But if a man lives many years
And (A)rejoices in them all,
Yet let him (B)remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.

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29 (A)Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they would consider their (B)latter end!

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18 how they told you that (A)there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.

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35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer (A)the light is with you. (B)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; (C)he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.

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(A)A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
(B)A people come, great and strong,
(C)The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations.

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16 (A)Give glory to the Lord your God
Before He causes (B)darkness,
And before your feet stumble
On the dark mountains,
And while you are (C)looking for light,
He turns it into (D)the shadow of death
And makes it dense darkness.

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Seek God in Early Life

12 Remember(A) now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the [a]difficult days come,
And the years draw near (B)when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all (C)the daughters of music are brought low.
Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to (D)his eternal home,
And (E)the mourners go about the streets.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 12:1 Lit. evil

15 (A)So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

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12 (A)Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that (B)it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.

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14 (A)In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one [a]as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 7:14 alongside

11 Since there are many things that increase vanity,
How is man the better?

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even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one (A)place?

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18 Here is what I have seen: (A)It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; (B)for it is his [a]heritage. 19 As for (C)every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his [b]heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the (D)gift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 5:18 Lit. portion
  2. Ecclesiastes 5:19 Lit. portion

15 (A)As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return,
To go as he came;
And he shall take nothing from his labor
Which he may carry away in his hand.

16 And this also is a severe evil—
Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And (B)what profit has he (C)who has labored for the wind?

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16 There was no end of all the people [a]over whom he was made king;
Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:16 Lit. to all before whom he was to be

There is one alone, without [a]companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his (A)eye satisfied with riches.
But (B)he never asks,
“For whom do I toil and deprive myself of (C)good?”
This also is vanity and a [b]grave misfortune.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. a second
  2. Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. evil task

12 I know that nothing is (A)better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that (B)every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

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26 For God gives (A)wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that (B)he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

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21 For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his [a]heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 (A)For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? 23 For all his days are (B)sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:21 Lit. portion

19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.

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17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

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15 So I said in my heart,
“As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“This also is vanity.”

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The Vanity of Pleasure(A)

I said (B)in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with (C)mirth; [a]therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, (D)this also was vanity. I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” (E)I searched in my heart how [b]to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was (F)good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

I made my works great, I built myself (G)houses, and planted myself vineyards. I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself water pools from which to [c]water the growing trees of the grove. I acquired male and female servants, and had [d]servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. (H)I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and [e]musical instruments of all kinds.

(I)So I became great and [f]excelled (J)more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And (K)this was my [g]reward from all my labor.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was (L)vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:1 gladness
  2. Ecclesiastes 2:3 Lit. to draw my flesh
  3. Ecclesiastes 2:6 irrigate
  4. Ecclesiastes 2:7 Lit. sons of my house
  5. Ecclesiastes 2:8 Exact meaning unknown
  6. Ecclesiastes 2:9 Lit. increased
  7. Ecclesiastes 2:10 Lit. portion

18 [a]He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 18:18 Or They drive him

23 He (A)wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?
He knows (B)that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.

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