And, though an enemy should prevail against one, two, might make a stand before him, - and, a threefold cord, cannot soon be broken.

Better a boy poor and wise, - than a king, old and stupid, who knoweth not how to take warning any longer.

For, out of prison, came he forth to reign, yea, even in his own kingdom, was he born poor.

I saw all the living, who were going hither and thither under the sun, - that they were with the boy who was to be the second, who was to stand in the other's place: -

There was no end to all the people, to all before whom he came, yet, they who should come later, would not rejoice in him, - surely, even this, was vanity, and a feeding on wind.

Keep thy foot, when thou goest unto the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than dullards to offer sacrifice, - for they make no acknowledgment of doing wrong.

Be not rash with thy mouth, and, with thy heart, be not in haste to bring forth a word, before God, - for, God, is in the heavens, and, thou, upon the earth, for this cause, let thy words be few.

When thou vowest a vow unto God, do not defer to pay it, for there is no pleasure in dullards, - what thou vowest, pay!

Do not let thy mouth cause thy flesh to sin, - neither say thou, before the messenger, that it was, a mistake, - wherefore should God be indignant at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?

If, the oppression of the poor, and the wresting of justice and righteousness, thou see in the province, do not be astonished over the matter, - for, one high above the highest, is watching, yea, the Most High, is over them.

When blessings are increased, increased are the eaters thereof, - what profit, then, to the owner of them saving the sight of his eyes?

Sweet the sleep of the labourer, whether, little or much, he eat, - but, the surfeit of the rich man, will not suffer him to sleep.

Here was an incurable evil, I had seen under the sun, riches kept by the owner thereof, to his hurt;

Lo! what, I myself, have seen - Better that it should be excellent to eat and to drink and to see blessedness, in all one's toil wherein one toileth under the sun, for the number of the days of his life, in that God hath given it him, for, that, is his portion:

yet, as regardeth every man, to whom God hath given wealth and goods, and granted him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to find gladness in his toil, this, is, the gift of God.

A man to whom God giveth riches and gains and honour, so that nothing doth he lack for his soul - of all that he craveth, and yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but, a man unknown, eateth it, - this, was vanity, and, an incurable evil, it was.

For what profit hath the wise man, over the dullard? What can, the poor man, know - so as to walk before the living?

Better a name, than precious ointment, - and the day of death, than the day of one's birth.

Better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of banqueting, for, that, is the end of all men, - and, the living, should take it to his heart.

Better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for any man to hear the song of dullards,

Do not be rash in thy spirit, to be indignant, - for, indignation, in the bosom of dullards, doth remain.

Do not say, What hath happened, that, the former days, were better than these? for, not wisely, askest thou concerning this.

Good is wisdom, with an inheritance, - and a profit, to such as see the sun.

For, a protection, is wisdom, and, a protection, is silver, - but, the advantage of knowledge, is, that, wisdom, giveth life to the possessors thereof.

In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but, in the day of misfortune, consider, - Even the one equally with the other, hath God made, to the end man might find out - after him - nothing.

Do not become so very righteous, neither count thyself wise beyond measure, - wherefore shouldst thou destroy thyself?

Do not be so very lawless, neither become thou foolish, - wherefore shouldst thou die, before thy time?

It is well that thou shouldst lay fast hold of this, but, even from the other, do not withdraw thy hand, - for, he that revereth God, shall come forth out of them all.

Wisdom, bringeth more strength to a wise man, than ten heroes, that are in the city.

Moreover, not to all the words which men speak, do thou apply thy heart, - lest thou hear thine own servant reviling thee!

Resolved, I, in my heart, to know and search out, and to seek wisdom, and a conclusion, - and to know lawlessness to be stupidity, and folly to be madness.

I, could indeed find, to be, more bitter than death, the woman, whose heart is, snares and nets, and her hands, bonds, - whoso is pleasing before God, shall escape from her, but, he that sinneth, shall be captured by her.

See! this, have I found, saith the Proclaimer counting one by one, to find a conclusion;

I said , The bidding of the king, observe thou, even out of regard to the oath of God.

Not rashly from his presence, shouldst thou go: do not take thy stand in a vexatious thing, - for, whatsoever he pleaseth, he will do.

