a king that is judging truly the poor, His throne for ever is established.

A rod and reproof give wisdom, And a youth let away is shaming his mother.

Without a Vision is a people made naked, And whoso is keeping the law, O his happiness!

By words a servant is not instructed though he understand, And there is nothing answering.

Whoso is bringing up his servant delicately, from youth, At his latter end also he is continuator.

An angry man stirreth up contention, And a furious man is multiplying transgression.

Whoso is sharing with a thief is hating his own soul, Execration he heareth, and telleth not.

Fear of man causeth a snare, And the confident in Jehovah is set on high.

Many are seeking the face of a ruler, And from Jehovah is the judgment of each.

An abomination to the righteous is the perverse man, And an abomination to the wicked is the upright in the way!

Who went up to heaven, and cometh down? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound waters in a garment? Who established all ends of the earth? What is His name? and what His son's name? Surely thou knowest!

Every saying of God is tried, A shield He is to those trusting in Him.

Lest I become satiated, and have denied, And have said, 'Who is Jehovah?' And lest I be poor, and have stolen, And have laid hold of the name of my God.

A generation is, that lightly esteemeth their father, And their mother doth not bless.

Sheol, and a restrained womb, Earth -- it is not satisfied with water, And fire -- it hath not said, 'Sufficiency,'

For three things hath earth been troubled, And for four -- it is not able to bear:

For a servant when he reigneth, And a fool when he is satisfied with bread,

Four are little ones of earth, And they are made wiser than the wise:

A king there is not to the locust, And it goeth out -- each one shouting,

A spider with two hands taketh hold, And is in the palaces of a king.

A woman of worth who doth find? Yea, far above rubies is her price.

She hath been as ships of the merchant, From afar she bringeth in her bread.

She hath perceived when her merchandise is good, Her lamp is not extinguished in the night.

She is not afraid of her household from snow, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

Known in the gates is her husband, In his sitting with elders of the land.

Her mouth she hath opened in wisdom, And the law of kindness is on her tongue.

She is watching the ways of her household, And bread of sloth she eateth not.

The grace is false, and the beauty is vain, A woman fearing Jehovah, she may boast herself.

Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole is vanity.

What advantage is to man by all his labour that he laboureth at under the sun?

A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth to the age is standing.

Also, the sun hath risen, and the sun hath gone in, and unto its place panting it is rising there.

Going unto the south, and turning round unto the north, turning round, turning round, the wind is going, and by its circuits the wind hath returned.

All the streams are going unto the sea, and the sea is not full; unto a place whither the streams are going, thither they are turning back to go.

All these things are wearying; a man is not able to speak, the eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor filled is the ear from hearing.

What is that which hath been? it is that which is, and what is that which hath been done? it is that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.

There is a thing of which one saith: 'See this, it is new!' already it hath been in the ages that were before us!

There is not a remembrance of former generations; and also of the latter that are, there is no remembrance of them with those that are at the last.

And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that hath been done under the heavens. It is a sad travail God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.

I have seen all the works that have been done under the sun, and lo, the whole is vanity and vexation of spirit!

A crooked thing one is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered.

And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this is vexation of spirit;

for, in abundance of wisdom is abundance of sadness, and he who addeth knowledge addeth pain.'

I said in my heart, 'Pray, come, I try thee with mirth, and look thou on gladness;' and lo, even it is vanity.

Of laughter I said, 'Foolish!' and of mirth, 'What is this it is doing?'

I have sought in my heart to draw out with wine my appetite, (and my heart leading in wisdom), and to take hold on folly till that I see where is this -- the good to the sons of man of that which they do under the heavens, the number of the days of their lives.

and I have looked on all my works that my hands have done, and on the labour that I have laboured to do, and lo, the whole is vanity and vexation of spirit, and there is no advantage under the sun!

And I turned to see wisdom, and madness, and folly, but what is the man who cometh after the king? that which is already -- they have done it!

And I saw that there is an advantage to wisdom above folly, like the advantage of the light above the darkness.

The wise! -- his eyes are in his head, and the fool in darkness is walking, and I also knew that one event happeneth with them all;

and I said in my heart, 'As it happeneth with the fool, it happeneth also with me, and why am I then more wise?' And I spake in my heart, that also this is vanity:

That there is no remembrance to the wise -- with the fool -- to the age, for that which is already, in the days that are coming is all forgotten, and how dieth the wise? with the fool!

And I have hated life, for sad to me is the work that hath been done under the sun, for the whole is vanity and vexation of spirit.

And I have hated all my labour that I labour at under the sun, because I leave it to a man who is after me.

And who knoweth whether he is wise or foolish? yet he doth rule over all my labour that I have laboured at, and that I have done wisely under the sun! this also is vanity.

