A Scene of Heaven

15 Then I saw ^(A)another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, ^(B)seven angels who had ^(C)seven plagues, which are ^(D)the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

² And I saw something like a ^(E)sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who ^(F)were victorious ^[a]over the ^(G)beast and ^(H)his image and the ^(I)number of his name, standing on the ^(J)sea of glass, holding ^(K)harps of God. ³ And they *sang the ^(L)song of Moses, ^(M)the bond-servant of God, and the ^(N)song of the Lamb, saying,

⁵ After these things I looked, and ^(U)the ^[d]temple of the ^(V)tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, ⁶ and the ^(W)seven angels who had the seven plagues ^(X)came out of the ^[e]temple, clothed in ^[f]linen, clean and bright, and ^(Y)their chests wrapped with golden sashes. ⁷ And one of the ^(Z)four living creatures gave the ^(AA)seven angels seven ^(AB)golden bowls full of the ^(AC)wrath of God, who ^(AD)lives forever and ever. ⁸ And the ^[g]temple was filled with ^(AE)smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the ^[h]temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

The Futility of All Endeavors

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

The Futility of Wisdom

¹² I, the ^(J)Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ And I ^(K)set my ^[i]mind to seek and ^(L)explore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a ^[j](M)sorry task with which God has given the sons of mankind to be troubled. ¹⁴ I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is ^(N)futility and striving after wind. ¹⁵ What is ^(O)crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶ I ^[k]said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased ^(P)wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my ^[l]mind has observed ^[m]a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷ And I ^(Q)applied my ^[n]mind to know wisdom and to ^(R)know insanity and foolishness; I realized that this also is ^(S)striving after wind. ¹⁸ Because ^(T)in much wisdom there is much grief; and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions

2 I said ^[a]to myself, “Come now, I will test you with ^(A)pleasure. So ^[b]enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. ^2 (B)I said of laughter, “It is senseless,” and of pleasure, “What does this accomplish?” ³ I explored with my ^[c]mind how to ^(C)refresh my body with wine while my ^[d]mind was guiding me wisely; and how to seize ^(D)foolishness, until I could see ^(E)what good there is for the sons of mankind ^[e]to do under heaven for the few ^[f]years of their lives. ⁴ I enlarged my works: I ^(F)built houses for myself, I planted ^(G)vineyards for myself; ⁵ I made ^(H)gardens and ^(I)parks for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; ⁶ I made ^(J)ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves, and I had ^[g](K)slaves born at home. I also possessed flocks and ^(L)herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. ⁸ I also amassed for myself silver and ^(M)gold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ^(N)male and female singers, and the pleasures of the sons of mankind: many concubines.

⁹ Then I became ^(O)great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. ^10 (P)All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. I did not restrain my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my ^(Q)reward for all my labor. ¹¹ So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had ^[h]exerted, and behold, all was ^(R)futility and striving after wind, and there was ^(S)no benefit under the sun.

Wisdom Surpasses Foolishness

¹² So I turned to ^(T)consider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except ^(U)what has already been done? ¹³ Then I saw that ^(V)wisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness. ¹⁴ The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the ^(W)fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that ^(X)one and the same fate happens to ^[i]both of them. ¹⁵ Then I said ^[j]to myself, “^(Y)As is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. ^(Z)Why then have I been extremely wise?” So ^[k]I said to myself, “This too is futility.” ¹⁶ For there is ^(AA)no ^[l]lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will ^[m]soon be forgotten. And ^(AB)how the wise and the fool alike die! ¹⁷ So I ^(AC)hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ^[n]unhappy to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

The Futility of Labor

¹⁸ So I hated ^(AD)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must ^(AE)leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be wise or ^(AF)a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ^(AG)futility. ²⁰ Therefore I ^[o]completely despaired over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. ²¹ When there is a person who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and ^(AH)skill, and then ^(AI)gives his ^[p]legacy to one who has not labored for it; this too is futility and a great evil. ²² For what does a person get in ^(AJ)all his labor and in ^[q]his striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³ Because all his days his activity is painful and ^(AK)irritating; even at night his ^[r]mind ^(AL)does not rest. This too is futility.

²⁴ There is ^(AM)nothing better for a person than to eat and drink, and show ^[s]himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is ^(AN)from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without ^[t]Him? ²⁶ For to a person who is good in His sight, ^(AO)He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may ^(AP)give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is ^(AQ)futility and striving after wind.

A Time for Everything

3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a ^(A)time for every matter under heaven—

^9 (I)What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰ I have seen the ^(J)task which God has given the sons of mankind with which to ^[a]occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Mankind

¹¹ He has ^(K)made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind ^(L)will find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

¹² I know that there is ^(M)nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; ¹³ moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the ^(N)gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. And God has so worked, that people will ^[b](O)fear Him. ^15 (P)That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God ^[c]seeks what has passed by.

¹⁶ Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is ^(Q)wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. ¹⁷ I said ^[d]to myself, “^(R)God will judge the righteous and the wicked,” for a ^(S)time for every matter and for every deed ^[e]is there. ¹⁸ I said ^[f]to myself regarding the sons of mankind, “God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as ^(T)animals, they to themselves.” ^19 (U)For the fate of the sons of mankind and the fate of animals ^[g]is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for mankind over animals, for all is futility. ²⁰ All go to the same place. All came from the ^(V)dust and all return to the dust. ²¹ Who knows that the ^(W)spirit of the sons of mankind ascends upward and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth? ²² I have seen that ^(X)nothing is better than when a person is happy in his activities, for that is his ^[h]lot. For who will bring him to see ^(Y)what will occur after him?

The Evils of Oppression

4 Then I looked again at all the acts of ^(A)oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold, I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had ^(B)no one to comfort them; and power was on the side of their oppressors, but they had no one to comfort them. ² So ^(C)I congratulated the dead who are already dead, more than the living who are still living. ³ But ^(D)better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

⁴ I have seen that every labor and every ^(E)skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a person and his neighbor. This too is ^(F)futility and striving after wind. ⁵ The fool ^(G)folds his hands and ^(H)consumes his own flesh. ⁶ One hand full of rest is ^(I)better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

⁷ Then I looked again at futility under the sun. ⁸ There was a man without a ^[a]dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, ^(J)his eyes were not satisfied with riches, and he never asked, “And ^(K)for whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?” This too is futility, and it is an ^(L)unhappy task.

⁹ Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor; ¹⁰ for if ^[b]either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not ^[c]another to lift him up! ¹¹ Furthermore, if two lie down together they ^[d]keep warm, but ^(M)how can one be warm alone? ¹² And if ^[e]one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

¹³ A ^(N)poor yet wise youth is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive ^[f]instruction— ¹⁴ for he has come ^(O)out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. ¹⁵ I have seen all those living under the sun move to the side of the second youth who ^[g]replaces him. ¹⁶ There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them. Even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him; for this too is ^(P)futility and striving after wind.

BOOK 5

The Lord Rescues People from Many Troubles.