For by wise guidance thou shalt make thy war; And in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

So shalt thou know wisdom to be unto thy soul; If thou hast found it, then shall there be a reward, And thy hope shall not be cut off.

For there shall be no reward to the evil man; The lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

For their calamity shall rise suddenly; And the destruction from them both, who knoweth it?

Take away the dross from the silver, And there cometh forth a vessel for the refiner:

It is not good to eat much honey: So for men to search out their own glory is grievous.

Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.

The sluggard saith, There is a lion in the way; A lion is in the streets.

For lack of wood the fire goeth out; And where there is no whisperer, contention ceaseth.

When he speaketh fair, believe him not; For there are seven abominations in his heart:

And there will be goats milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, And maintenance for thy maidens.

When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; But when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare; But the righteous doth sing and rejoice.

If a wise man hath a controversy with a foolish man, Whether he be angry or laugh, there will be no rest.

When the wicked are increased, transgression increaseth; But the righteous shall look upon their fall.

Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope of a fool than of him.

There is a generation that curse their father, And bless not their mother.

There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, And yet are not washed from their filthiness.

There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up.

There is a generation whose teeth are as'swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

The horseleach hath two daughters, crying , Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, Yea , four that say not, Enough:

There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yea, four which I know not:

For three things the earth doth tremble, And for four, which it cannot bear:

There are four things which are little upon the earth, But they are exceeding wise:

The ants are a people not strong, Yet they provide their food in the summer;

The conies are but a feeble folk, Yet make they their houses in the rocks;

There are three things which are stately in their march, Yea, four which are stately in going:

The greyhound; the he-goat also; And the king against whom there is no rising up.

She riseth also while it is yet night, And giveth food to her household, And their task to her maidens.

That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us.

There is no remembrance of the former generations ; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come, among those that shall come after.

I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven all the days of their life.

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. And how doth the wise man die even as the fool!

For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with skilfulness; yet to a man that hath not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:

He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end.

I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to do good so long as they live.

And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.

I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him back to see what shall be after him?

Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and, behold, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches. For whom then,'saith he , do I labor, and deprive my soul of good? This also is vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was: yet they that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, and in many words: but fear thou God.

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they.

When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, save the beholding of them with his eyes?

There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely , riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt:

and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy upon men:

Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?

All this have I seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his evil-doing.

Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

for to every purpose there is a time and judgment; because the misery of man is great upon him:

There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.

All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man hath power over another to his hurt.

There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes),

For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them.

All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

For to him that is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

As well their love, as their hatred and their envy, is perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.

There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.

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.

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as it were an error which proceedeth from the ruler:

He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh through a wall, a serpent shall bite him.

If the serpent bite before it is charmed, then is there no advantage in the charmer.

By slothfulness the roof sinketh in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh.

If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be.

And furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: Behold, he standeth behind our wall; He looketh in at the windows; He glanceth through the lattice.

The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs, And the vines are in blossom; They give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armory, Whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, All the shields of the mighty men.

Thou art all fair, my love; And there is no spot in thee.

There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number.

And thy mouth like the best wine, That goeth down smoothly for my beloved, Gliding through the lips of those that are asleep.

Let us get up early to the vineyards; Let us see whether the vine hath budded, And its blossom is open, And the pomegranates are in flower: There will I give thee my love.

Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple-tree I awakened thee: There thy mother was in travail with thee, There was she in travail that brought thee forth.

From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and fresh stripes: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil.

And he will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

And their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots.

Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.

For there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low;

In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have done evil unto themselves.

Say ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with him ; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

Moreover Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet;

therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will lay bare their secret parts.

In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, and the cauls, and the crescents;

And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; branding instead of beauty.

And there shall be a pavilion for a shade in the day-time from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.