Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

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.)

¹² I Ecclesiastes was king of Israel in Jerusalem;

¹³ and I purposed in my soul to seek and ensearch wisely of all things, that be made under the sun. God gave this evil occupation to the sons of men, that they should be occupied therein. (and I purposed in my mind to wisely seek out and to search into everything, that is done under the sun. God gave this difficult task to the sons and daughters of men, so that they would be occupied with it.)

¹⁴ I saw all things that be made under the sun, and lo! all things be vanity and torment of spirit. (I saw everything that is done under the sun, and lo! everything is empty and futile, like chasing the wind.)

¹⁸ Again I cursed all my busyness, by which I travailed most studiously under [the] sun; and I shall have an heir after me,

¹⁹ whom I know not, whether he shall be wise either a fool; and he shall be lord in my travails, for which I sweated greatly, and was busy; and is there anything so vain? (whom I know not, whether he shall be wise or a fool; but he shall be the lord of all my works, for which I was so busy, and greatly sweated over; is there anything so empty and futile as this?)

²⁰ Wherefore I ceased, and mine heart forsook for to travail further under [the] sun. (And so I ceased to study, and my heart did not desire to labour any more under the sun.)

²¹ For why when another man travaileth in wisdom, and teaching, and busyness, he leaveth things gotten to an idle man; and therefore this is vanity, and great evil. (For though a person laboureth over something with wisdom, and knowledge, and diligence, he must leave all that he hath gotten to someone else, who did not labour over it; and so this is empty and futile, and a great evil.)

²² For why what shall it profit to a man of all his travail, and torment of spirit, with which he was tormented under [the] sun? (For what shall it profit a person for all his labour, and trials and tribulations, with which he was tormented under the sun?)

²³ All his days be full of sorrows and mischiefs, and by night he resteth not in soul; and whether this is not vanity? (All his days be full of sorrows and mischiefs, and at night his soul resteth not; and is not this all empty and futile?)

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.)

3 Therefore if ye have risen together with Christ, seek ye those things that be above, where Christ is sitting on the right half of God.

² Savour ye those things, that be above [Savour, or understand, ye those things that be above], not those that be on the earth.

³ For ye be dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

⁴ For when Christ shall appear, your life, then also ye shall appear with him in glory.

⁵ Therefore slay ye your members [Therefore slay your members], which be on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, lechery, evil covetousness, and avarice, which is service of maumets [which is service of simulacra];

⁶ for which things the wrath of God came on the sons of unbelief;

⁷ in which also ye walked some time, when ye lived in them.

⁸ But now put ye away all things, wrath, indignation, malice, blasphemy and foul words of your mouth. [But now and ye put away all things, wrath, indignation, malice, blasphemy, foul word of your mouth.]

⁹ Do not ye lie together; despoil ye you from the old man with his deeds, [Do not ye lie, or gab, together, spoiling the old man with his deeds,]

¹⁰ and clothe ye the new man [and clothing the new man], that is made new again into the knowing of God, after the image of him that made him;

¹¹ where is not male and female, heathen man and Jew, circumcision and prepuce, barbarous and Scythian, bondman and free, but all things and in all things Christ.

¹³ And one of the people said to him [Soothly some man of the company saith to him], Master, say to my brother, that he part with me the heritage.

¹⁴ And he said to him, Man, who ordained me a doomsman, or a parter, on you [over you]?

¹⁵ And he said to them, See ye, and beware of all covetousness; for the life of a man is not in the abundance of the things, which he wieldeth.

¹⁶ And he told to them a likeness, and said, The field of a rich man brought forth plenteous fruits. [Soothly he said to them a likeness, saying, The field of some rich man brought forth plenteous fruits.]

¹⁷ And he thought within himself, and said [saying], What shall I do, for I have not whither I shall gather my fruits?

¹⁸ And he saith, This thing I shall do; I shall throw down my barns, and I shall make greater, and thither I shall gather all things that grow to me, and my goods.

¹⁹ And I shall say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many goods kept into full many years [thou hast many goods put up, or kept, into full many years]; rest thou, eat, drink, and make feast.

²⁰ And God said to him, Fool, in this night they shall take thy life from thee. And whose shall those things be, that thou hast arrayed? [Soothly God said to him, Fool, in this night they shall ask of thee thy soul. Forsooth whose shall those things be, which thou hast made ready?]

²¹ So is he that treasureth to himself, and is not rich in God.