Chronological
Kohelet: the Preacher
1 The words of Kohelet[a], son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Futile! Futile! says Kohelet.
Completely meaningless!
Everything is futile![b]
3 What does a person gain in all his labor
that he toils under the sun?
4 A generation comes, and a generation goes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to the place it rises.
6 The wind goes toward the south,
and circles around to the north.
Round and round it swirls about,
ever returning to its circuits.
7 All the rivers flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
there they go again.
8 All things are wearisome.
No one can express them.
The eye is never satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done will be done again.
There is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything about which is said,
“Look! This is new!”?
It was already here long ago,
in the ages long before us.
11 There is no remembrance for former things,
and things yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.
Search for Meaning in Life
12 I, Kohelet, am king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my heart to seek and examine by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a burdensome task God has given the sons of men to keep them occupied. 14 I have seen all the deeds done under the sun; and behold, all is meaningless and chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight.
What is missing cannot be counted.
16 I spoke with my heart saying: “I have grown rich and increased in wisdom more than any who were before me over Jerusalem. Indeed, my heart has experienced much wisdom and knowledge.” 17 So I applied my heart to know wisdom as well as to know madness and folly. I learned that this too was pursuit of the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much grief,
and whoever keeps increasing knowledge, increases heartache.
Futility of Human Pleasures
2 I said within myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to see what is good.” Yet behold, this too was meaningless. 2 I said of laughter, “It is madness!” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I thought deeply about how to cheer my flesh with wine—letting my heart guide me with wisdom—and how to grasp folly, so that I could see what was worthwhile for the sons of men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
4 I increased my possessions. I built myself houses and I planted myself vineyards. 5 I made royal gardens and parks for myself, and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I constructed for myself pools of water to irrigate a forest of flourishing trees. 7 I purchased male and female servants and had other servants who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than all my predecessors in Jerusalem. 8 I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as the treasure of kings and the provinces. I acquired male and female singers for myself, as well as the luxuries of humankind—vaults and vaults of them. [c] 9 So I became far wealthier than all before me in Jerusalem, yet my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing that my eyes desired;
I withheld from my heart no enjoyment.
My heart took delight from all my toil—
this was my reward for all my labor.
11 Yet when I considered all that my hands had done
and the toil I had expended to accomplish it,
behold, it all was futile and chasing after the wind.
There was nothing to be gained under the sun.
Futility of Human Wisdom
12 Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly. For what more can the one who succeeds the king do than what he has already done? 13 I realized that:
Wisdom is more beneficial than folly
as light is better than darkness.
14 A wise man has his eyes in his head,
while the fool walks in the darkness.
Yet, I also came to realize
that the same destiny befalls them both.
15 Then said I in my heart:
“I, even I, will have the same destiny as a fool.
So why have I become so wise?”
I said in my heart, “This too is meaningless.”
16 For the wise man, together with the fool,
is not remembered forever.
For in the days to come both will be forgotten.
Alas, the wise, just like the fool, must die!
17 And so I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. All is but vapor and chasing after the wind. 18 I also hated all the fruit of my toil for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the one who comes after me. 19 Who knows if he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my toil for which I had wisely labored under the sun. This too is futile. 20 So I turned my heart over to despair over all the things for which I had toiled under the sun. 21 For sometimes a man, who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, must hand over as an inheritance to someone who did not work for it. This also is futile and a great misfortune. 22 For what does a man get for all his toil and longing of his heart for which he laborers under the sun? 23 For all his days, his work is pain and grief. Even at night his mind does not rest. This also is futility.
24 There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their labor. This too, I perceived, is from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have joy, apart from Him? 26 For to the one who pleases Him, He gives wisdom, knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating wealth to give it to one who pleases God. This also is only vapor and striving after the wind.
A Time For Everything
3 For everything there is a season
and a time for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to give birth and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted;
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek and a time to lose,
a time to keep and a time to discard;
7 a time to tear apart and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak;
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What gain, then, does the laborer get with his toil? 10 I have seen the task that God has given to the children of men to keep them occupied.
Yet Eternity In Their Heart
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Moreover, He has set eternity in their heart—yet without the possibility that humankind can ever discover the work that God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy themselves in their lifetime. 13 Also when anyone eats and drinks, and finds satisfaction in all of his labor, it is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything that God does will endure forever. There is no adding to it or taking from it. God has made it so, that they will revere Him.
15 Whatever exists, has already been
and whatever will be, has already been,
but God recalls what has passed.
16 I have also seen under the sun:
In the place of justice there was wickedness,
and in the place of righteousness there was wickedness.
17 I said in my heart:
“The righteous and the wicked,
God will judge.
For there is a time for every activity
and for every deed.”
Humans Same As Beasts?
