Ecclesiastes 5-8

Ecclesiastes 5

¹Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God; for to draw nigh to hear is better than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil.

²Be not rash with thy month, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

³For a dream cometh with a multitude of business; and a fool’s voice with a multitude of words.

⁴When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou vowest.

⁵Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

⁶Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

⁷For thus it cometh to pass through the multitude of dreams and vanities and many words: but fear thou God.

⁸If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there be higher than they.

⁹Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

¹⁰He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this also is vanity.

¹¹When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, saving the beholding of them with his eyes?

¹²The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

¹³There is a grievous evil, which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt:

¹⁴and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.

¹⁵As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

¹⁶And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that he laboureth for the wind?

¹⁷All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he is sore vexed and hath sickness and wrath.

¹⁸Behold, that which I have seen to be good and to be comely is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour, wherein he laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for this is his portion.

¹⁹Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

²⁰For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

Ecclesiastes 6

¹There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy upon men:

²a man to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honour, so that he lacketh 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.

³If a man beget an hundred children and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, but his soul be not filled with good, and moreover he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he:

⁴for it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and the name thereof is covered with darkness;

⁵moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath rest rather than the other:

⁶yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet enjoy no good: do not all go to one place?

⁷All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.

⁸For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? or what hath the poor man, that knoweth to walk before the living?

⁹Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

¹⁰Whatsoever hath been, the name thereof was given long ago, and it is known that it is man: neither can he contend with him that is mightier than he.

¹¹Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?

¹²For who knoweth what is good for man in his 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?

Ecclesiastes 7

¹A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.

²It 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.

³Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

⁵It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

⁶For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.

⁷Surely extortion maketh a wise man foolish; and a gift destroyeth the understanding.

⁸Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

⁹Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.

¹¹Wisdom is as good as an inheritance: yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun.

¹²For wisdom is a defence, even as money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it.

¹³Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?

¹⁴In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God hath even made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out any thing that shall be after him.

¹⁵All this have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a righteous man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his evil-doing.

¹⁶Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?

¹⁷Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?

¹⁸It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.

¹⁹Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers which are in a city.

²⁰Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

²¹Also take not heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:

²²for oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.

²³All this have I proved in wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.

²⁴That which is is far off, and exceeding deep; who can find it out?

²⁵I turned about, and my heart was set to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to know that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness:

²⁶And I find a thing more bitter than death, even 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.

²⁷Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher; laying one thing to another, to find out the account:

²⁸which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

²⁹Behold, this only have I found, that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

Ecclesiastes 8

¹Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.

²I counsel thee, Keep the king’s command, and that in regard of the oath of God.

³Be not hasty to go out of his presence; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.

⁴Because the king’s word hath power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

⁵Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man’s heart discerneth time and judgment:

⁶for to every purpose there is a time and judgment; because the misery of man is great upon him:

⁷for he knoweth not that which shall be; for who can tell him how it shall be?

⁸There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.

⁹All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man hath power over another to his hurt.

¹⁰And withal I saw the wicked buried, and they came to the grave; and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity.

¹¹Because 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.

¹²Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and prolong his days, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

¹³but 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.

¹⁴There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be righteous 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.

¹⁵Then 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 in his labour all the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.

¹⁶When 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:)

¹⁷then I beheld all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because however much a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea moreover, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.