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A good name is better than perfumed oil,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.
Better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for all are destined to be mourned;
the living should lay this to heart.
Grief is better than laughter,
for sadness can improve a person.
The thoughts of the wise are in the house of mourning,
but the thoughts of fools are in the house of pleasure.
It is better to hear the rebukes of the wise
than to listen to the songs of fools.
For the laughter of fools is like the crackling of thorns
burning under a pot; this too is pointless.
But oppression can make a wise man stupid;
also a gift can destroy understanding.

The end of something is better than its beginning,
so the patient are better than the proud.
Don’t be quick to get angry,
for [only] fools nurse anger.

10 Don’t ask why the old days were better than now,
because that is a foolish question.
11 Wisdom is good, along with possessions,
an advantage to all who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a shelter,
and money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is
that wisdom keeps the one who has it alive.

13 Consider the work of God:
who can make straight what he has made crooked?
14 When things are going well, enjoy yourself;
but when things are going badly, consider
that God made the one alongside the other,
so that people would learn nothing of their futures.
15 In my pointless life, I’ve seen everything —
from the righteous person perishing in his uprightness
to the wicked one who lives a long life
and keeps on doing wrong.
16 So don’t be overly righteous or overly wise;
why should you disappoint yourself?
17 But don’t be overly wicked, and don’t be foolish;
why should you die before your time?
18 Don’t grasp just one of these rules;
take hold of the other as well;
for he who is in fear of God
will live by both of them.
19 To a wise man wisdom is better protection
than ten rulers in a city.
20 For there isn’t a righteous person on earth
who does [only] good and never sins.

21 Also, don’t take seriously every word spoken,
such as when you hear your servant speaking badly of you;
22 because often, as you yourself know,
you have spoken badly of others.

23 All this I have put to the test of wisdom;
I said, “I will acquire wisdom”;
but wisdom remained far away from me.
24 That which exists is far away
and deep, so deep, that it can’t be discovered.

25 So I turned myself and my thoughts to know, search out and seek wisdom and the reasons behind things, also to know how foolish it is to be wicked and how stupid to act like a fool.

26 I found more bitter than death
the woman who is a trap,
whose heart is a snare
and whose hands are like prison chains.
The man who pleases God will escape from her,
but the sinner will be caught by her.
27 I have found this — says Kohelet —
adding one thing to another to reach a conclusion,
28 I searched a long time without finding it:
one man in a thousand I have found,
but a woman among all those I have not found.
29 This is the only thing I have found,
that God made human beings upright,
but they have devised many schemes.

Who can be compared with a wise person?
Who else knows what a thing means?
Wisdom lights up the face
and softens a grim appearance.

Keep the king’s command
because of the oath before God.
Don’t be quick to leave his presence,
and don’t persist in doing what is wrong,
for he does whatever he pleases.
After all, his word is final;
who can challenge him, “Why are you doing that?”
Whoever obeys his command
will never come to harm,
and the wise person will know
the right time and judgment.
For to everything there is
a right time and a judgment,
since people are greatly troubled
by uncertainty over the future;
even when the event takes place,
who will tell them about it?
Just as no one has the power
to keep the wind from blowing,
so no one has power
over the day of death.
If one is drafted to fight a war,
one can’t send a substitute;
likewise the wicked won’t escape death
by their wickedness.

All this I have seen, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun when one person tyrannizes another. 10 Thus I saw the wicked buried; they had even come from the Holy Place. But those who had acted uprightly were forgotten in the city. This too is a futile thing; 11 because the punishment decreed for an evil act is not promptly carried out; therefore people who plan to do evil are strengthened in their intentions. 12 For a sinner can do evil a hundred times and still live a long life; although I know that in the end things will go well with those who fear God, because they fear him. 13 But things will not go well with the wicked; and, like a shadow, he will not prolong his days; because he doesn’t fear God.

14 There is something frustrating that occurs on earth, namely, that there are righteous people to whom things happen as if they were doing wicked deeds; and, again, there are wicked people to whom things happen as if they were doing righteous deeds. I say that this too is pointless.