For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity, and to a man who hath not laboured therein he giveth it -- his portion! Even this is vanity and a great evil.

For all his days are sorrows, and his travail sadness; even at night his heart hath not lain down; this also is vanity.

There is nothing good in a man who eateth, and hath drunk, and hath shewn his soul good in his labour. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.

For to a man who is good before Him, He hath given wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; and to a sinner He hath given travail, to gather and to heap up, to give to the good before God. Even this is vanity and vexation of spirit.

What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?

I have known that there is no good for them except to rejoice and to do good during their life,

yea, even every man who eateth and hath drunk and seen good by all his labour, it is a gift of God.

I have known that all that God doth is to the age, to it nothing is to be added, and from it nothing is to be withdrawn; and God hath wrought that they do fear before Him.

What is that which hath been? already it is, and that which is to be hath already been, and God requireth that which is pursued.

And again, I have seen under the sun the place of judgment -- there is the wicked; and the place of righteousness -- there is the wicked.

I said in my heart, 'The righteous and the wicked doth God judge, for a time is to every matter and for every work there.'

I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves are beasts.

For an event is to the sons of man, and an event is to the beasts, even one event is to them; as the death of this, so is the death of that; and one spirit is to all, and the advantage of man above the beast is nothing, for the whole is vanity.

Who knoweth the spirit of the sons of man that is going up on high, and the spirit of the beast that is going down below to the earth?

And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man rejoice in his works, for it is his portion; for who doth bring him in to look on that which is after him?

And I have turned, and I see all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and lo, the tear of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and at the hand of their oppressors is power, and they have no comforter.

And better than both of them is he who hath not yet been, in that he hath not seen the evil work that hath been done under the sun.

And I have seen all the labour, and all the benefit of the work, because for it a man is the envy of his neighbour. Even this is vanity and vexation of spirit.

The fool is clasping his hands, and eating his own flesh:

Better is a handful with quietness, than two handfuls with labour and vexation of spirit.'

There is one, and there is not a second; even son or brother he hath not, and there is no end to all his labour! His eye also is not satisfied with riches, and he saith not, 'For whom am I labouring and bereaving my soul of good?' This also is vanity, it is a sad travail.

For if they fall, the one raiseth up his companion, but woe to the one who falleth and there is not a second to raise him up!

And if the one strengthen himself, the two stand against him; and the threefold cord is not hastily broken.

Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who hath not known to be warned any more.

there is no end to all the people, to all who were before them; also, the latter rejoice not in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Cause not thy mouth to hasten, and let not thy heart hasten to bring out a word before God, for God is in the heavens, and thou on the earth, therefore let thy words be few.

When thou vowest a vow to God, delay not to complete it, for there is no pleasure in fools; that which thou vowest -- complete.

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger, that 'it is an error,' why is God wroth because of thy voice, and hath destroyed the work of thy hands?

If oppression of the poor, and violent taking away of judgment and righteousness thou seest in a province, do not marvel at the matter, for a higher than the high is observing, and high ones are over them.

And the abundance of a land is for all. A king for a field is served.

Whoso is loving silver is not satisfied with silver, nor he who is in love with stores with increase. Even this is vanity.

In the multiplying of good have its consumers been multiplied, and what benefit is to its possessor except the sight of his eyes?

Sweet is the sleep of the labourer whether he eat little or much; and the sufficiency of the wealthy is not suffering him to sleep.

There is a painful evil I have seen under the sun: wealth kept for its possessor, for his evil.

And that wealth hath been lost in an evil business, and he hath begotten a son and there is nothing in his hand!

As he came out from the belly of his mother, naked he turneth back to go as he came, and he taketh not away anything of his labour, that doth go in his hand.

And this also is a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage is to him who laboureth for wind?

Lo, that which I have seen: It is good, because beautiful, to eat, and to drink, and to see good in all one's labour that he laboureth at under the sun, the number of the days of his life that God hath given to him, for it is his portion.

Every man also to whom God hath given wealth and riches, and hath given him power to eat of it, and to accept his portion, and to rejoice in his labour, this is a gift of God.

For he doth not much remember the days of his life, for God is answering through the joy of his heart.

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is great on man:

A man to whom God giveth wealth, and riches, and honour, and there is no lack to his soul of all that he desireth, and God giveth him not power to eat of it, but a stranger eateth it; this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

If a man doth beget a hundred, and live many years, and is great, because they are the days of his years, and his soul is not satisfied from the goodness, and also he hath not had a grave, I have said, 'Better than he is the untimely birth.'

For in vanity he came in, and in darkness he goeth, and in darkness his name is covered,

All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not filled.