Chronological

1 Divrei Kohelet, Ben Dovid, Melech in Yerushalayim.

² Hevel havalim, saith Kohelet, hevel havalim; all is hevel.

³ What profit hath a man from all his amal (toil) which he hath toiled under the shemesh?

⁴ Dor v’dor, generations come and go, passing away; but ha’aretz remaineth l’olam.

⁵ The shemesh also ariseth, and the shemesh goeth down, and hasteth to its place, there to arise again.

⁶ The ruach (wind) goeth toward the darom (south), and turneth about unto the tzafon (north); it whirleth about continually, and the ruach returneth again according to its circuits.

⁷ All the neharot (rivers) run into the yam; yet the yam is not full; unto the place from whence the neharot come, thither they return to go again.

⁸ All things are wearisome; no ish can express it; the ayin is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ozen full with hearing.

⁹ The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing chadash under the shemesh.

¹⁰ Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is chadash? L’olamim (ages ago), which were before us, it hath been already.

¹¹ There is no zichron (remembrance) of former things; neither shall there be with those who come after any zikaron (recollection) of things that are to come.

¹² I, Kohelet, was Melech over Yisroel in Yerushalayim.

¹³ And I set my lev to seek and search out by chochmah concerning all things that are done under Shomayim; what grievous task hath Elohim given to the bnei haAdam to be afflicted therewith.

¹⁴ I have seen all the ma’asim that are done under the shemesh; and, hinei, all is hevel and chasing after ruach (wind).

¹⁵ That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and chesron (that which is lacking) cannot be numbered.

¹⁶ I communed with mine own lev, saying, Hinei, I am come to greatness, even greater chochmah than all they that have been before me over Yerushalayim; yea, my lev had great experience of chochmah and da’as.

¹⁷ And I applied my lev to have da’as of chochmah, and to have da’as of holelot (madness) and sichlut (folly); I perceived that this also is striving after ruach (wind).

¹⁸ For in much chochmah (wisdom) is much ka’as (grief, vexation); and he that increaseth da’as increaseth mach’ov (sorrow).

2 I said in mine lev, Come now, I will test thee with simchah, therefore enjoy tov; and, hinei, this also is hevel.

² I said of laughter, It is mad; and of simchah, What doeth it accomplish?

³ I searched in mine lev to draw my basar on with yayin, my mind guiding me with chochmah; and to lay hold on sichlut (folly), till I might see what was tov for bnei haAdam, which they should do under Shomayim all the few days of their life.

⁴ I undertook me great works; I built me batim (houses); I planted me kramim (vineyards);

⁵ I made me ganot (gardens) and parks, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them;

⁶ I made me reservoirs of mayim, to water therewith the forest of trees tzomeiach (sprouting up);

⁷ I bought me avadim and shfakhot, and had bnei bayit (avadim born in my bais); also I had great possessions of herds and tzon more than all that were in Yerushalayim before me;

⁸ I amassed for me also kesef and zahav, and the treasure of melachim and of the provinces; I acquired for me men singers and women singers, and the delights of bnei haAdam, musical instruments of all kinds.

⁹ So I was great, and excelled more than all that were before me in Yerushalayim; also my chochmah remained with me.

¹⁰ And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my lev from any simchah; for my lev rejoiced in all my amal (labor); and this was my chelek (portion) for all my amal.

¹¹ Then I looked on kol ma’asim that my hands had wrought, and on the amal that I had labored to do; and, hinei, all was hevel and chasing after ruach, and there was no profit under the shemesh.

¹² And I turned myself to consider chochmah, and holelot, and sichlut; for what can the adam do who cometh after HaMelech? Even that which hath been done already.

¹³ Then I saw that chochmah excelleth sichlut, as far as ohr excelleth choshech.

¹⁴ The chacham (wise man) hath eyes in his rosh; but the kesil (fool) walketh in choshech; but I myself perceived also that the same mikreh (fortune) happeneth to them all.

¹⁵ Then said I in my lev, As the mikreh befalls the kesil, so also will the same mikreh befall me; and wherein have I then been of more chochmah? Then I said in my lev, This also is hevel.

¹⁶ For no zichron (remembrance) of the chacham—-no less the kesil—remains l’olam; seeing that in hayamim haba’im (the days to come) all shall be forgotten. How can the chacham die just like the kesil?

¹⁷ Therefore I hated HaChayyim (Life); because the ma’aseh that is wrought under the shemesh is grievous unto me; for all is hevel and chasing after ruach.

¹⁸ Yea, I hated all my amal for which I had toiled under the shemesh; because I must leave it unto the adam that shall occupy my place after me.

¹⁹ And who hath da’as whether he shall be a chacham or a kesil? Nevertheless shall he have shlitah (control, authority) over all my amal for which I have toiled, and have poured out my chochmah under the shemesh. This also is hevel.

²⁰ Therefore I turned aside to give up my lev to despair over all the wearisome amal with which I toiled under the shemesh.