15 So I recommend enjoyment — a person can do nothing better under the sun than eat, drink and enjoy himself; this is what should accompany him as he does his work for as long as God gives him to live under the sun.

16 When I applied myself to gain wisdom and to observe how people occupy themselves on earth, that people’s eyes don’t see sleep either by day or by night, 17 then, on looking over all of God’s work, I realized that it is impossible to grasp all the activity taking place under the sun; because even if a person works hard at searching it out, he won’t grasp it; and even if a wise person thinks he knows it, he still won’t be able to grasp it.

I applied myself to all of this, sifted through it and concluded that the righteous and the wise, along with their deeds, are in God’s hands — a person cannot know whether these people and deeds will be rewarded with love or with hatred; all options are open. Anything can happen to anyone; the same thing can happen to the righteous as to the wicked, to the good and clean and to the unclean, to someone who offers a sacrifice and to someone who doesn’t offer a sacrifice; it is the same for a good person as for a sinner, for someone who takes an oath rashly as for someone who fears to take an oath. This is another evil among all those done under the sun, that the same events can occur to anyone. Truly, the human mind is full of evil; and as long as people live, folly is in their hearts; after which they go to be with the dead. For as long as a person is linked with the living, there is hope — better to be a living dog than a dead lion! For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; there is no longer any reward for them, because all memory of them is lost. What they loved, what they hated and what they envied all disappeared long ago, and they no longer have a share in anything done under the sun.

So go, eat your bread with joy,
and drink your wine with a happy heart,
for God has already accepted your deeds.
Let your clothing always be white,
and never fail to perfume your head.

Enjoy life with the wife you have loved throughout your meaningless life that he has given you under the sun, all the days of your futility; for that is your allotted portion in life and in your labor that you work at under the sun. 10 Whatever task comes your way to do, do it with all your strength; because in Sh’ol, where you will go, there is neither working nor planning, neither knowledge nor wisdom.

11 Yet another thing I observed under the sun is that races aren’t won by the swift or battles by the strong, and that food doesn’t go to the wise or wealth to the intelligent or favor to the experts; rather, time and chance rule them all. 12 For people don’t know when their time will come any more than fish taken in the fatal net or birds caught in a snare; similarly, people are snared at an unfortunate time, when suddenly it falls on them.

13 Here is something else I have seen as wisdom under the sun, and it seemed important to me: 14 there was a small town with few people in it; and a great king came to attack it; he surrounded it and built massive siege-works against it. 15 Now there was found in it a man who was poor but wise, and by his wisdom he saved the city; yet afterwards, nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So, although I say that wisdom is better than strength, nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised; nobody pays attention to what he says.

17 A wise man speaking quietly is more worth heeding
than the shouts of a ruler commanding fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but a person who makes a mistake can destroy much good.

10 Just as dead flies make perfumed oil stink,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

A wise man’s heart leads him rightly,
but a fool’s heart leads him astray;
and when a fool travels, he has no good sense,
thus showing everyone that he is a fool.

If a ruler gets angry at you, stay at your post,
because calmness soothes great offenses.

Another evil I have seen under the sun,
the kind of mistake rulers make, is that
fools are promoted to high positions,
while the rich occupy humble places.
I have seen servants riding horses,
while princes walk on foot like slaves.

He who digs a pit may fall into it;
he who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
He who quarries stones may get hurt by them,
he who chops wood puts himself in danger.
10 If the [hatchet’s] iron [blade] is blunt,
and [its user] doesn’t sharpen it,
he will have to exert more effort;
but the expert has the advantage of his skill.
11 If a snake bites before it is charmed,
the snake-charmer has no advantage.
12 The words spoken by the wise bring them favor,
but the lips of a fool swallow him up.
13 What he says starts with foolishness
and ends with wicked madness.
14 A fool keeps talking and talking,
yet no one knows what the future will bring —
can anyone tell a person
what will happen after he’s gone?
15 The efforts of a fool wear him out;
he doesn’t even know the way to town!

