Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

49 To victory, a psalm to the sons of Korah. All ye folks, hear these things; all ye that dwell in the world, perceive with ears. (To victory, a song for the sons of Korah. All ye nations, hear these things; all ye who live in the world, listen!)

² All the sons of earth, and the sons of men; together the rich man, and the poor into one. (All the sons and daughters of the earth, the sons and daughters of men; yea, the rich and the poor, together as one.)

³ My mouth shall speak wisdom; and the thinking of mine heart shall speak prudence.

⁴ I shall bow down mine ear into a parable; I shall open my reason set forth in a psaltery. (I shall listen closely to a parable; then I shall set forth my understanding on a lute.)

⁵ Why shall I dread in the evil day? the wickedness of mine heel shall (en)compass me. (Why should I have fear, or be afraid, on the day of evil, when the wickedness of my enemies shall surround me?)

⁶ Which trust in their own virtue (They who trust in their wealth); and have glory in the multitude of their riches.

⁷ A brother again-buyeth not, shall a man again-buy? and he shall not give to God his pleasing. (No one shall ever be able to redeem himself; he shall never be able to pay God the price that he asketh for him.)

⁸ And he shall not (be able to) give the price of ransom for his soul; and he shall travail into without end, (Yea, he shall never be able to pay the price of ransom for his own soul; even if he could work forever,)

⁹ and he shall live yet into the end. He shall not see perishing, (so that he would live forever, and not see perishing, or corruption.)

¹⁰ when he shall see wise men dying; the unwise man and the fool shall perish together. And they shall leave their riches to aliens; (For he seeth that the wise die; and that the foolish and the ignorant perish together with them. But they all leave their riches to others, even strangers;)

¹¹ and the sepulchres of them be the houses of them without end. The tabernacles of them be in generation and in generation; they called their names in their lands. (and their tombs, or their graves, shall be their houses forever. Yea, their dwelling places for all generations; even though their lands were once called by their own names.)

¹² A man/Man, when he was in honour, understood not; he is comparisoned to unwise beasts, and is made like to those. (For anyone, even when he hath been given great honour, liveth not forever; he is comparable to the unthinking beasts, and soon is made like them.)

1 The words of Ecclesiastes^[a], son of David, king of Jerusalem.

² Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes; vanity of vanities, and all things be vanity. (Emptiness and futility, said Ecclesiastes; emptiness and futility, yea, everything is empty and futile.)

³ What hath a man more[over] of all his travail, by which he travaileth under the sun? (What profiteth a person from all his labour, that he laboureth at under the sun?)

⁴ A generation passeth away, [and] another generation cometh; but the earth standeth without end. (One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth endureth forever.)

⁵ The sun riseth [up], and goeth down, and turneth again to his place (and returneth to its place); and there it riseth again,

⁶ and compasseth by the south, and turneth again to the north. The spirit compassing all things goeth about, and turneth again into his circles. (and goeth around to the south, and then returneth to the north. Going around, the wind goeth about touching all things, and then returneth full circle.)

⁷ All floods enter into the sea, and the sea floweth not over the marks set of God; the floods turn again to the place from whence they come forth, that they flow [out] again. (All the rivers enter into the sea, and the sea floweth not over the boundaries set by God; the rivers return to the places from where they came forth, only so that they can flow out again.)

⁸ All things be hard; a man may not declare those things by word (a person cannot declare all of these things with words alone); the eye is not (ful)filled by sight, neither the ear is filled by hearing.

⁹ What is that thing that was, that that shall come? What is that thing that is made, that that shall be made? Nothing under the sun is new, (What is that thing that was, but that which shall come again? What is that thing that is made, but that which shall be made later? Nothing is new under the sun,)

¹⁰ neither any man may say, Lo! this thing is new; for now it went before in worlds, that were before us. (nor can anyone say, Lo! this is new; for it hath already come before, in the time that was before us.)

¹¹ Mind of the former things is not, but soothly neither thinking of those things, that shall come afterward, shall be at them that shall come in the last time. (Remembering the former things is not done, and those things that come now, shall not be remembered by those who shall come after us.)

¹⁷ And when Jesus was gone out into the way, a man ran before, and kneeled before him, and prayed him, and said^[a], Good master, what shall I do, that I receive everlasting life?

¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, What sayest thou, that I am good? There is no man good, but God himself.^[b]

¹⁹ Thou knowest the commandments, do thou none adultery, slay not, steal not, say not false witnessing, do no fraud, honour thy father and thy mother [worship thy father and mother].

²⁰ And he answered, and said to him, Master, I have kept all these things from my youth.

²¹ And Jesus beheld him, and loved him [Soothly Jesus beholding him loved him], and said to him, One thing faileth to thee; go thou, and sell all things that thou hast [sell whatever things thou hast], and give to poor men, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, [and] follow thou me.

²² And he was full sorry in the word, and went away mourning [The which made sorrowful in the word, went away mourning], for he had many possessions.