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Ecclesiastes 1-6
Biblia Sacra Vulgata
Ecclesiastes 1-6
Biblia Sacra Vulgata
1 Verba Ecclesiastae, filii David, regis Jerusalem.
2 Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes; vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.
3 Quid habet amplius homo de universo labore suo quo laborat sub sole?
4 Generatio praeterit, et generatio advenit; terra autem in aeternum stat.
5 Oritur sol et occidit, et ad locum suum revertitur; ibique renascens,
6 gyrat per meridiem, et flectitur ad aquilonem. Lustrans universa in circuitu pergit spiritus, et in circulos suos revertitur.
7 Omnia flumina intrant in mare, et mare non redundat; ad locum unde exeunt flumina revertuntur ut iterum fluant.
8 Cunctae res difficiles; non potest eas homo explicare sermone. Non saturatur oculus visu, nec auris auditu impletur.
9 Quid est quod fuit? Ipsum quod futurum est. Quid est quod factum est? Ipsum quod faciendum est.
10 Nihil sub sole novum, nec valet quisquam dicere: Ecce hoc recens est: jam enim praecessit in saeculis quae fuerunt ante nos.
11 Non est priorum memoria; sed nec eorum quidem quae postea futura sunt erit recordatio apud eos qui futuri sunt in novissimo.
12 Ego Ecclesiastes fui rex Israel in Jerusalem;
13 et proposui in animo meo quaerere et investigare sapienter de omnibus quae fiunt sub sole. Hanc occupationem pessimam dedit Deus filiis hominum, ut occuparentur in ea.
14 Vidi cuncta quae fiunt sub sole, et ecce universa vanitas et afflictio spiritus.
15 Perversi difficile corriguntur, et stultorum infinitus est numerus.
16 Locutus sum in corde meo, dicens: Ecce magnus effectus sum, et praecessi omnes sapientia qui fuerunt ante me in Jerusalem; et mens mea contemplata est multa sapienter, et didici.
17 Dedique cor meum ut scirem prudentiam atque doctrinam, erroresque et stultitiam; et agnovi quod in his quoque esset labor et afflictio spiritus:
18 eo quod in multa sapientia multa sit indignatio; et qui addit scientiam, addit et laborem.
2 Dixi ego in corde meo: Vadam, et affluam deliciis, et fruar bonis; et vidi quod hoc quoque esset vanitas.
2 Risum reputavi errorem, et gaudio dixi: Quid frustra deciperis?
3 Cogitavi in corde meo abstrahere a vino carnem meam, ut animam meam transferrem ad sapientiam, devitaremque stultitiam, donec viderem quid esset utile filiis hominum, quo facto opus est sub sole numero dierum vitae suae.
4 Magnificavi opera mea, aedificavi mihi domos, et plantavi vineas;
5 feci hortos et pomaria, et consevi ea cuncti generis arboribus;
6 et exstruxi mihi piscinas aquarum, ut irrigarem silvam lignorum germinantium.
7 Possedi servos et ancillas, multamque familiam habui: armenta quoque, et magnos ovium greges, ultra omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Jerusalem;
8 coacervavi mihi argentum et aurum, et substantias regum ac provinciarum; feci mihi cantores et cantatrices, et delicias filiorum hominum, scyphos, et urceos in ministerio ad vina fundenda;
9 et supergressus sum opibus omnes qui ante me fuerunt in Jerusalem: sapientia quoque perseveravit mecum.
10 Et omnia quae desideraverunt oculi mei non negavi eis, nec prohibui cor meum quin omni voluptate frueretur, et oblectaret se in his quae praeparaveram; et hanc ratus sum partem meam si uterer labore meo.
11 Cumque me convertissem ad universa opera quae fecerant manus meae, et ad labores in quibus frustra sudaveram, vidi in omnibus vanitatem et afflictionem animi, et nihil permanere sub sole.
12 Transivi ad contemplandam sapientiam, erroresque, et stultitiam. (Quid est, inquam, homo, ut sequi possit regem, factorem suum?)
13 Et vidi quod tantum praecederet sapientia stultitiam, quantum differt lux a tenebris.
14 Sapientis oculi in capite ejus; stultus in tenebris ambulat: et didici quod unus utriusque esset interitus.
15 Et dixi in corde meo: Si unus et stulti et meus occasus erit, quid mihi prodest quod majorem sapientiae dedi operam? Locutusque cum mente mea, animadverti quod hoc quoque esset vanitas.
16 Non enim erit memoria sapientis similiter ut stulti in perpetuum, et futura tempora oblivione cuncta pariter operient: moritur doctus similiter ut indoctus.
