I said in my heart, It is thus with the children of men, that God may prove them, and that they should see that they themselves are but beasts.

For what befalleth the children of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other, and they have all one breath; and man hath no pre-eminence above the beast: for all is vanity.

Who knoweth the spirit of the children of men? Doth it go upwards? and the spirit of the beasts, doth it go downwards to the earth?

And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Then I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive;

and more fortunate than both is he who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

And I saw all labour, and all success of work, that it is man's jealousy of his neighbour. This also is vanity and pursuit of the wind.

There is one alone and without a second; also he hath neither son nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour, neither is his eye satisfied with riches, and he saith not, For whom then am I labouring, and depriving my soul of good? This also is vanity and a grievous occupation.

For out of the prison-house he came forth to reign, although he was born poor in his kingdom.

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

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 it was an inadvertence. Wherefore should God be wroth at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter; for a higher than the high is watching, and there are higher than they.

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

And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came so doth he go away, and what profit hath he, in having laboured for the wind?

Behold what I have seen good and comely: it is to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour wherewith man laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for that is his portion.

Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and power to eat thereof, and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labour: that is a gift of God.

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is frequent among men:

one to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honour, and he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and a sore evil.

For it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness;

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

Yea, though he live twice a thousand years, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?

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

For what advantage hath the wise above the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?

That which is hath already been named; and what man is, is known, and that he cannot contend with him that is mightier than he.

For there are many things that increase vanity: what is man advantaged?

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

It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: in that that is the end of all men, and the living taketh it to heart.

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

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

For wisdom is a defence as money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom maketh them that possess it to live.

Consider the work of God; for who can make straight what he hath made crooked?

In the day of prosperity enjoy good, and in the day of adversity consider: God hath also set the one beside the other, to the end that man should find out nothing of what shall be after him.

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

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

Whatever hath been, is far off, and exceeding deep: who will find it out?

I turned, I and my heart, to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom and reason, and to know wickedness to be folly, and foolishness to be madness;

See this which I have found, saith the Preacher, searching one by one to find out the reason;

which my soul yet seeketh, and I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found, but a woman among all those have I not found.

Only see this which I have found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices.

Be not hasty to go out of his sight; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatever pleaseth him,

because the word of a king is power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

for he knoweth not that which shall be; for who can tell him how it shall be?

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

Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his days, yet I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, because they fear before him;

but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days as a shadow, because he feareth not before God.

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; and there are wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

And I commended mirth, because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry; for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God hath given him under the sun.

then I saw that all is the work of God, and that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because however man may labour to seek it out, yet doth he not find it; and even, if a wise man think to know it, he shall not be able to find it out.

Go, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works.

Let thy garments be always white, and let not thy head lack oil.

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to the intelligent, nor yet favour to men of knowledge; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are taken with the snare, like them are the children of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

This also have I seen as wisdom under the sun, and it was great unto me.

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

and there was found in it a poor wise man, who by his wisdom delivered the city; but no man remembered that poor man.

The heart of a wise man is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.

He that diggeth a pit falleth into it; and whoso breaketh down a hedge, a serpent biteth him.

Whoso removeth stones is hurt therewith; he that cleaveth wood is endangered thereby.

If the iron be blunt, and one do not whet the edge, then must he apply more strength; but wisdom is profitable to give success.

And the fool multiplieth words: yet man knoweth not what shall be; and what shall be after him, who will tell him?

Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.

Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

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 it shall be.

As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, how the bones grow in the womb of her that is with child, even so thou knowest not the work of God who maketh all.

Now the light is sweet, and pleasant is it to the eyes to see the sun;

but if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many: all that cometh is vanity.

in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows are darkened,

and the doors are shut toward the street; when the sound of the grinding is subdued, and they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;

they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;)

before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern;

and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it.

And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words; and that which was written is upright, words of truth.

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

Tell me, thou whom my soul loveth, Where thou feedest thy flock, Where thou makest it to rest at noon; For why should I be as one veiled Beside the flocks of thy companions?

While the king is at his table, My spikenard sendeth forth its fragrance.

As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, So is my beloved among the sons: In his shadow have I rapture and sit down; And his fruit is sweet to my taste.

For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over, it is gone:

Behold his couch, Solomon's own: Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty of Israel.

King Solomon made himself a palanquin Of the wood of Lebanon.

Awake, north wind, and come, thou south; Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow forth. Let my beloved come into his garden, And eat its precious fruits.

I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, beloved ones!

I have put off my tunic, how should I put it on? I have washed my feet, how should I pollute them? --

I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved, ... What will ye tell him? That I am sick of love.

What is thy beloved more than another beloved, Thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved more than another beloved, That thou dost so charge us?

My beloved is white and ruddy, The chiefest among ten thousand.

Return, return, O Shulamite; Return, return, that we may look upon thee. What would ye look upon in the Shulamite? As it were the dance of two camps.

Thy navel is a round goblet, which wanteth not mixed wine; Thy belly a heap of wheat, set about with lilies;

The mandrakes yield fragrance; And at our gates are all choice fruits, new and old: I have laid them up for thee, my beloved.

Many waters cannot quench love, Neither do the floods drown it: Even if a man gave all the substance of his house for love, It would utterly be contemned.

We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts: What shall we do for our sister In the day when she shall be spoken for? --

Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon: He let out the vineyard unto keepers; Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand silver-pieces.

Thou that dwellest in the gardens, The companions hearken to thy voice: Let me hear it.

Your country is desolate; your cities are burned with fire; your land, strangers eat it up in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith Jehovah. I am sated with burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and in the blood of bullocks, and of lambs, and of he-goats I take no pleasure.

learn to do well: seek judgment, gladden the oppressed, do justice to the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Come now, let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.