ECCLESIASTES
Sayings of the Speaker,
David's son, king in Jerusalem.
Utterly vain, utterly
vain, everything is vain! Man labours at his toil under the sun;
what does he gain? The generations come and go, but there the earth is, there it
shall remain. The rising sun goes down, it hurries round only to rise again. From
south to north the wind blows round, the wind turns as it blows, turning and then
returning on its track. The streams all flow into the sea, but the sea they never fill,
though the streams are flowing still. All things are aweary, weary beyond words: the
eye is never satisfied, the ear has never enough. What has been is what shall be,
what has gone on is what shall go on, and there is nothing new under the sun. Men
may say of something, "Ah, this is new!"–but it existed long ago before our time. The
men of old are now forgotten, and men to come shall be forgotten by the folk who
follow them.
I the Speaker
was king of Israel in Jerusalem. I set myself to study and survey
thoughtfully all that goes on under heaven–a sorry task this toil set to the sons of men
by God! I have seen all that goes on in this world; it is a vain, futile affair. You cannot
straighten what is twisted, nor can you count up the defects in life.
Said I to myself, "Now
here have I gained far more wisdom than any before me in
Jerusalem, my mind has such experience of wisdom and knowledge; I have applied
myself to wisdom and knowledge as well as to mad folly, and I find it futile. The more
you know, the more you suffer: the more you understand, the
more you ache."
Said I to myself, "Come,
try pleasure and enjoy yourself." But this too was in vain.
Mirth is madness, I reflected, and what is the good of pleasure?
I searched my
mind how to pamper my body with wine (keeping control of myself wisely all the
time), how to come by folly, till I could see how best the sons of men might fare
under heaven during the few days of their life. I went in for great works, built
mansions, planted vineyards, laid out gardens and parks in which I planted
all
kinds of fruit-trees, and made pools to water the trees in my plantations; I bought
slaves, both men and women, and had slaves born within my household; I had
large herds and flocks, larger than any before me in Jerusalem; I amassed silver
and gold, right royal treasures; I secured singers, both men and women, and
many
a mistress, man's delight. Richer and richer I grew, more than any before me in
Jerusalem, nor did my wisdom leave me. Nothing I coveted did I I deny myself; I
refused my heart no joy–for my heart did feel joy in all this toil; so much I did get from
all my efforts. But when I turned to look at all I had achieved and at my toil and
trouble, then it was all vain and futile. Nothing in this world is worth while. For what
can he do who succeeds the king? Nothing but what the king has done already.
Then I turned to look
into wisdom and mad folly. Wisdom is better than folly, I saw, as
light is better than darkness; for the wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool
walks in the dark. But I also found that one fate falls to both. So I said to myself, "If the
fool's fate is to be my fate, what is the use of all my wisdom? This too is vain," said I
to myself. "The wise man is no more remembered than the fool, for in days to come
both alike will have been long forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies like the fool!" So I
hated life; for all that goes on under the sun seemed evil to me, all of it vain and futile.
I hated all that I had toiled at under the sun, knowing I must leave it to the man who
follows me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have
it all in his own hands, all I have won by my toil and trouble and skill under the sun.
This too is vain. So
I turned to despair of all my toil and trouble under the sun; for a
man who has toiled skilfully and thoughtfully and ably has to leave all his gains to one
who has never worked for them. This too is vain, it is a great evil. For what good
does a mn get himself from all the toil and strain of his labour in this world?
All
through life his task is a sheer pain and vexation, day after day; the very night brings
no rest to his mind. This too is vain. There is nothing better for a man than to eat and
drink and enjoy himself as he does his work. And this, I find, is what God grants; for
who can eat, who can enjoy himself, apart from God? [[To a man whom God
approves he grants wisdom, knowledge, and happiness, but he sets a sinner ... the
task of gathering and amassing wealth, only to leave it to -the man whom God
approves: (which is indeed vain and futile).]]
Everything has its
appointed; hour, there is a time for all things under heaven:
a time for
birth, a time for death,
a time to plant and
a time to uproot,
a time to kill, a time
to heal,
a time to break down
and a time to build,
a time to cry, a time
to laugh,
a time to mourn, a
time to dance,
a time to scatter and
a time to gather,
a time to embrace,
a time to refrain,
a tune to seek, a time
to lose,
a time to keep, a time
to throw away,
a time to tear, a time
to sew,
a time for silence
and a time for speech,
a time for love, a
time for hate,
a time for war, a time
for peace.
What does a busy man
gain from his toil? I have watched the interests that God sets
the sons of men to labour at; he assigned each to its proper time, but for the mind
of man he has appointed mystery, that man may never fathom God's own purpose
from beginning to end. For men, I find, there is nothing better than to be happy and
enjoy themselves as long as they are alive; it is indeed God's very gift to man, that he
should eat and drink and be happy as he toils. Also, I find, whatever God may do shall
stand unchanged; nothing can be added to it, nothing can be taken from it. So God
orders things, that men may stand in awe of him. Whatever is, it has already been;
whatever is to be, already is; and God is ever bringing back what disappears.
