So is the way of an adulterous woman; She eateth, and wipeth her mouth, And saith, I have done no wickedness.

For a servant when he is king; And a fool when he is filled with food;

For an odious woman when she is married; And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

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

The lizard taketh hold with her hands, Yet is she in kings palaces.

The lion, which is mightiest among beasts, And turneth not away for any;

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

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes to say , Where is strong drink?

Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted.

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, And wine unto the bitter in soul:

Open thy mouth for the dumb, In the cause of all such as are left desolate.

A worthy woman who can find? For her price is far above rubies.

She is like the merchant-ships; She bringeth her bread from afar.

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

She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable: Her lamp goeth not out by night.

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

She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates, When he sitteth among the elders of the land.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And the law of kindness is on her tongue.

Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain; But a woman that feareth Jehovah, she shall be praised.

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.

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

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.

And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it?

Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.

The wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happeneth to them all.

Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then said I in my heart, that this also is vanity.

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!

So I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun was grievous unto me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

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

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.

For all his days are but'sorrows, and his travail is grief; yea, even in the night his heart taketh no rest. This also is vanity.

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 to the man that pleaseth him God giveth 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 pleaseth God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

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

a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

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

And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.

That which is hath been long ago; and that which is to be hath long ago been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.

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.

I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity.

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.

yea, better than them both did I esteem him that hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

Then I saw all labor and every skilful work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and striving after wind.

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.

For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up.

And if a man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth not how to receive admonition any more.

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.

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God; for to draw nigh to hear is better than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil.

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that is was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?

Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase: this also is vanity.

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?

The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much; but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

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.

As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.

And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that he laboreth for the wind?

All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he is sore vexed, and hath sickness and wrath.

Behold, that which I have seen to be good and to be comely is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, wherein he laboreth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for this is his portion.

Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor-this is the gift of God.

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

a man to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacketh nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but an alien eateth it; this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul be not filled with good, and moreover he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he:

for it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and the name thereof is covered with darkness;

All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.

For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? or what hath the poor man, that knoweth how to walk before the living?

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Whatsoever hath been, the name thereof was given long ago; and it is know what man is; neither can he contend with him that is mightier than he.

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

For who knoweth what is good for man in his life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

A good name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one's birth.

It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad.

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.

Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding.

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

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

Wisdom is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun.

For wisdom is a defence, even as money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it.

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.

It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth from them all.

Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a city.

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

All this have I proved in wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.