17 Et idcirco taeduit me vitae meae, videntem mala universa esse sub sole, et cuncta vanitatem et afflictionem spiritus.
18 Rursus detestatus sum omnem industriam meam, qua sub sole studiosissime laboravi, habiturus haeredem post me,
19 quem ignoro utrum sapiens an stultus futurus sit, et dominabitur in laboribus meis, quibus desudavi et sollicitus fui: et est quidquam tam vanum?
20 Unde cessavi, renuntiavitque cor meum ultra laborare sub sole.
21 Nam cum alius laboret in sapientia, et doctrina, et sollicitudine, homini otioso quaesita dimittit; et hoc ergo vanitas et magnum malum.
22 Quid enim proderit homini de universo labore suo, et afflictione spiritus, qua sub sole cruciatus est?
23 Cuncti dies ejus doloribus et aerumnis pleni sunt, nec per noctem mente requiescit. Et hoc nonne vanitas est?
24 Nonne melius est comedere et bibere, et ostendere animae suae bona de laboribus suis? et hoc de manu Dei est.
25 Quis ita devorabit et deliciis affluet ut ego?
26 Homini bono in conspectu suo dedit Deus sapientiam, et scientiam, et laetitiam; peccatori autem dedit afflictionem et curam superfluam, ut addat, et congreget, et tradat ei qui placuit Deo; sed et hoc vanitas est, et cassa sollicitudo mentis.
3 Omnia tempus habent, et suis spatiis transeunt universa sub caelo.
2 Tempus nascendi, et tempus moriendi; tempus plantandi, et tempus evellendi quod plantatum est.
3 Tempus occidendi, et tempus sanandi; tempus destruendi, et tempus aedificandi.
4 Tempus flendi, et tempus ridendi; tempus plangendi, et tempus saltandi.
5 Tempus spargendi lapides, et tempus colligendi, tempus amplexandi, et tempus longe fieri ab amplexibus.
6 Tempus acquirendi, et tempus perdendi; tempus custodiendi, et tempus abjiciendi.
7 Tempus scindendi, et tempus consuendi; tempus tacendi, et tempus loquendi.
8 Tempus dilectionis, et tempus odii; tempus belli, et tempus pacis.
9 Quid habet amplius homo de labore suo?
10 Vidi afflictionem quam dedit Deus filiis hominum, ut distendantur in ea.
11 Cuncta fecit bona in tempore suo, et mundum tradidit disputationi eorum, ut non inveniat homo opus quod operatus est Deus ab initio usque ad finem.
12 Et cognovi quod non esset melius nisi laetari, et facere bene in vita sua;
13 omnis enim homo qui comedit et bibit, et videt bonum de labore suo, hoc donum Dei est.
14 Didici quod omnia opera quae fecit Deus perseverent in perpetuum; non possumus eis quidquam addere, nec auferre, quae fecit Deus ut timeatur.
15 Quod factum est, ipsum permanet; quae futura sunt jam fuerunt, et Deus instaurat quod abiit.
16 Vidi sub sole in loco judicii impietatem, et in loco justitiae iniquitatem:
17 et dixi in corde meo: Justum et impium judicabit Deus, et tempus omnis rei tunc erit.
18 Dixi in corde meo de filiis hominum, ut probaret eos Deus, et ostenderet similes esse bestiis.
19 Idcirco unus interitus est hominis et jumentorum, et aequa utriusque conditio. Sicut moritur homo, sic et illa moriuntur. Similiter spirant omnia, et nihil habet homo jumento amplius: cuncta subjacent vanitati,
20 et omnia pergunt ad unum locum. De terra facta sunt, et in terram pariter revertuntur.
21 Quis novit si spiritus filiorum Adam ascendat sursum, et si spiritus jumentorum descendat deorsum?
22 Et deprehendi nihil esse melius quam laetari hominem in opere suo, et hanc esse partem illius. Quis enim eum adducet ut post se futura cognoscat?
4 Verti me ad alia, et vidi calumnias quae sub sole geruntur, et lacrimas innocentium, et neminem consolatorem, nec posse resistere eorum violentiae, cunctorum auxilio destitutos,
2 et laudavi magis mortuos quam viventes;
3 et feliciorem utroque judicavi qui necdum natus est, nec vidit mala quae sub sole fiunt.
4 Rursum contemplatus sum omnes labores hominum, et industrias animadverti patere invidiae proximi; et in hoc ergo vanitas et cura superflua est.
5 Stultus complicat manus suas, et comedit carnes suas, dicens:
6 Melior est pugillus cum requie, quam plena utraque manus cum labore et afflictione animi.
7 Considerans, reperi et aliam vanitatem sub sole.
8 Unus est, et secundum non habet, non filium, non fratrem, et tamen laborare non cessat, nec satiantur oculi ejus divitiis; nec recogitat, dicens: Cui laboro, et fraudo animam meam bonis? In hoc quoque vanitas est et afflictio pessima.