18 I also said in my heart, “As for the sons of man, God tests them so that they may see that they are but animals.” 19 For the destiny of humankind and the destiny of animals are one and the same. As one dies, so dies the other. Both have the same breath—a human has no advantage over an animal—both are fleeting. 20 Both go to one place. Both were taken from the dust, and both return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the spirit of the sons of man ascends upward and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?
22 So I perceived that nothing is better than for man to enjoy his works, because that is his portion. For who can bring him back to see what will be in the future?
Futility of Human Labor
4 Again I looked and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and behold,
I saw the tears of the oppressed,
but they have no comforter.
Power is in the hand of their oppressors,
but they had no comforter.
2 So I considered the dead,
who are already dead,
more fortunate than the living,
who are still alive.
3 Yet better than both
is one who has not yet been,
who has never seen the evil work
that is done under the sun.
4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill that is done come from man’s envy of his neighbor; this too is fleeting and striving after the wind.
5 The fool folds his hands together
and eats his own flesh.
6 Better is a handful with tranquility
than two handfuls of toil
and striving after the wind.
7 Again I saw something futile under the sun:
8 There is one who has no one else,
neither son nor brother,
yet there is no end to all his toil.
His eyes are not content with riches.
“So, for whom am I toiling,
and depriving myself of prosperity?”
This too is meaningless—
a grievous task!
Two Are Better Than One
9 Two are better than one,
because they get a good return for their effort.
10 For if they fall,
the one will lift up his companion.
But oy to the one who falls
and has no one to lift him up!
11 Furthermore, if two lie together,
then they will be warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though a man might overpower one,
two can stand against him.
Moreover a threefold cord cannot be quickly broken.
13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning. 14 For he came out of prison to become king—though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15 I considered all the living that walk under the sun as well as the next youth who stands in his place. 16 There is no end to all the people—to all who were before him. Also those who will come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this too is meaningless and striving after the wind.
Watch Your Words Before God
17 Watch your feet when you go to the House of God. Draw near to listen, rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing wrong.
5 Do not be quick with your mouth
nor hasty in your heart
to utter a word in God’s presence.
For God is in heaven,
and you are on the earth—
therefore, let your words be few.
2 As a dream comes with excessive burdens
so a fool’s voice with too many words.
3 When you swear a vow to God,
don’t delay in fulfilling it.
For He takes no delight in fools.
Pay what you vow!
4 It is better for you not to vow
than to vow and not pay.
5 Don’t let your mouth lead your flesh to sin,
and don’t say before the messenger,
“It was a mistake!”
Why should God be angry at your voice
and destroy the work of your hands?
6 Many dreams and many words are meaningless.
Therefore, fear God!
Bureaucratic Oppression
7 If you see the oppression of the poor or perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the matter. For one authority watches over another authority, and higher ones are over them. 8 Though the profit of the land is taken by all, a king is served by the fields.
Futility of Wealth
9 A lover of money never has enough money,
and a lover of wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is futile.
10 When goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
So what advantage are they to the owner
except he sees it with his eyes?
11 The sleep of the laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much—
but the excess of the rich permits him no sleep.
12 There is a grievous wrong that I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded by its owner to his own hurt, 13 or wealth lost in a bad investment, and when he fathers a son, there is nothing in his hand.
14 As he came from his mother’s womb,
naked he will return as he came.
He takes nothing from his labor
that he can carry in his hand.
15 This too is a grievous wrong.
Just as he came, so will he go,
so what does he gain,
from his toiling for the wind?
16 So, all his days he eats in darkness,
and he has much grief, sickness, and humiliation.
17 Behold, this is what I myself have seen. It is beneficial and good for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy all of his toil that he labors under the sun during the few days of his life that God has given him—for this is his reward. 18 Additionally, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, and empowers him to eat from it, to receive his share, and to rejoice in his labor—this is a gift of God. 19 For he will not often consider the days of his life, since God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
Futility of Living Without God
6 There is a misery that I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy upon humanity. 2 God gives a man riches, wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to eat from it—instead a foreigner will eat it. This is fruitless—an agonizing illness.
3 Even if a man should father a hundred children and live many years, however many the days of his years may be, yet his soul is never satisfied with his prosperity and he does not have a proper burial, then I say that it is better for the stillborn than him. 4 Even though it comes in futility and departs into darkness, though its name is shrouded in darkness, 5 though it has never seen or experienced the sun, it has more rest than the other. 6 Even if the other man were to live a thousand years twice and never enjoy good things—do not all go to the same place?
7 All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. 8 So what advantage has the wise over the fool? What does the pauper gain by knowing how to walk before the living? 9 Better is what the eyes see than the pursuit of the soul’s desires. This too is fleeting and striving after wind.
10 Whatever exists has already been named, and it has been made known what humanity is. But man cannot contend with the One who is mightier than he. 11 When there are many words, futility increases! How does that benefit anyone?
12 For who knows what is good for one during his life—during the few days of his fleeting life—that pass like a shadow? For who can tell a person what happens after him under the sun?
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.