²¹ For there is an adam whose amal is with chochmah, and da’as, and kishron (skill); yet to an adam that hath not worked for it he must leave it for his chelek. This also is hevel and a ra’ah rabbah.

²² For what hath adam for all his amal, and for all the striving of his lev, wherein he hath labored under the shemesh?

²³ For all his yamim are machovim (sorrows), and his travail ka’as (grief, vexation); yea, his lev taketh not rest balailah. This also is hevel.

²⁴ There is nothing better for adam, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his nefesh find satisfaction in his amal. Also this I saw; even this was from the Yad HaElohim.

²⁵ For who can eat, or who can find enjoyment without Hashem?

²⁶ For to the adam that is pleasing in His sight, Hashem gives chochmah, and da’as, and simchah; but to the choteh (sinner) Hashem giveth travail; Hashem giveth the work of gathering and storing up, that Hashem may give to him that pleases HaElohim. This also is hevel and chasing after ruach.

3 To every thing there is a zeman (time), and an et (season) for every matter under Shomayim;

² An et (season) to be born, and an et (season) to die; an et (season) to plant, and an et (season) to uproot that which is planted;

³ An et (season) to kill, and an et (season) to heal; an et (season) to tear down, and an et (season) to build up;

⁴ An et (season) to weep, and an et (season) to laugh; an et (season) to mourn, and an et (season) to dance;

⁵ An et (season) to throw stones away, and an et (season) to gather stones together; an et (season) to embrace, and an et (season) to refrain from embracing;

⁶ An et (season) to look for, and an et (season) to lose; an et (season) to keep, and an et (season) to throw away;

⁷ An et (season) to tear, and an et (season) to mend; an et (season) to keep silent, and an et (season) to speak;

⁸ An et (season) to love, and an et (season) to hate; an et (season) of milchamah, and an et (season) of shalom.

⁹ What profit hath the worker from his amal (labor)?

¹⁰ I have seen the occupation, which Elohim hath given to the bnei HaAdam to keep them occupied.

¹¹ Hashem hath made every thing yafeh in its et (season); also He hath set HaOlam in their lev, yet so that no adam can find out the ma’aseh that HaElohim hath done from the beginning to the end.

¹² I have da’as that there is nothing better for adam, than that they have simchah and do tov while they live.

¹³ And also that kol haAdam should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his amal. This is a gift of Elohim.

¹⁴ I have da’as that, all that HaElohim doeth will endure l’olam; nothing can be added to it, nor any thing taken from it; HaElohim doeth it, that men should fear before Him.

¹⁵ That which is hath been already; and that which is to be hath already been; and HaElohim will call that which is past to account.

¹⁶ And moreover I saw under the shemesh that in the Mekom Mishpat (place of judgment) resha (wickedness) was there; and in the Mekom Tzedek, resha (wickedness) was there.

¹⁷ I said in mine lev, HaElohim shall judge the tzaddik and the resha (wicked); for an et (season) for every matter and for every ma’aseh is there.

¹⁸ I said in mine lev, As for bnei haAdam, HaElohim tests them, that they might see that they themselves are like beheimah.

¹⁹ For bnei haAdam and beheimah share one and same mikreh (fortune); as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that the adam hath no advantage above the beheimah; for all is hevel.

²⁰ All go unto mekom echad; all are of the afahr (dust), and all return to the afahr again.

²¹ Who hath da’as of the ruach bnei haAdam that goeth upward, and the ruach habeheimah that goeth downward to ha’aretz [see 12:7]?

²² Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better than that the adam find simchah in his ma’asim; for that is his chelek; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

4 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the shemesh, and, hinei, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no menachem (comforter); and on the side of their oppressors there was ko’ach (power); but they had no menachem (comforter).

² Wherefore I praised the mesim which are already dead more than the living ones which are yet alive.

³ Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the ma’aseh harah that is done under the shemesh.

⁴ Again, I considered all amal, and every kishron hama’aseh (skillful achievement), that such is a simple derivative of kinat ish meirei’eihu (the envy of man of his neighbor). This also is hevel, a chasing after ruach.

⁵ The kesil foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own basar.

⁶ Better is a handful with tranquility than both the hands full with amal and chasing after ruach.

⁷ Then I returned, and I saw under the shemesh this hevel:

⁸ There was a man all alone, and there was with him neither ben nor ach (brother); yet there was no ketz (end) to all his amal; neither was his ayin satisfied with osher (riches); neither saith he, For whom do I toil, and deprive my nefesh of tovah? This also is hevel, yea, it is an evil matter.

⁹ Two are better than one because they have a sachar tov for their amal.

¹⁰ For if they fall, the echad will lift up his partner, but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

¹¹ Also, if two lie down, then they have chom (heat), but how can one be warm alone?

¹² Though echad may be overpowered, shnayim shall withstand him; and a khoot hameshulash (threefold cord) is not quickly broken.

¹³ Better is a poor and a wise yeled than an old and foolish melech, who will no more be admonished.

