
in
Jerusalem before me:
- I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure
of kings
and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the
delights
of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
- So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me
in
Jerusalem:
also my wisdom remained with me.
- And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I
withheld not
my
heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this
was
my portion of all my labour.
- Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and
on the
labour
that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of
spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
- And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly:
for what
can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been
already
done.
- Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light
excelleth
darkness.
- The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in
darkness:
and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
- Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it
happeneth
even
to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this
also is vanity.
- For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool
for ever;
seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten.
And
how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
- Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under
the sun
is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
- Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun:
because I
should
leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
- And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet
shall he
have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I
have
shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
- Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the
labour
which
I took under the sun.
- For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge,
and in
equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it
for
his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
- For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his
heart,
wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
- For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his
heart
taketh
not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
- There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and
drink,
and
that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw,
that it was from the hand of God.
- For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?
- For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and
knowledge,
and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up,
that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity
and
vexation of spirit.