Chronological
Search for Human Equilibrium
How To Discover?
Chapter 7
Laughter and Anguish[a]
1 A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth.[b]
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to the house of feasting.
For that is the end of every man;
let the living take it to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
because a sad countenance may conceal a joyful heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of gaiety.
5 It is better to pay heed to the rebuke of the wise
than to listen to the songs of fools.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of fools.
This also is vanity.
7 Oppression can make a wise man foolish
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
The Refuge of Wisdom[c]
8 Better is the end of anything than its beginning;
better are the patient in spirit than the proud in spirit.
9 Do not become easily angered,
for anger lodges in the heart of fools.
10 Do not assert that the past was better than the present,
for such a statement is not a sign of wisdom.
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance
and an advantage to those who see the sun.
12 Safeguard wisdom as you would a legacy,
and the advantage of knowledge is this:
it bestows life on the one who possesses it.
13 Consider the work of God.
Who can make straight
what God has made crooked?
14 When things are going well, be grateful for your blessings,
and in times of adversity consider this:
God has made both of them,
so that we cannot predict with confidence
what the future holds.
Whoever Wants To Be an Angel Ends Up as a Beast[d]
15 During my span of life I have seen everything:
Righteous people who perish in their uprightness,
and wicked people who grow old in their wickedness.
16 Do not be excessively righteous
or show yourself to be unduly wise.[e]
Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Do not be excessively wicked
or act like a fool.
Why should you die before your time?[f]
18 It would be best for you to hold on to one
and not let go of the other.[g]
For the one who fears God will eventually succeed.
19 Wisdom gives greater strength to the wise man
than ten rulers in a city.
20 There is no one on earth who is so righteous
that he does nothing but good and never sins.[h]
21 If you do not pay attention to all that people say,
you will never hear your servant speaking ill of you.
22 For you know in your heart
that you have often spoken ill of others.
23 All this I have put to the test of wisdom:
I said, “I am determined to be wise,”
but such wisdom was beyond my reach.
24 This state of wisdom is far off and buried very deep.
Who can discover it?
Man and Woman[i]
25 I then turned my thoughts
in the direction of knowledge.
My mind sought to search out and seek wisdom
and the reason why things are as they are,
only to realize that it is foolish to be wicked
and madness to act like a fool.
26 I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare:[j]
her heart is a net
and her arms are chains.
One who pleases God escapes her clutches,
but the sinner is captured by her.
27 Behold, this is what I have discovered, says Qoheleth:
As I have added one thing to another in order to draw some conclusion,
28 which my mind has sought repeatedly
but has not yet discovered,
I have found one man out of a thousand,
but a woman among them all I have not found.
29 This alone have I found out:
God made human beings straightforward,
but they often follow devious paths.
Chapter 8
The Smile of a Wise Man[k]
1 Who is like the wise man?
Who else knows how to interpret things?
A man’s wisdom lights up his face,
softening the hardness of his countenance.
When Man Dominates Man.[l] 2 Obey the command of the king because of your sacred oath, 3 and do not be hasty to ignore it. Do not support him in some evil scheme, for he does whatever he pleases. 4 Since his word is sovereign, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever obeys a command will come to no harm,
and the wise mind will know the time and the way.
6 For there is a time and a way for everything,
although a man’s troubles are a great affliction.
7 For he is ignorant of what the future holds,
inasmuch as no one will make known to him what is in store.
8 No one has it in his power
to restrain the wind from blowing
or to forestall the day of death.
No one can escape the perils of war,
nor can wickedness preserve those who engage in it.
9 All this I have observed as I carefully concentrated my mind on everything that is done under the sun, while one person tyrannizes another and causes suffering.
10 The Desire To Do Evil. Meanwhile I have observed the wicked being carried to their graves. They used to approach and enter the holy place, and they were praised in the city for having done such things. This also is vanity.[m]
11 Because the sentence for committing an evil act is not carried out quickly, people’s hearts are prone to act wickedly. 12 Even though the sinner does wrong a hundred times and continues to live, I am confident that things will go well for those who fear God because of their fear of him. 13 However, things will not go well with the wicked, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.
14 What Constitutes Happiness.[n] Another vanity that takes place on earth is that sometimes righteous people are treated as though they had acted in an evil way, and wicked people are treated as though they had lived righteous lives. This too, I say, is vanity. 15 Therefore, I commend enjoyment, since there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. This is his reward for his toil during the days of life that God grants him under the sun.
How To Know?
16 The Claims of a Wise Man. Having pursued my goal to acquire wisdom and to observe the tasks undertaken on earth by man, whose eyes do not find rest either by day or by night, 17 I came to the realization that man is unable to discover all God’s work[o] that is done under the sun. However great an effort a man exerts in this search, he will never succeed. A wise man may claim to know, but he is in no way able to do so.
Chapter 9
Love, Hatred, and Death.[p] 1 To all this I have applied my mind, and I came to this conclusion: the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. As to whether they will earn love or hatred, we have no way of knowing. 2 Everything that confronts them is futile, inasmuch as the same fate comes to all, to the upright, and the wicked, to the good and the bad, to the clean and the unclean, to those who offer sacrifice and those who do not.
As it is with the good person,
so is it with the sinner;
as it is with the one who takes an oath,
so is it with the one who is fearful of doing so.
3 The worst evil of all the things that happen under the sun is this: that the same fate befalls everyone. Moreover, the hearts of men are filled with evil; madness is in their hearts throughout their lives, and afterward they descend to the dead. 4 However, the one who is counted among the living still has hope. It is preferable to be a living dog rather than a dead lion.
5 The living realize that they will die,
whereas the dead know nothing whatever.
They will have no further reward,
and even the memory of them will be obliterated.
6 For them all love and hatred and jealousy
have already perished.
