⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
As an error proceeding from the ruler:
^6 (D)Folly is set in ^[d]great dignity,
While the rich sit in a lowly place.
⁷ I have seen servants ^(E)on horses,
While princes walk on the ground like servants.

^8 (F)He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
⁹ He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,
And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.
¹⁰ If the ax is dull,
And one does not sharpen the edge,
Then he must use more strength;
But wisdom ^[e]brings success.

¹¹ A serpent may bite ^(G)when it is not charmed;
The ^[f]babbler is no different.
^12 (H)The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
But ^(I)the lips of a fool shall swallow him up;
¹³ The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,
And the end of his talk is raving madness.
^14 (J)A fool also multiplies words.
No man knows what is to be;
Who can tell him ^(K)what will be after him?
¹⁵ The labor of fools wearies them,
For they do not even know how to go to the city!

^16 (L)Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
And your princes feast in the morning!
¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles,
And your ^(M)princes feast at the proper time—
For strength and not for drunkenness!
¹⁸ Because of laziness the ^[g]building decays,
And ^(N)through idleness of hands the house leaks.
¹⁹ A feast is made for laughter,
And ^(O)wine makes merry;
But money answers everything.

^20 (P)Do not curse the king, even in your thought;
Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom;
For a bird of the air may carry your voice,
And a bird in flight may tell the matter.

³ If the clouds are full of rain,
They empty themselves upon the earth;
And if a tree falls to the south or the north,
In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
⁴ He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

⁵ As ^(V)you do not know what is the way of the ^[h]wind,
^(W)Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
⁶ In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.

⁷ Truly the light is sweet,
And it is pleasant for the eyes ^(X)to behold the sun;
⁸ But if a man lives many years
And ^(Y)rejoices in them all,
Yet let him ^(Z)remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.

⁶ Remember your Creator before the silver cord is ^[n]loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
^7 (AJ)Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
^(AK)And the spirit will return to God ^(AL)who gave it.

⁸ “Vanity^(AM) of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“All is vanity.”

^(AP)Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
¹⁴ For ^(AQ)God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

⁵ Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
⁶ Those who ^(A)trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
⁷ None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor ^(B)give to God a ransom for him—
⁸ For ^(C)the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
⁹ That he should continue to live eternally,
And ^(D)not ^[b]see the Pit.

¹⁰ For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
^11 [c]Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They ^(E)call their lands after their own names.
¹² Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not ^[d]remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³ This is the way of those who are ^(F)foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah
¹⁴ Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
^(G)The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
^(H)And their beauty shall be consumed in ^[e]the grave, far from their dwelling.
¹⁵ But God ^(I)will redeem my soul from the power of ^[f]the grave,
For He shall ^(J)receive me. Selah

¹⁶ Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
¹⁷ For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
¹⁸ Though while he lives ^(K)he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),
¹⁹ He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see ^(L)light.^[g]
20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
^(M)Is like the beasts that perish.