Where the word of a king is, there is power, - who then may say to him, What wouldst thou do?

For, to every pursuit, there is a time and a manner, - when, the vexation of man, is great concerning it.

No man, hath power over the spirit, to retain the spirit, and, none, hath power over the day of death, and there is no furlough in war, - neither shall lawlessness deliver them who are given thereto.

All this, had I seen, and tried to apply my heart to every work which was done under the sun, - at such time as one man had power over another man, to his hurt.

And, thereupon, I considered the lawless when buried, when they had entered, their graves , that, from the place of the Holy One, they used to go and boast in the city that they had so done, - even this, was vanity.

Because sentence against a wicked work is not executed speedily - on this account, the heart of the sons of men is fully set within them, to commit wickedness.

Though a sinner be committing wickedness a hundred times, and continuing long in his own way, yet I surely know that it shall be well to them who revere God, who stand in awe before him;

but, well, shall it not be to the lawless man, neither shall he lengthen out his days like a shadow, - because he standeth not in awe before God.

Here was a vain thing which was done upon the earth - that there were righteous men unto whom it happened according to the work of the lawless, and there were lawless men, unto whom it happened according to the work of the righteous, - I said, that, even this, was vanity.

Then extolled I, gladness, in that there was nothing better for a man, under the sun, than to eat and to drink, and to be glad, - since, that, should tarry with him in his toil, for the days of his life which God had given him under the sun.

When I gave my heart, to know wisdom, and to consider the business that was done upon the earth, then surely, by day and by night, there was one who suffered not his eyes, to sleep.

For, whosoever was united to all the living, for him, there was hope, - -inasmuch as, a living dog, fared better than a dead lion.

For, the living, knew that they should die, - -but, the dead, knew not, anything, neither had they any longer a reward, because forgotten was their memory.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, with thy might, do, - for there is no work nor calculation nor knowledge nor wisdom, in hades, whither, thou, art going.

I again saw under the sun, that not, to the swift, was the race, nor, to the strong, the battle, nay! nor, to the wise, food, nor yet, to the intelligent, riches, nor, even to the well-informed, comeliness, - for, time and accident, happened to them all.

Dead flies, cause to stink and ferment, the oil of the perfumer, - More costly than wisdom or honour, is a little folly.

If, the spirit of a ruler, riseth up against thee, thy place, do not leave, for gentleness, pacifieth such as have greatly erred.

The toil of dullards, shall weary a man, that he knoweth not how to go into the city.

Alas! for thee, O land, when thy king is a boy, - and, thy rulers, in the morning, do eat:

How happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a son of nobles, - and, thy rulers, in season, do eat, for strength, and not for debauchery.

By two lazy arms, the framework sinketh in, - and, by the hanging down of the hands, the house may leak.

Even in thy thought, do not revile, the king, nor, within thy bed-chambers, revile thou the rich, - for, a bird of the heavens, might carry the voice, yea, an owner of wings, might tell the matter.

Give a portion to seven, yea even to eight, - for thou canst not know, what there shall be of misfortune, upon the earth.

In the morning, sow thy seed, and, until evening, do not withhold thy hand, - for thou knowest not - whether shall thrive, either this or that, or whether, both alike, shall be fruitful.

Truly sweet is the light, - and, pleasant to the eyes, to see the sun:

In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the men of might bow themselves, - and the grinders cease because they are few, and they who look through the windows are darkened;

Yea, at what is high, they be in fear, and there be, terrors, in the way, and the almond be rejected, and the grasshopper drag itself along, and desire perish, - for man is going to his age-abiding home, when the wailers shall go round in the streets;

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

The Proclaimer sought to find out words giving delight, and to note down rightly, the words of truth.

The Song of Songs, which pertaineth to Solomon.

SHEDo not look on me, because, I, am so swarthy, because the sun hath scorched me, - My mother's sons, were angry with me, they set me to keep the vineyards, Mine own vineyard, have I not kept. --

To a mare of mine, in the chariots of Pharaoh, have I likened thee, my fair one!

A bag of myrrh, is my beloved to me, between my breasts, shall it tarry the night!

