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/Eccl/ - Ecclesiastes
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Song of Solomon >>
Ecclesiastes or, the Preacher
Ecclesiastes or, the Preacher
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6
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it
is
common among men:
2
A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this
is
vanity, and it
is
an evil disease.
3
If a man beget an hundred
children,
and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also
that
he have no burial; I say,
that
an untimely birth
is
better than he.
4
For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
5
Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known
any thing:
this hath more rest than the other.
6
Yea, though he live a thousand years twice
told,
yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
7
All the labour of man
is
for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
8
For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
9
Better
is
the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this
is
also vanity and vexation of spirit.
10
That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it
is
man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
11
Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what
is
man the better?
12
For who knoweth what
is
good for man in
this
life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
7
A good name
is
better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
2
It is
better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay
it
to his heart.
3
Sorrow
is
better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
4
The heart of the wise
is
in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools
is
in the house of mirth.
5
It is
better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so
is
the laughter of the fool: this also
is
vanity.
7
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
8
Better
is
the end of a thing than the beginning thereof:
and
the patient in spirit
is
better than the proud in spirit.
9
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
10
Say not thou, What is
the cause
that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.
11
Wisdom
is
good with an inheritance: and
by it there is
profit to them that see the sun.
12
For wisdom
is
a defence,
and
money
is
a defence: but the excellency of knowledge
is, that
wisdom giveth life to them that have it.
13
Consider the work of God: for who can make
that
straight, which he hath made crooked?
14
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
15
All
things
have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just
man
that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked
man
that prolongeth
his life
in his wickedness.
16
Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
17
Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
18
It is
good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.
19
Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty
men
which are in the city.
20
For
there is
not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
21
Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
22
For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
23
All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it
was
far from me.
24
That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?
25
I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason
of things,
and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness
and
madness:
26
And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart
is
snares and nets,
and
her hands
as
bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
27
Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher,
counting
one by one, to find out the account:
28
Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
29
Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
8
Who
is
as the wise
man?
and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
2
I
counsel thee
to keep the king’s commandment, and
that
in regard of the oath of God.
3
Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
4
Where the word of a king
is, there is
power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
5
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.
6
Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man
is
great upon him.
7
For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
8
There is
no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither
hath he
power in the day of death: and
there is
no discharge in
that
war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
9
All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun:
there is
a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.
10
And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this
is
also vanity.
11
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
12
Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his
days
be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
13
But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong
his
days,
which are
as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
14
There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just
men,
unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked
men,
to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also
is
vanity.
15
Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
16
When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also
there is that
neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
17
Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek
it
out, yet he shall not find
it;
yea further; though a wise
man
think to know
it,
yet shall he not be able to find
it.
9
For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred
by
all
that is
before them.
2
All
things come
alike to all:
there is
one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as
is
the good, so
is
the sinner;
and
he that sweareth, as
he
that feareth an oath.
3
This
is
an evil among all
things
that are done under the sun, that
there is
one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that
they go
to the dead.
4
For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6
Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any
thing
that is done under the sun.
7
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
8
Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9
Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that
is
thy portion in
this
life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
10
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do
it
with thy might; for
there is
no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
11
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race
is
not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
12
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so
are
the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
13
This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it
seemed
great unto me:
14
There was
a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
15
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
16
Then said I, Wisdom
is
better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom
is
despised, and his words are not heard.
17
The words of wise
men are
heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
18
Wisdom
is
better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
10
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour:
so doth
a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom
and
honour.
2
A wise man’s heart
is
at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.
3
Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth
him,
and he saith to every one
that
he
is
a fool.
4
If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.
5
There is an evil
which
I have seen under the sun, as an error
which
proceedeth from the ruler:
6
Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.
7
I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.
8
He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
9
Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith;
and
he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.
10
If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom
is
profitable to direct.
11
Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.
12
The words of a wise man’s mouth
are
gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
13
The beginning of the words of his mouth
is
foolishness: and the end of his talk
is
mischievous madness.
14
A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?
15
The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.
16
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king
is
a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
17
Blessed
art
thou, O land, when thy king
is
the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
18
By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
19
A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all
things.
20
Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.
11
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
2
Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
3
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty
themselves
upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
4
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
5
As thou knowest not what
is
the way of the spirit,
nor
how the bones
do grow
in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
6
In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both
shall be
alike good.
7
Truly the light
is
sweet, and a pleasant
thing it is
for the eyes to behold the sun:
8
But if a man live many years,
and
rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh
is
vanity.
9
Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these
things
God will bring thee into judgment.
10
Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth
are
vanity.
12
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
4
And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
5
Also
when
they shall be afraid of
that which is
high, and fears
shall be
in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
8
Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all
is
vanity.
9
And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out,
and
set in order many proverbs.
10
The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and
that which was
written
was
upright,
even
words of truth.
11
The words of the wise
are
as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies,
which
are given from one shepherd.
12
And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books
there is
no end; and much study
is
a weariness of the flesh.
13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this
is
the whole
duty
of man.
14
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether
it be
good, or whether
it be
evil.
The Song of Solomon
1
The song of songs, which
is
Solomon’s.
2
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love
is
better than wine.
3
Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name
is as
ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
4
Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.
5
I
am
black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
6
Look not upon me, because I
am
black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards;
but
mine own vineyard have I not kept.
7
Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest
thy flock
to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
8
If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.
9
I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.
10
Thy cheeks are comely with rows
of jewels,
thy neck with chains
of gold.
11
We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.
12
While the king
sitteth
at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
13
A bundle of myrrh
is
my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
14
My beloved
is
unto me
as
a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi.
15
Behold, thou
art
fair, my love; behold, thou
art
fair; thou
hast
doves’ eyes.
16
Behold, thou
art
fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed
is
green.
17
The beams of our house
are
cedar,
and
our rafters of fir.
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