Ecclesiastes 1-6

New King James Version

The Vanity of Life

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, ^(A)king in Jerusalem.

²“Vanity^(B)^[a] of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, ^(C)all is vanity.”

³^(D)What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he ^[b]toils under the sun?
⁴One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
^(E)But the earth abides forever.
⁵^(F)The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And ^[c]hastens to the place where it arose.
⁶^(G)The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.
⁷^(H)All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.
⁸All things are ^[d]full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
^(I)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.

⁹^(J)That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
¹¹There is ^(K)no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after.

The Grief of Wisdom

¹²I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³And I set my heart to seek and ^(L)search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; ^(M)this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be ^[e]exercised. ¹⁴I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁵^(N)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
And what is lacking cannot be numbered.

¹⁶I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained ^(O)more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has ^[f]understood great wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷^(P)And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.

¹⁸For ^(Q)in much wisdom is much grief,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

The Vanity of Pleasure^(R)

2 I said ^(S)in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with ^(T)mirth; ^[g]therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, ^(U)this also was vanity. ²I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” ³^(V)I searched in my heart how ^[h]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 ^(W)good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

⁴I made my works great, I built myself ^(X)houses, and planted myself vineyards. ⁵I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶I made myself water pools from which to ^[i]water the growing trees of the grove. ⁷I acquired male and female servants, and had ^[j]servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. ⁸^(Y)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 ^[k]musical instruments of all kinds.

⁹^(Z)So I became great and ^[l]excelled ^(AA)more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

¹⁰Whatever 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 ^(AB)this was my ^[m]reward from all my labor.
¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was ^(AC)vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.

The End of the Wise and the Fool

¹²Then I turned myself to consider wisdom ^(AD)and madness and folly;
For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—
Only what he has already ^(AE)done.
¹³Then I saw that wisdom ^(AF)excels folly
As light excels darkness.
¹⁴^(AG)The wise man’s eyes are in his head,
But the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I myself perceived
That ^(AH)the same event happens to them all.

¹⁵So 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.”
¹⁶For there is ^(AI)no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever,
Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die?
As the fool!

¹⁷Therefore 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.

¹⁸Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because ^(AJ)I must leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹And 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. ²⁰Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. ²¹For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his ^[n]heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²²^(AK)For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? ²³For all his days are ^(AL)sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.

²⁴^(AM)Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. ²⁵For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, ^[o]more than I? ²⁶For God gives ^(AN)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 ^(AO)he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Everything Has Its Time

3 To everything there is a season,
A ^(AP)time for every purpose under heaven:

²A time ^[p]to be born,
And ^(AQ)a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
³A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
⁴A time to ^(AR)weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
⁵A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
^(AS)A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
⁷A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
^(AT)A time to keep silence,
And a time to ^(AU)speak;
⁸A time to love,
And a time to ^(AV)hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

The God-Given Task

⁹^(AW)What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰^(AX)I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that ^(AY)no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

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

¹⁴I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
^(BB)Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
¹⁵^(BC)That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God ^[q]requires an account of ^[r]what is past.

Injustice Seems to Prevail

¹⁶Moreover ^(BD)I saw under the sun:

In the place of ^[s]judgment,
Wickedness was there;
And in the place of righteousness,
^[t]Iniquity was there.

¹⁷I said in my heart,

^(BE)“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time there for every ^[u]purpose and for every work.”

¹⁸I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” ¹⁹^(BF)For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place: ^(BG)all are from the dust, and all return to dust. ²¹^(BH)Who^[v] knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? ²²^(BI)So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for ^(BJ)that is his ^[w]heritage. ^(BK)For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

The Uselessness of Selfish Toil

4 Then I returned and considered all the ^(BL)oppression that is done under the sun:

And look! The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter—
^[x]On the side of their oppressors there is power,
But they have no comforter.
²^(BM)Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.
³^(BN)Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

The Vanity of Selfish Toil

⁴Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

⁵^(BO)The fool folds his hands
And consumes his own flesh.
⁶^(BP)Better a handful with quietness
Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

⁷Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

⁸There is one alone, without ^[y]companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his ^(BQ)eye satisfied with riches.
But ^(BR)he never asks,
“For whom do I toil and deprive myself of ^(BS)good?”
This also is vanity and a ^[z]grave misfortune.

The Value of a Friend

⁹Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
¹⁰For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
¹¹Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
¹²Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Popularity Passes Away

¹³Better a poor and wise youth
Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.
¹⁴For he comes out of prison to be king,
Although ^[aa]he was born poor in his kingdom.
¹⁵I saw all the living who walk under the sun;
They were with the second youth who stands in his place.
¹⁶There was no end of all the people ^[ab]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.

Fear God, Keep Your Vows

5 Walk ^(BT)prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather ^(BU)than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.

²Do not be ^(BV)rash with your mouth,
And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
Therefore let your words ^(BW)be few.
³For a dream comes through much activity,
And ^(BX)a fool’s voice is known by his many words.

⁴^(BY)When you make a vow to God, do not delay to ^(BZ)pay it;
For He has no pleasure in fools.
Pay what you have vowed—
⁵^(CA)Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

⁶Do not let your ^(CB)mouth cause your flesh to sin, ^(CC)nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your ^[ac]excuse and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But ^(CD)fear God.

The Vanity of Gain and Honor

⁸If you ^(CE)see the oppression of the poor, and the violent ^[ad]perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for ^(CF)high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.

⁹Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.

¹⁰He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.

¹¹When goods increase,
They increase who eat them;
So what profit have the owners
Except to see them with their eyes?

¹²The sleep of a laboring man is sweet,
Whether he eats little or much;
But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.

¹³^(CG)There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun:
Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
¹⁴But those riches perish through ^[ae]misfortune;
When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
¹⁵^(CH)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.

¹⁶And this also is a severe evil—
Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And ^(CI)what profit has he ^(CJ)who has labored for the wind?
¹⁷All his days ^(CK)he also eats in darkness,
And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen: ^(CL)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; ^(CM)for it is his ^[af]heritage. ¹⁹As for ^(CN)every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his ^[ag]heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the ^(CO)gift of God. ²⁰For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

Wealth Is Not the Goal of Life

6 There^(CP) is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: ²A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, ^(CQ)so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; ^(CR)yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil ^[ah]affliction.

³If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or ^(CS)indeed he has no burial, I say that ^(CT)a ^[ai]stillborn child is better than he— ⁴for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness. ⁵Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, ⁶even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one ^(CU)place?

⁷^(CV)All the labor of man is for his mouth,
And yet the soul is not satisfied.
⁸For what more has the wise man than the fool?
What does the poor man have,
Who knows how to walk before the living?
⁹Better is ^[aj]the ^(CW)sight of the eyes than the wandering of ^[ak]desire.
This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁰Whatever one is, he has been named ^(CX)already,
For it is known that he is man;
^(CY)And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.
¹¹Since there are many things that increase vanity,
How is man the better?

¹²For who knows what is good for man in life, ^[al]all the days of his ^[am]vain life which he passes like ^(CZ)a shadow? ^(DA)Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?