He that is of a greedy spirit stirreth up strife; But he that putteth his trust in Jehovah shall be made fat.

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool; But whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack; But he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck Shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father; But he that keepeth company with harlots wasteth his'substance.

The king by justice establisheth the land; But he that exacteth gifts overthroweth it.

A man that flattereth his neighbor Spreadeth a net for his steps.

The bloodthirsty hate him that is perfect; And as for the upright, they seek his life.

The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, His throne shall be established for ever.

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.

He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last.

A man's pride shall bring him low; But he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honor.

An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous; And he that is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.

Surely I am more brutish than any man, And have not the understanding of a man;

Every word of God is tried: He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.

Remove far from me falsehood and lies; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is needful for me:

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.

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

Sheol; and the barren womb; The earth that is not satisfied with water; And the fire that saith not, Enough.

The eye that mocketh at his father, And despiseth to obey his mother, The ravens of the valley shall pick it out, And the young eagles shall eat it.

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

Give not thy strength unto women, Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

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:

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

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

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.

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.

I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom above all that were before me in Jerusalem; yea, my heart hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.

And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.

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

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.

I bought men-servants and maid-servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem;

I gathered me also silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I gat me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, 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.

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.

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 done long ago.

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 I hated all my labor wherein I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

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 who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I?

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.

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

What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?

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

I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God hath done it, that men should fear before him.

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.

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, 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.

Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive;

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.

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

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.

I saw all the living that walk under the sun, that they were with the youth, the second, that stood up in his stead.

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.

When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou vowest.

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?

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.

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?

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?

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.

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:

moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath rest rather than the other:

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?

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.

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

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.

Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?