16 Woe to you, land, when your king is a child,
and your leaders start their parties in the morning!
17 Happy are you, land, when your king is well-born,
and your princes eat at the proper time,
in order to stay strong, not to get drunk!
18 When the owner is lazy, the roof sags;
when hands are idle, the house leaks.
19 Parties are made for having a good time,
wine adds cheer to life,
and money has an answer for everything.
20 Don’t insult the king, not even in your thoughts;
and don’t insult the wealthy, not even in your bedroom;
for a bird in the air might carry the news,
a creature with wings might repeat what you said.

11 Send your resources out over the seas;
eventually you will reap a return.
Divide your merchandise into seven or eight shares,
since you don’t know what disasters may come on the earth.
If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty themselves on the earth.
Whether a tree falls toward the north or the south,
the place where the tree falls is where it stays.
He who keeps watching the wind will never sow;
he who keeps looking at the clouds will never reap.
Just as you don’t know the way of the wind
or how bones grow in a pregnant woman’s womb,
so you don’t know the work of God,
the maker of everything.
In the morning, sow your seed;
and don’t slack off until evening;
for you don’t know which sowing will succeed,
this, or that, or if both will do well.
Then the light will be sweet,
and it will be a pleasure to see the sun.
For if a person lives many years,
let him take joy in them all;
yet remembering that there will be many days of darkness,
that all to come is futile.

Young person, if you spend your youth only having fun,
if you use your early years just to entertain yourself,
if you follow your heart as you live your life,
and let your eyes be your guide;
understand that for all these things
God will bring you to judgment.
10 Therefore, remove anger from your heart;
and keep from harming your body;
for neither adolescence nor youth
has any lasting value.

12 So remember your creator while you are young,
before the evil days come,
and the years approach when you will say,
“They no longer give me pleasure”;
before the sun and the light grow dim,
also the moon and the stars;
before the clouds return after the rain;
on the day when the guards of the house are trembling,
and men of courage are bent over double;
when the women stop grinding grain,
because there are so few;
when the women at the windows
can no longer see out;
when the doors to the streets are kept shut;
when the noise from the grain-mill fades;
when a person is startled by the chirp of a bird,
yet their singing is hard to hear;
when they will be afraid to go up a hill,
and terrors will stalk the way,
even though the almond tree is in bloom;
when the locust can only drag itself along,
and the caper berry has no [aphrodisiac] effect —
because the person is headed for his eternal home,
and the mourners are already gathering
in the marketplace —
before the silver cord is snapped
the bowl of gold is cracked,
the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
the pulley is broken at the cistern,
the dust returns to earth, as it was,
and the spirit returns to God, who gave it!
Pointless! Meaningless! — says Kohelet,
Nothing matters at all!

Not only was Kohelet wise, he also taught the people what he knew; also he weighed, researched and corrected many ethical sayings. 10 Kohelet worked to develop an attractive writing style, in which he expressed the truth straightforwardly. 11 The sayings of the wise are as sharp as goads, and those given by leaders of assemblies are like well-fixed nails; [in this case,] they are presented by a single shepherd. 12 In addition, my son, take heed: one can write many books — there’s no end to it; and one can study so much that it wearies the flesh.

13 Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about. 14 For God will bring to judgment everything we do, including every secret, whether good or bad.

[Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about.]

Wisdom

A good name is better than fine perfume,(A)
    and the day of death better than the day of birth.(B)
It is better to go to a house of mourning
    than to go to a house of feasting,
for death(C) is the destiny(D) of everyone;
    the living should take this to heart.
Frustration is better than laughter,(E)
    because a sad face is good for the heart.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.(F)
It is better to heed the rebuke(G) of a wise person
    than to listen to the song of fools.
Like the crackling of thorns(H) under the pot,
    so is the laughter(I) of fools.
    This too is meaningless.

Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
    and a bribe(J) corrupts the heart.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
    and patience(K) is better than pride.
Do not be quickly provoked(L) in your spirit,
    for anger resides in the lap of fools.(M)

10 Do not say, “Why were the old days(N) better than these?”
    For it is not wise to ask such questions.

11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing(O)
    and benefits those who see the sun.(P)
12 Wisdom is a shelter
    as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
    Wisdom preserves those who have it.

13 Consider what God has done:(Q)

Who can straighten
    what he has made crooked?(R)
14 When times are good, be happy;
    but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
    as well as the other.(S)
Therefore, no one can discover
    anything about their future.

15 In this meaningless life(T) of mine I have seen both of these:

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.(U)
16 Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time?(V)
18 It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God(W) will avoid all extremes.[a]

19 Wisdom(X) makes one wise person more powerful(Y)
    than ten rulers in a city.

20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,(Z)
    no one who does what is right and never sins.(AA)

21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,
    or you(AB) may hear your servant cursing you—
22 for you know in your heart
    that many times you yourself have cursed others.

23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,

“I am determined to be wise”(AC)
    but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
    who can discover it?(AD)
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
    to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things(AE)
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
    and the madness of folly.(AF)

26 I find more bitter than death
    the woman who is a snare,(AG)
whose heart is a trap
    and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
    but the sinner she will ensnare.(AH)

27 “Look,” says the Teacher,[b](AI) “this is what I have discovered:

“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
28     while I was still searching
    but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
    but not one upright woman(AJ) among them all.
29 This only have I found:
    God created mankind upright,
    but they have gone in search of many schemes.”

Who is like the wise?
    Who knows the explanation of things?
A person’s wisdom brightens their face
    and changes its hard appearance.

Obey the King

Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence.(AK) Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?(AL)

Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
    and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,(AM)
    though a person may be weighed down by misery.

Since no one knows the future,
    who can tell someone else what is to come?
As no one has power over the wind to contain it,
    so[c] no one has power over the time of their death.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
    so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own[d] hurt. 10 Then too, I saw the wicked buried(AN)—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise[e] in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.

11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. 12 Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better(AO) with those who fear God,(AP) who are reverent before him.(AQ) 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God,(AR) it will not go well with them, and their days(AS) will not lengthen like a shadow.

14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve.(AT) This too, I say, is meaningless.(AU) 15 So I commend the enjoyment of life(AV), because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink(AW) and be glad.(AX) Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.

16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom(AY) and to observe the labor that is done on earth(AZ)—people getting no sleep day or night— 17 then I saw all that God has done.(BA) No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.(BB)

A Common Destiny for All

So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.(BC) All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[f] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,
    so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
    so with those who are afraid to take them.(BD)

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.(BE) The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,(BF) and afterward they join the dead.(BG) Anyone who is among the living has hope[g]—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

For the living know that they will die,
    but the dead know nothing;(BH)
they have no further reward,
    and even their name(BI) is forgotten.(BJ)
Their love, their hate
    and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
    in anything that happens under the sun.(BK)

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine(BL) with a joyful heart,(BM) for God has already approved what you do. Always be clothed in white,(BN) and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife,(BO) whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot(BP) in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever(BQ) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,(BR) for in the realm of the dead,(BS) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.(BT)

11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
    or the battle to the strong,(BU)
nor does food come to the wise(BV)
    or wealth to the brilliant
    or favor to the learned;
but time and chance(BW) happen to them all.(BX)

12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,
    or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times(BY)
    that fall unexpectedly upon them.(BZ)

Wisdom Better Than Folly

13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom(CA) that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.(CB) 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.(CC)

17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
    than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom(CD) is better than weapons of war,
    but one sinner destroys much good.