9 Melius est ergo duos esse simul quam unum; habent enim emolumentum societatis suae.
10 Si unus ceciderit, ab altero fulcietur. Vae soli, quia cum ceciderit, non habet sublevantem se.
11 Et si dormierint duo, fovebuntur mutuo; unus quomodo calefiet?
12 Et si quispiam praevaluerit contra unum, duo resistunt ei; funiculus triplex difficile rumpitur.
13 Melior est puer pauper et sapiens, rege sene et stulto, qui nescit praevidere in posterum.
14 Quod de carcere catenisque interdum quis egrediatur ad regnum; et alius, natus in regno, inopia consumatur.
15 Vidi cunctos viventes qui ambulant sub sole cum adolescente secundo, qui consurget pro eo.
16 Infinitus numerus est populi omnium qui fuerunt ante eum, et qui postea futuri sunt non laetabuntur in eo; sed et hoc vanitas et afflictio spiritus.
17 Custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei, et appropinqua ut audias. Multo enim melior est obedientia quam stultorum victimae, qui nesciunt quid faciunt mali.
5 Ne temere quid loquaris, neque cor tuum sit velox ad proferendum sermonem coram Deo. Deus enim in caelo, et tu super terram; idcirco sint pauci sermones tui.
2 Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et in multis sermonibus invenietur stultitia.
3 Si quid vovisti Deo, ne moreris reddere: displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio, sed quodcumque voveris redde:
4 multoque melius est non vovere, quam post votum promissa non reddere.
5 Ne dederis os tuum ut peccare facias carnem tuam, neque dicas coram angelo: Non est providentia: ne forte iratus Deus contra sermones tuos dissipet cuncta opera manuum tuarum.
6 Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimae sunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri; tu vero Deum time.
7 Si videris calumnias egenorum, et violenta judicia, et subverti justitiam in provincia, non mireris super hoc negotio: quia excelso excelsior est alius, et super hos quoque eminentiores sunt alii;
8 et insuper universae terrae rex imperat servienti.
9 Avarus non implebitur pecunia, et qui amat divitias fructum non capiet ex eis; et hoc ergo vanitas.
10 Ubi multae sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas. Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis?
11 Dulcis est somnus operanti, sive parum sive multum comedat; saturitas autem divitis non sinit eum dormire.
12 Est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole: divitiae conservatae in malum domini sui.
13 Pereunt enim in afflictione pessima: generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit.
14 Sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suae, sic revertetur, et nihil auferet secum de labore suo.
15 Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas: quomodo venit, sic revertetur. Quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum?
16 cunctis diebus vitae suae comedit in tenebris, et in curis multis, et in aerumna atque tristitia.
17 Hoc itaque visum est mihi bonum, ut comedat quis et bibat, et fruatur laetitia ex labore suo quo laboravit ipse sub sole, numero dierum vitae suae quos dedit ei Deus; et haec est pars illius.
18 Et omni homini cui dedit Deus divitias atque substantiam, potestatemque ei tribuit ut comedat ex eis, et fruatur parte sua, et laetetur de labore suo: hoc est donum Dei.
19 Non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitae suae, eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor ejus.
6 Est et aliud malum quod vidi sub sole, et quidem frequens apud homines:
2 vir cui dedit Deus divitias, et substantiam, et honorem, et nihil deest animae suae ex omnibus quae desiderat; nec tribuit ei potestatem Deus ut comedat ex eo, sed homo extraneus vorabit illud: hoc vanitas et miseria magna est.
3 Si genuerit quispiam centum liberos, et vixerit multos annos, et plures dies aetatis habuerit, et anima illius non utatur bonis substantiae suae, sepulturaque careat: de hoc ergo pronuntio quod melior illo sit abortivus.
4 Frustra enim venit, et pergit ad tenebras, et oblivione delebitur nomen ejus.
5 Non vidit solem, neque cognovit distantiam boni et mali.
6 Etiam si duobus millibus annis vixerit, et non fuerit perfruitus bonis, nonne ad unum locum properant omnia?
7 Omnis labor hominis in ore ejus; sed anima ejus non implebitur.
8 Quid habet amplius sapiens a stulto? et quid pauper, nisi ut pergat illuc ubi est vita?
9 Melius est videre quod cupias, quam desiderare quod nescias. Sed et hoc vanitas est, et praesumptio spiritus.
10 Qui futurus est, jam vocatum est nomen ejus; et scitur quod homo sit, et non possit contra fortiorem se in judicio contendere.