¹⁴ For out of the bais hasohar he cometh to reign, although he was born a poor man in his malchut (kingdom).

¹⁵ I considered all the living ones which walk under the shemesh in the throng of the yeled, that is, the second one that shall enter into the place of the former [melech].

¹⁶ There is no ketz of kol haAm, all those at whose head he stands; and yet they who come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is hevel and striving for ruach.

5 ^(4:17) Keep thy footing when thou goest to the Bais HaElohim, and be more ready to listen than to give the zevach of kesilim, for they have no da’as that they do rah.

^2 (5:1) Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine lev be hasty to utter any thing before HaElohim; for HaElohim is in Shomayim, and thou upon ha’aretz; therefore let thy dvarim be few.

^3 (5:2) As by a multitude of cares cometh a chalom, so by a multitude of dvarim cometh the kol kesil (the voice of the fool).

^4 (5:3) When thou vowest a neder unto Elohim, defer not to pay it; for Hashem hath no pleasure in kesilim; pay that which thou hast vowed.

^5 (5:4) Better it is that thou shouldest not make a neder, than that thou shouldest vow and not fulfill the neder.

^6 (5:5) Suffer not thy mouth to lead thy basar into chet (sin); neither say thou before the Malach [of G-d], that it was a mistake. Wherefore should HaElohim be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

^7 (5:6) For in the multitude of chalomot and many dvarim there are also divers havalim [see 1:2]; but fear thou HaElohim.

^8 (5:7) If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of mishpat and tzedek in a province, marvel not at the matter; for he that is higher watches over him that is high; and there be higher than they.

^9 (5:8) Moreover the profit of eretz is for all; Melech himself is served by the sadeh.

^10 (5:9) He that loveth kesef shall never have enough kesef; nor shall he that loveth abundance have enough increase; this also is hevel.

^11 (5:10) When hatovah (good things) increase, they are increased that consume them; and what kishron (useful result) is there to the ba’al (owner) thereof, except as an onlooker?

^12 (5:11) The sleep of the oved (working man) is sweet, whether he eat little or much; but the abundance of the oisher (rich man) will not permit him to sleep.

^13 (5:12) There is a grievous ra’ah which I have seen under the shemesh; osher (riches) hoarded by the ba’al thereof to his hurt;

^14 (5:13) The same osher (riches) perish by an evil event and he begetteth a ben; thus this one hath nothing in his hand.

^15 (5:14) As he came forth of the womb of his Em (mother), arom (naked) shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his amal (labor), which he may carry away in his hand.

^16 (5:15) And this also is a grievous evil, that in every respect as he came, just so shall he go; and what profit hath he that hath toiled for the ruach (wind)?

^17 (5:16) All his yamim also he eateth in choshech, and he hath much ka’as (grief, vexation) and sickness and anger.

^18 (5:17) Hinei I have seen it is tov and yafeh for one to eat and to drink, and to find tovah in all his amal (labor) that he toils under the shemesh all the few days of his life, which HaElohim giveth him; for it is his chelek.

^19 (5:18) Also kol ha’adam to whom HaElohim hath given osher and possessions, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his chelek, and to rejoice in his amal; this is the gift of Elohim.

^20 (5:19) For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because HaElohim keeps him occupied with simchat libbo (gladness of his heart).

6 There is a ra’ah which I have seen under the shemesh, and it is a great weight upon the adam;

² An ish to whom HaElohim hath given osher (riches), nekhasim (possessions), and kavod (honor), so that he wanteth nothing for his nefesh of all that he desireth, yet HaElohim giveth him not shlitah (empowerment) to have enjoyment thereof, but an ish nochri (stranger) hath the enjoyment thereof; this is hevel, and it is a grievous ill.

³ If an ish beget a hundredfold, and live shanim rabbot, so that rav be the yamim of his shanim, and his nefesh be not filled with hatovah, and also that he have no kevurah (grave); I say, that a nefel (stillborn) is better than he.

⁴ For he cometh in with hevel, and departeth in choshech, and shmo shall be shrouded with choshech.

⁵ Moreover though he hath not seen the shemesh, nor known any thing, this hath more nakhat (rest, quietness) than the other.

⁶ Yea, though he live an elef shanim twice over, yet hath he seen no tovah. Do not all go to mekom echad?

⁷ All the amal (labor) of haAdam is for his mouth, and yet the nefesh is not satisfied.

⁸ For what hath the chacham more than the kesil? What hath the poor man, who has da’as of how to conduct himself before the living?

⁹ Better what the eynayim see than the roving of the nefesh; this also is hevel and chasing after ruach.

¹⁰ That which is, its shem hath already been named, and it is known what adam shall be; neither may he contend with what is stronger than he.

¹¹ Seeing there be many things that increase hevel, what profit is there for adam?

¹² For who has da’as what is tov for adam in this life, all the few days of his chayyei hevel which he spendeth as a shadow? For who can tell adam what shall be after him under the shemesh?