Beginning
Ecclesiastes, or The Preacher
1 2 All things in this world are full of vanity, and of none endurance. 13 All man’s wisdom is but folly and grief.
1 The words of the [a]Preacher, the son of David king in Jerusalem.
2 [b]Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher: vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
3 What remaineth unto man in all his [c]travail, which he suffereth under the sun?
4 One generation passeth, and another generation succeedeth: but the earth remaineth [d]forever.
5 The sun riseth, and the sun goeth down, and draweth to his place where he riseth.
6 The [e]wind goeth toward the South, and compasseth toward the North: the wind goeth round about, and returneth by his circuits.
7 All the rivers go into the sea, yet the sea is not full: for the rivers go unto the place [f]whence they return, and go.
8 All things are full of labor: man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 [g]What is it that hath been? that that shall be: and what is it that hath been done? that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there anything, whereof one may say, Behold this, it is new? it hath been already in the old time that was before us.
11 There is no memory of the former, neither shalt there be a remembrance of the latter that shall be, with them that shall come after.
12 ¶ [h]I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem:
13 And I have given mine heart to search and find out wisdom by all things that are done under the heaven: (this sore travail hath God given to the sons of men, [i]to humble them thereby.)
14 I have considered all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity, and vexation of the spirit.
15 That which is [j]crooked, can none make straight: and that which faileth, cannot be numbered.
16 I thought in mine heart, and said, Behold, I am become great, and excel in wisdom all them that have been before me in Jerusalem: and mine heart hath seen much wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave mine heart to know wisdom and knowledge, [k]madness and foolishness: I knew also that this is a vexation of the spirit.
18 For in the multitude of wisdom is much [l]grief: and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.
2 Pleasures, sumptuous buildings, riches and possessions are but vanity. 14 The wise and the fool have both one end touching the bodily death.
1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove [m]thee with joy: therefore take thou pleasure in pleasant things: and behold, this also is vanity.
2 I said of laughter, Thou art mad: and of joy, What is this that thou doest?
3 I sought in mine heart [n]to give myself to wine, and to lead mine heart in [o]wisdom, and to take hold of folly, till I might see where is that goodness of the children of men, which they [p]enjoy under the Sun, the whole number of the days of their life.
4 I have made my great works: I have built me houses: I have planted me vineyards.
5 I have made me gardens and [q]orchards, and planted in them trees of all fruit.
6 I have made me cisterns of water, to water therewith the woods that grow with trees.
7 I have gotten servants and maids, and had children born in the [r]house: also I had great Possession of beeves and sheep above all that were before me in Jerusalem.
8 I have gathered unto me also silver and gold, and the chief treasures of Kings and provinces: I have provided me men singers, and women singers, and the [s]delights of the sons of men, as a woman [t]taken captive, and women taken captives.
9 And I was great, and increased above all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom [u]remained with me.
10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired, I withheld it not from them: I withdrew not mine heart from any joy: for mine heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my [v]portion of all my travail.
11 Then I looked on all my works that mine hands had wrought, and on the travail that I had labored to do: and behold, all is vanity and vexation of the spirit: and there is no profit under the Sun.
12 ¶ And I turned to behold [w]wisdom, and madness, and folly: (for who is the man that [x]will come after the King in things, which men now have done?)
13 Then I saw that there is profit in wisdom more than in folly: as the light is more excellent than darkness.
14 (A)For the wise man’s [y]eyes are in his head, but the fool walketh in darkness: yet I know also that the same [z]condition falleth to them all.
15 Then I thought in mine heart, It befalleth unto me, as it befalleth to the fool. Why therefore do I then labor to be more wise? And I said in mine heart, that this also is vanity.
16 For there shall be no remembrance of the wise, nor of the fool [aa]forever: for that that now is, in the days to come, shall all be forgotten. And [ab]how dieth the wise man, as doth the fool?
17 Therefore I hated life: for the work that is wrought under the Sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity, and vexation of the spirit.
18 I hated also all my labor, wherein I had travailed under the Sun, which I shall leave to the man that shall be after me.
19 And who knoweth whether he shall be wise or foolish? yet shall he have rule over all my labor, wherein I have travailed, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the Sun. This is also vanity.
20 Therefore I went about to make mine heart [ac]abhor all the labor, wherein I had travailed under the Sun.
21 For there is a man whose travail is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity: yet to a man that hath not travailed herein, shall he [ad]give his portion: this also is vanity, and a great grief.