11 Verba sunt plurima, multamque in disputando habentia vanitatem.
Ecclesiastes 1-6
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 1-6
New International Version
Everything Is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher,[a](A) son of David, king in Jerusalem:(B)
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”(C)
3 What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?(D)
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.(E)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.(F)
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.(G)
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,(H)
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;(I)
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,(J)
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.(K)
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher,(L) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.(M) 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.(N) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!(O) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(P)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(Q)
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me;(R) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,(S) and also of madness and folly,(T) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
Pleasures Are Meaningless
2 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure(W) to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,”(X) I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine,(Y) and embracing folly(Z)—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself(AA) and planted vineyards.(AB) 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves(AC) who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold(AD) for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.(AE) I acquired male and female singers,(AF) and a harem[b] as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem(AG) before me.(AH) In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;(AI)
nothing was gained under the sun.(AJ)
Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless
12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
and also madness and folly.(AK)
What more can the king’s successor do
than what has already been done?(AL)
13 I saw that wisdom(AM) is better than folly,(AN)
just as light is better than darkness.
14 The wise have eyes in their heads,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
that the same fate overtakes them both.(AO)
15 Then I said to myself,
“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?”(AP)
I said to myself,
“This too is meaningless.”
16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;(AQ)
the days have already come when both have been forgotten.(AR)
Like the fool, the wise too must die!(AS)
Toil Is Meaningless
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(AT) 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.(AU) 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish?(AV) Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?(AW) 23 All their days their work is grief and pain;(AX) even at night their minds do not rest.(AY) This too is meaningless.
24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink(AZ) and find satisfaction in their own toil.(BA) This too, I see, is from the hand of God,(BB) 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?(BC) 26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom,(BD) knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth(BE) to hand it over to the one who pleases God.(BF) This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
A Time for Everything
3 There is a time(BG) for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,(BH)
3 a time to kill(BI) and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
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 them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent(BJ) 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 do workers gain from their toil?(BK) 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.(BL) 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.(BM) He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[c] no one can fathom(BN) what God has done from beginning to end.(BO) 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink,(BP) and find satisfaction(BQ) in all their toil—this is the gift of God.(BR) 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.(BS)
15 Whatever is has already been,(BT)
and what will be has been before;(BU)
and God will call the past to account.[d]
16 And I saw something else under the sun:
In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.
17 I said to myself,
“God will bring into judgment(BV)
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time to judge every deed.”(BW)
18 I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.(BX) 19 Surely the fate of human beings(BY) is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath[e]; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.(BZ) 21 Who knows if the human spirit rises upward(CA) and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”
22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work,(CB) because that is their lot.(CC) For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?
Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness
4 Again I looked and saw all the oppression(CD) that was taking place under the sun:
I saw the tears of the oppressed—
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
and they have no comforter.(CE)
2 And I declared that the dead,(CF)
who had already died,
are happier than the living,
who are still alive.(CG)
3 But better than both
is the one who has never been born,(CH)
who has not seen the evil
that is done under the sun.(CI)
4 And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(CJ)
5 Fools fold their hands(CK)
and ruin themselves.
6 Better one handful with tranquillity
than two handfuls with toil(CL)
and chasing after the wind.
7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
8 There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content(CM) with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
a miserable business!
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Advancement Is Meaningless
13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. 14 The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. 15 I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. 16 There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Fulfill Your Vow to God
5 [f]Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
2 Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.(CN)
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.(CO)
3 A dream(CP) comes when there are many cares,
and many words mark the speech of a fool.(CQ)
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it.(CR) He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.(CS) 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.(CT) 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.(CU)
Riches Are Meaningless
8 If you see the poor oppressed(CV) in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
10 Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.
11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
except to feast their eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.(CW)
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:(CX)
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
there is nothing left for them to inherit.
15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
and as everyone comes, so they depart.(CY)
They take nothing from their toil(CZ)
that they can carry in their hands.(DA)
16 This too is a grievous evil:
As everyone comes, so they depart,
and what do they gain,
since they toil for the wind?(DB)
17 All their days they eat in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.
18 This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink(DC) and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor(DD) under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions,(DE) and the ability to enjoy them,(DF) to accept their lot(DG) and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.(DH) 20 They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.(DI)
6 I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: 2 God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them,(DJ) and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.(DK)
3 A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn(DL) child is better off than he.(DM) 4 It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. 5 Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man— 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?(DN)
7 Everyone’s toil is for their mouth,
yet their appetite is never satisfied.(DO)
8 What advantage have the wise over fools?(DP)
What do the poor gain
by knowing how to conduct themselves before others?
9 Better what the eye sees
than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless,
a chasing after the wind.(DQ)
10 Whatever exists has already been named,(DR)
and what humanity is has been known;
no one can contend
with someone who is stronger.
11 The more the words,
the less the meaning,
and how does that profit anyone?
12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days(DS) they pass through like a shadow?(DT) Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12
- Ecclesiastes 2:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 Or also placed ignorance in the human heart, so that
- Ecclesiastes 3:15 Or God calls back the past
- Ecclesiastes 3:19 Or spirit
- Ecclesiastes 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1 is numbered 4:17, and 5:2-20 is numbered 5:1-19.
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