10 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
    so a little folly(CE) outweighs wisdom and honor.
The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
    but the heart of the fool to the left.
Even as fools walk along the road,
    they lack sense
    and show everyone(CF) how stupid they are.
If a ruler’s anger rises against you,
    do not leave your post;(CG)
    calmness can lay great offenses to rest.(CH)

There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
    the sort of error that arises from a ruler:
Fools are put in many high positions,(CI)
    while the rich occupy the low ones.
I have seen slaves on horseback,
    while princes go on foot like slaves.(CJ)

Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;(CK)
    whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.(CL)
Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
    whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.(CM)

10 If the ax is dull
    and its edge unsharpened,
more strength is needed,
    but skill will bring success.

11 If a snake bites before it is charmed,
    the charmer receives no fee.(CN)

12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,(CO)
    but fools are consumed by their own lips.(CP)
13 At the beginning their words are folly;
    at the end they are wicked madness—
14     and fools multiply words.(CQ)

No one knows what is coming—
    who can tell someone else what will happen after them?(CR)

15 The toil of fools wearies them;
    they do not know the way to town.

16 Woe to the land whose king was a servant[h](CS)
    and whose princes feast in the morning.
17 Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth
    and whose princes eat at a proper time—
    for strength and not for drunkenness.(CT)

18 Through laziness, the rafters sag;
    because of idle hands, the house leaks.(CU)

19 A feast is made for laughter,
    wine(CV) makes life merry,
    and money is the answer for everything.

20 Do not revile the king(CW) even in your thoughts,
    or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird in the sky may carry your words,
    and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

Invest in Many Ventures

11 Ship(CX) your grain across the sea;
    after many days you may receive a return.(CY)
Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
    you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

If clouds are full of water,
    they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
    in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
    whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

As you do not know the path of the wind,(CZ)
    or how the body is formed[i] in a mother’s womb,(DA)
so you cannot understand the work of God,
    the Maker of all things.

Sow your seed in the morning,
    and at evening let your hands not be idle,(DB)
for you do not know which will succeed,
    whether this or that,
    or whether both will do equally well.

Remember Your Creator While Young

Light is sweet,
    and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.(DC)
However many years anyone may live,
    let them enjoy them all.
But let them remember(DD) the days of darkness,
    for there will be many.
    Everything to come is meaningless.

You who are young, be happy while you are young,
    and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
    and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
    God will bring you into judgment.(DE)
10 So then, banish anxiety(DF) from your heart
    and cast off the troubles of your body,
    for youth and vigor are meaningless.(DG)

12 Remember(DH) your Creator
    in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble(DI) come
    and the years approach when you will say,
    “I find no pleasure in them”—
before the sun and the light
    and the moon and the stars grow dark,
    and the clouds return after the rain;
when the keepers of the house tremble,
    and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
    and those looking through the windows grow dim;
when the doors to the street are closed
    and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
    but all their songs grow faint;(DJ)
when people are afraid of heights
    and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
    and the grasshopper drags itself along
    and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home(DK)
    and mourners(DL) go about the streets.

Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
    and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
    and the wheel broken at the well,
and the dust returns(DM) to the ground it came from,
    and the spirit returns to God(DN) who gave it.(DO)

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.[j](DP)
    “Everything is meaningless!(DQ)

The Conclusion of the Matter

Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.(DR) 10 The Teacher(DS) searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.(DT)

11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails(DU)—given by one shepherd.[k] 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.(DV)

13 Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God(DW) and keep his commandments,(DX)
    for this is the duty of all mankind.(DY)
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,(DZ)
    including every hidden thing,(EA)
    whether it is good or evil.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 7:18 Or will follow them both
  2. Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly
  3. Ecclesiastes 8:8 Or over the human spirit to retain it, / and so
  4. Ecclesiastes 8:9 Or to their
  5. Ecclesiastes 8:10 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (Aquila); most Hebrew manuscripts and are forgotten
  6. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.
  7. Ecclesiastes 9:4 Or What then is to be chosen? With all who live, there is hope
  8. Ecclesiastes 10:16 Or king is a child
  9. Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or know how life (or the spirit) / enters the body being formed
  10. Ecclesiastes 12:8 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 9 and 10
  11. Ecclesiastes 12:11 Or Shepherd