22 For what hath man of all his travail and grief of his heart, wherein he hath travailed under the Sun?
23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief: his heart also taketh not rest in the night: which also is vanity.
24 There is no profit to man, but that he eat and drink, and [ae]delight his soul with the profit of his labor: I saw also this, that it was of the hand of God.
25 For who could eat, and who could haste to [af]outward things more than I?
26 Surely to a man that is good in his sight, God giveth wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth pain to gather, and to heap to give to him that is good before God: this also is vanity, and vexation of the spirit.
3 1 All things have their time. 14 The works of God are perfect, and cause us to fear him. 17 God shall judge both the just and unjust.
1 To all things there is an [ag]appointed time, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
2 A time to be born, and a time to die: a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.
3 A time to slay, and a time to heal: a time to break down, and a time to build.
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh: a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones: a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embracing.
6 A time to seek, and a time to lose: a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
7 A time to rent, and a time to sow: a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
8 A time to love, and a time to hate: a time of war, and a time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh of the thing wherein he travaileth?
10 I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of men, [ah]to humble them thereby.
11 He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the [ai]world in their heart, yet cannot man find out the work that God hath wrought from the beginning even to the end.
12 I know that there is nothing good in them, but to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13 And also that every man eateth and drinketh, and seeth the commodity of all his labor. This is the [aj]gift of God.
14 I know that whatsoever God shall do, it shall be [ak]forever: to it can no man add, and from it can none diminish: for God hath done it, that they should fear before him.
15 What is that that hath been? that is now: and that that shall be, hath now been: for God [al]requireth that which is past.
16 And moreover, I have seen under the Sun the place of judgment, where was wickedness, and the place of justice, where was iniquity.
17 I thought in mine heart, God will judge the just and the wicked: for time is [am]there for every purpose and for every work.
18 I considered in mine heart the state of the children of men, that God had [an]purged them: yet to see too, they are in themselves as beasts.
19 For the condition of the children of men, and the condition of beasts are even as one [ao]condition unto them. As the one dieth, so dieth the other: for they have all one breath, and there is no excellency of man above the beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go to one place, and all was of the dust, and all shall return to the dust.
21 Who [ap]knoweth whether the spirit of man ascend upward, and the spirit of the beast descend downward to the earth?
22 Therefore I see that there is nothing better than that a man should [aq]rejoice in his affairs, because that is his portion. For who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
4 2 The innocents are oppressed. 4 Man’s labors are full of abuse and vanity. 9 Man’s society is necessary. 13 A young man poor and wise, is to be preferred to an old King that is a fool.
1 So [ar]I turned and considered all the oppressions that are wrought under the sun, and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and none comforteth them, and lo, the strength is of the hand of them that oppress them, and none comforteth them.
2 Wherefore I praised the [as]dead which now are dead, above the living, which are yet alive.
3 And I count him [at]better than them both, which hath not yet been: for he hath not seen the evil works which are wrought under the sun.
4 Also I beheld all travail, and all [au]perfection of works, that this is the envy of a man against his neighbor: this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
5 The fool foldeth his hands, and [av]eateth up his own flesh.
6 Better is an handful with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and vexation of spirit.
7 Again I returned, and saw vanity under the sun.
8 There is one alone, and there is not a second, which hath neither son nor brother, yet is there none end of all his travail, neither can his eye be satisfied with riches: neither doth he think, For whom do I travail and defraud my soul of pleasures? this also is vanity, this is an evil travail.
9 [aw]Two are better wages for their labor.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe unto him that is alone: for he falleth, and there is not a second to lift him up.
11 Also if two sleep together, then shall they have heat: but to one how should there be heat?
12 And if one overcome him, two shall stand against him: and a threefold [ax]cord is not easily broken.
13 Better is a poor and wise child, than an old and foolish King, which will no more be admonished.
14 For out of the [ay]prison he cometh forth to reign: when as he that is [az]born in his kingdom, is made poor.
15 I beheld all the living, which walk under the Sun [ba]with the second child, which shall stand up in his place.
16 There is none [bb]end of all the people, nor of all that were before them, and they that come after, shall not rejoice in him: surely this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
17 Take heed to thine [bc]foot when thou enterest into the house of God, and be more near to hear than to give the sacrifice of [bd]fools: for they know not that they do evil.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.