⁵ There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were ^(F)an error proceeding from the ruler: ^6 (G)folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. ^7 (H)I have seen slaves ^(I)on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.

Cast Your Bread upon the Waters

⁵ As you do not know the way ^(AE)the spirit comes to ^(AF)the bones in the womb^[d] of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

⁶ In the morning sow your seed, and at evening ^(AG)withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

⁷ Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to ^(AH)see the sun.

⁸ So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember ^(AI)that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is ^(AJ)vanity.^[e]

^9 (AK)Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. ^(AL)Walk in the ways of your heart and ^(AM)the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things ^(AN)God will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰ Remove vexation from your heart, and ^(AO)put away pain^[f] from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

12 Remember also your Creator in ^(AP)the days of your youth, before ^(AQ)the evil days come and the years draw near of which ^(AR)you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; ² before ^(AS)the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, ³ in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and ^(AT)those who look through the windows are dimmed, ⁴ and ^(AU)the doors on the street are shut—when ^(AV)the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all ^(AW)the daughters of song are brought low— ⁵ they are afraid also of what is high, and ^(AX)terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,^[g] and desire fails, because man is going to his ^(AY)eternal ^(AZ)home, and the ^(BA)mourners go about the streets— ⁶ before the silver cord is snapped, or ^(BB)the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is ^(BC)shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, ⁷ and ^(BD)the dust returns to the earth as it was, and ^(BE)the spirit returns to God ^(BF)who gave it. ^8 (BG)Vanity^[h] of vanities, says ^(BH)the Preacher; all is vanity.

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

⁹ Besides being wise, ^(BI)the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging ^(BJ)many proverbs with great care. ^10 (BK)The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

^11 (BL)The words of the wise are like goads, and like ^(BM)nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are ^(BN)given by ^(BO)one Shepherd. ¹² My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making ^(BP)many books there is no end, and ^(BQ)much study is a weariness of the flesh.

¹³ The end of the matter; all has been heard. ^(BR)Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.^{[i] 14} For ^(BS)God will bring every deed into judgment, with^[j] every secret thing, whether good or evil.

The First Beast

13 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, ^(A)with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and ^(B)blasphemous names on its heads. ² And the beast that I saw was ^(C)like a leopard; its feet were like ^(D)a bear's, and its mouth was like ^(E)a lion's mouth. And to it ^(F)the dragon gave his power and ^(G)his throne and great authority. ³ One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and ^(H)the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. ⁴ And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ^(I)“Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

⁵ And the beast was given ^(J)a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for ^(K)forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,^[a] that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ Also it was allowed ^(L)to make war on the saints and to conquer them.^[b] And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸ and all ^(M)who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in ^(N)the book of life of ^(O)the Lamb ^(P)who was slain. ^9 (Q)If anyone has an ear, let him hear:

^(T)Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

The Second Beast

¹¹ Then ^(U)I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. ¹² It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,^[c] and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, ^(V)whose mortal wound was healed. ^13 (W)It performs great signs, even ^(X)making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, ¹⁴ and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of^[d] the beast ^(Y)it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast ^(Z)that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. ¹⁵ And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not ^(AA)worship the image of the beast ^(AB)to be slain. ¹⁶ Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,^{[e] (AC)}to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, ¹⁷ so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, ^(AD)the name of the beast or ^(AE)the number of its name. ^18 (AF)This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number ^(AG)of a man, and his number is 666.^[f]