Never again will they have any share
in anything that is done under the sun.
Eat, Drink, and Love.[q] 7 Go forth, then. Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God long ago approved what you do. 8 At all times dress in white garments and always anoint your head with oil.
9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love throughout all the days of your allotted span of life that have been given to you under the sun, because that is your lot while you live and labor here under the sun. 10 Whatever task your hand finds to do, expend all your efforts on it, for you will find no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom in the netherworld to which you are going.
11 Destiny and Life. Another thing I have observed here under the sun:
The race is not won by the swift,
nor the battle by the brave.
Food does not belong to the wise,
nor wealth to the intelligent,
nor success to the skillful.
Rather, time and chance govern all alike.
12 For no one is able to anticipate the time of disaster:
Like fish caught in a treacherous net,
and like birds caught in a snare,
so people are trapped
when misfortune suddenly falls upon them.
13 War and Peace.[r] I have also seen the following example of wisdom under the sun, and I find it of great significance.
14 There was a small town with very few inhabitants. A great king advanced against it and surrounded it while building great siege-works. 15 In the town there lived a man who, though poor, was wise, and by his wisdom he delivered the town. Yet no one remembered this poor man afterward. 16 Therefore, I said, “Wisdom is better than power.” Yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words go unheeded.
A Wise Man in the City of Fools[s]
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one mistake can undo a great deal of good.
Chapter 10
1 Just as dead flies give perfumes a foul smell,
so a little folly can outweigh wisdom and honor.
2 The heart of a wise man inclines to the right;
the heart of a fool inclines to the left.
3 Even when a fool walks down the road,
he lacks sense
and indicates to everyone how stupid he is.
4 If the anger of a ruler rises against you,
do not leave your post,
for calmness will mitigate grave offenses.
5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun,
a great error to which rulers are prone:
6 Fools are ensconced in a lofty position,
while the rich sit in a lowly place.
7 I have seen slaves on horseback
while princes walked on foot like slaves.
8 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and whoever breaks through a wall
will be bitten by a snake.
9 Whoever quarries stones will be hurt by them,
and whoever chops wood places himself at risk.
10 If an ax becomes dull from lack of sharpening,
then one must exert greater strength,
but skill helps one to succeed.
11 If a snake bites because it has not been charmed,
there is no profit for the charmer.
12 The words of a wise man win favor,
but a fool’s tongue is his undoing.
13 The words a fool utters are grounded in stupidity,
and they end in total madness.
14 A fool talks at great length,
but no one knows what direction his words will take,
and who can foretell what the future holds?
15 A fool quickly gets worn out by his labor,
and he cannot even find his own way into town.[t]
16 Woe to you, O country, when your king is a servant
and your princes start feasting in the morning.
17 Blessed are you, O land,
when your king is a nobleman
and your princes feast at the proper time
for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 Because of your negligence the roof begins to collapse,
and when hands remain idle, the house leaks.
19 Feasts are designed for merriment,
wine makes us cheerful,
and money solves every need.[u]
20 Even in your thoughts,
do not curse the king,
nor revile the rich even in your bedroom;
for a bird of the air may carry your voice,
or a winged creature may repeat what you have said.
Chapter 11
The Splendid Adventure of Life[v]
1 Cast your bread upon the waters,[w]
and eventually you will get it back.
2 Share with seven or with eight,[x]
for you never can predict what disasters will come.
3 When clouds are full of rain,
they will pour it out upon the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
wherever it falls, there will it lie.
4 One who continues to watch the wind will never sow,
and one who keeps staring at the clouds will never reap.
5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind
or how the body is formed in a woman’s womb,
so you do not know the work of God,
the Creator of all.
6 In the morning sow your seed,[y]
and do not cease your labor until evening.
For you do not know which of the sowings will succeed
or whether all alike will turn out well.
Poem on Youth and Old Age[z]
In the Evening of Life
God and Light
7 Light is sweet,
and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
8 No matter how many years you may live,
you should enjoy all of them,
for remember that the days of darkness will be many.
Everything that is to come is vanity.
Rejoice in Your Youth
9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young,
and make the most of the days of your youth.
Follow the inclinations of your heart
and the desires of your eyes.
Yet remember that for all these things
God will demand an account.[aa]
10 Banish grief from your heart
and ignore the sufferings of your body,
for youth and the prime of life are fleeting.
Chapter 12
Remember Your Creator . . .
1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth
before the bad times come
and the years draw near when you will say,
“I take no pleasure in them”;
2 before the sun and the light of day
give way to darkness,
before the moon and the stars grow dim
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 [ab]when the guardians of the house tremble
and the strong men are bent over,
and the women who grind the meal
cease working because they are few in number,
and those who look through the windows
realize that their eyesight is failing;
4 when the doors to the street are shut
and the sound of grinding begins to fade,
when one waits to hear the chirping of a bird,
but all the songbirds are silent;
5 when one is afraid of heights
and is concerned about dangers on the streets.
And You Return to Your Eternal Home
Remember him—when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper is sluggish
and desire is no longer stirred,
and you return to your eternal home
while the mourners assemble in the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is snapped
or the golden bowl is broken
or the pitcher is shattered at the spring
or the wheel is broken at the well
7 and the dust returns to the earth from which it came
and the spirit returns to God[ac] who gave it.
Final Editor’s Note
8 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth;
all things are vanity.
9 In addition to his wisdom, Qoheleth taught the people knowledge, having weighed, studied, and arranged many proverbs. 10 Qoheleth sought to express his thoughts in a pleasing way and to convey truths with precision.
11 The sayings of the wise are as sharp as goads; like spikes firmly positioned are the lessons offered by a single shepherd. 12 In regard to anything beyond these, my child, beware. There is no end to the writing of many books, and extensive study results in a weariness of the flesh.
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