A cluster of henna, is my beloved to me, in the vineyards of En-gedi.

SHEAs an apple-tree among the trees of the forest, So, is my beloved, among the sons: In his shade, I greatly delighted and sat down, And, his fruit, was sweet to my taste.

Responded my beloved, and said to me, - Rise up! my fair - my beautiful - one, and come away,

Until the day, breathe, and the shadows, be lengthened, Again, liken thyself, my beloved, to a gazelle, or to a young stag, upon the cleft mountains. ****

Go forth and gaze, ye daughters of Zion, upon King Solomon, - wearing the crown, wherewith his mother, crowned him, in the day of his marriage, and in the day of his heart gladness.

Thy two breasts, are like two young roes, twins of a gazelle, - which pasture among lilies.

Until the day, breathe, and the shadows, be lengthened, I will get me unto the mountain of myrrh, and unto the hill of frankincense.

With sweetness, thy lips do drip, O bride, - Honey and milk, are under thy tongue, and, the fragrance of thy garments, is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

SHEI, was sleeping, but, my heart, was awake, - The voice of my beloved - knocking! Open to me, my sister, my fair one, my dove, my perfect one, for, my head, is filled with dew, my locks, with the moisture of the night.

I myself, arose, to open to my beloved, - and, my hands, dripped with myrrh, and, my fingers, with myrrh distilling, upon the handles of the bolt.

I myself, opened to my beloved, but, my beloved, had turned away, had passed on, - My soul, had gone out when he spake, I sought him, but found him not, I called him, but he answered not.

SHEMy beloved, is gone down to his garden, to the beds of balsam, - to pasture in the gardens, and to gather lilies,

One alone, is my dove, my perfect one, one alone, was she to her mother, Pure, was she to her that bare her, - The daughters, have seen her, and pronounced her happy, Queens and concubines, and they have praised her.

HETo the garden of nuts, I went down, to look at the fresh shoots of the ravine, - to see whether: had burst forth the vine, had blossomed the pomegranate: -

Thy two breasts, are like two young roes, the twins of a gazelle:

This thy stature, is like to a palm-tree, and, thy breasts, are like clusters:

And, thy mouth, like good wine - SHEFlowing to my beloved smoothly, gliding over the lips of the sleeping.

Let us get up early to the vineyards, Let us see whether the vine, hath burst forth, the blossom, hath opened, the pomegranates, have bloomed, - There, will I give my caresses to thee.

Oh that thou hadst been a very brother to me, who had sucked the breasts of my own mother, - Had I found thee without, I had kissed thee, Yea, folk would not have despised me!

THEYA sister, have we, a little one, and, breasts, hath she none, What shall we do for our sister, in the day when she may be spoken for?

A vineyard, had Solomon, as the owner of abundance, He put out the vineyard to keepers, - Every man, was to bring in, for the fruit thereof, a thousand silverlings:

Mine own vineyard, is before me, - The thousand belong to thee, O Solomon, and two hundred to the keepers of the fruit thereof.

HEO thou fair dweller in the gardens, the companions are giving heed to thy voice, Let me hear it.

Hear the word of Yahweh, ye rulers of Sodom, - Give ear to the instruction of our God, ye people of Gomorrah: -

Of what use to me, is your multitude of sacrifices: Saith Yahweh: I am sated with ascending-offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts, - In the blood of bulls and young rams and he-goats, have I no pleasure.

When ye enter to see my face, Who hath required this at your hand trampling my courts?

Your new moons and your appointed feasts, my soul, hateth, - They have become unto me a burden I am too weary to bear:

Wash you make you clean, Put away the wickedness of your doings from before mine eyes, - Cease to do evil.

Learn to do well - Seek justice, Correct the oppressor, - Vindicate the fatherless, Plead the cause of the widow,

Thy rulers, are unruly, and companions of thieves, Every one of the people, loveth a bribe, and runneth after rewards, - The fatherless, they do not vindicate, And, the plea of the widow, reacheth them not.

And the downfall of transgressors and sinners, shall be, together, - And, they who forsake Yahweh, shall be brought to an end;

Then shall the strong one become tow, And his work a spark, - And they shall both blaze together And there be none to quench the fire.