Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

The plant appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

For the transgression of a land many are its princes: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

He that robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rageth or laugheth, there is no rest.

If a ruler hearkeneth to lies, all his servants are wicked.

When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Who hath ascended into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

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

There is a generation, O 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 horse-leech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yes, four things say not, It is enough:

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

The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

There are four things which are little upon the earth, but they are very wise:

The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer;

The conies are but a feeble people, yet they make their houses in the rocks;

There are three things which go well, yes, four are comely in going:

If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thy hand upon thy mouth.

Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that are of heavy hearts.

Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this grievous labor hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised with it.

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

I procured 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:

So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

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.

And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

For all his days are sorrows, and his labor grief; yes, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.

For who can eat, or who else can hasten to it more than I?

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

I said in my heart concerning the state of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

So I returned, and considered 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.

Wherefore I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive.

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

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

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perversion of judgment and justice in a province, wonder not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there are higher than they.

When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners of them, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eateth little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

If a man begetteth a hundred children, and liveth many years, so that the days of his years are many, and his soul is not filled with good, and also that he hath no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.

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

Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.

Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men who are in the city.

Also take no heed to all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:

Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say to him, what doest thou?

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

And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.

Though a sinner doeth evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet surely I know that it will be well with them that fear God, who fear before him:

But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are just men, to 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.

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes, 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 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 are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

Then said I, wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.

Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air will carry the voice, and that which hath wings will tell the matter.

If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree falleth towards the south, or towards the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

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 shall be darkened,

Or ever the silver cord shall be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.

Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard have I not kept.

Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?

Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.

Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yes, pleasant: also our bed is green.

The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice.

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

Take for us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

Until the day shall break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; sixty valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; all of which bear twins, and none is barren among them.

Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of pomegranate within thy locks.

Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honey-comb; honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphor, with spikenard,

My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.

His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh.

His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.

His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.