Once more I looked
into the world, and there I saw wrong within the courts of justice,
iniquity within the courts of religion. [[Yes, but (I said to myself) God will deal one day
with the just and the unjust; 'tis he who appoints a time for everything, for all that men
devise and practise.]] This, I reflected, is God showing what men are, to let them see
they are no better than the beasts. For man's fate is a beast's fate, one fate befalls
them both; as the one dies so the other dies, the same breath is in them all; man is
no better than a beast, for both are vanity, both are bound for the same end; both
sprang from the dust, and to the dust they both return. Who can tell if the spirit of
man goes upward, while the spirit of a beast goes down into the earth? So I saw the
best thing for man was to be happy in his work; that is what he gets out of life, for
who can show him what is to happen afterwards?
I looked again and
saw all the oppression that goes on in the world; there were the
oppressed in tears, with no one to redress their wrongs–tyrants in power and the
oppressed in tears, with no one to redress their wrongs! So I judged the dead already
in their graves to be more happy than the living who were still alive; yes, and happier
than them both the man unborn, who has never known the misery that goes on in the
world.
Also I saw that human
toil and skill mean jealousy between man and man. (This too
is vain and futile!) He is a fool who folds his hands and lets life go to ruin.
Still, one
handful of content is better than two hands full of toil and futile effort. I saw another
futile thing under the sun–a lone man, kinless, without
son or brother, and yet
toiling on to make money; he cannot satisfy himself with what he gains, and he never
asks for whose sake he is toiling and stinting himself of pleasure. This too is vain,
a
sorry business. Two are better than one; they come well off in all they undertake, for
if one falls the other man can raise his fellow. But woe betide a lonely man who falls,
with none to help him up! Again, if two men lie together they
keep warm; but
how can any man keep warm alone? Also, two men can stand up
to a robber,
when a single man would be overpowered. And a threefold cord is not easily
broken.
A young
man, lowly born and wise, is better than an old and silly king who will no
longer take advice; in a rebellion the young man may rise to the
throne, although
he was born poor within the realm. I have seen all the living on earth side with such
a youth, who was destined to reign instead of the old king; no end of people hailed
him as their leader. Yet later on men lost all interest in him! This too is vain and futile.
Never enter God's house
carelessly; draw near him to listen, and then your service is
better than what fools offer–for all a fool knows is how to do wrong. Never be rash
with your lips, never let your heart hurry you into words before God. God is in heaven,
and you are on earth; so let your words be few. For as many worries mean that a
man will dream, so many words mean that a fool is talking. When you vow a vow to
God, pay it without delay (for the vows of fools displease him). Pay your vow; better
not vow at all than vow and fail to pay. Never allow your lips to lay you open to
punishment; never say to God, "I vowed that by mistake," lest God be angry at your
excuse and undo you. Stand in awe of God [[for many dreams and words mean
many a vain folly]].
When you see the poor
being oppressed or right and justice tampered with in the
State, be not surprised; it is one official preying on another. But over both there is a
supreme authority; after all, a country prospers with a king who has control.
A lover of money will
never be satisfied with his money, and a lover of wealth will
never make anything of it (this too is vain!). The more a man gains, the more there
are to spend it, while the owner can only look on. Sweet is the worker's sleep,
whether he has much to eat or little; but the satiety of the rich keeps them from
sleeping. A sore evil have I seen in the world, wealth hoarded to the owner's loss: in
some unlucky venture it is lost, and the man has nothing to leave to his son. Naked
he came from his mother's womb, and naked he must return; for all his toil, he has
nothing to take with him. A sore evil this, that as he came so he must go. What
does he gain by all his futile toil, spending his days in gloominess, privations, deep
anxieties, distress, and fits of anger?
Here is what I find
right and good for man–to eat and drink and to be happy as he toils
at his task on earth, during the few days God gives him to live. Such is his lot;
yes,
it is God's own gift when a man is made rich and wealthy and able to enjoy it all, to
partake of what may be allotted him and to enjoy himself as he toils. Then he will
never brood over the fewness of his days, for God is giving him his heart's delight.
There is an evil I have seen under the sun, that presses heavily on men–God
making a man rich, wealthy, and honoured, till he has everything
his heart
desires, and yet he is unable to enjoy it; an outsider gets the good of it. This is vain,
a sore misfortune. A man may have a hundred children and live many a long year,
but if he gets no joy of his prosperity and dies unburied, he is worse off, I hold, than
an untimely birth that lifeless comes and darkling goes without a name; the sun it
never saw nor knew, but it is better off. The man may live a thousand years twice
told, but if he never enjoys himself, then are not both alike bound for the same end?
A man toils on to satisfy
his hunger, but his wants are never met.
A wise man fares no
better than a fool; no more does a poor man who lives uprightly.
Better a joy at hand than wants that roam abroad.
Whatever happens has
been determined long ago, and what man is has been
ordained of old; he cannot argue with One mightier than himself, and lavish talk about
it only means more folly. What is the use of talking? Who can tell what is good for
man in life, during the few days of his empty life that passes like a shadow? For who
can tell a man what is to happen in this world when he is gone? A good name in life
is better than none, but the day of death is better than the day of birth.
Better go to the house
of mourning than to the house of feasting; for death is the end
of all men, and the living should keep that in mind. Grief is better than gaiety, for
sadness does the soul good. The heart of wise men turns to the house of mourning,
the heart of fools turns to the house of mirth.
Better attend to censure
from the wise than listen to a song from fools; for like
nettles crackling under kettles is the cackle of a fool.
This too is vain: for
a judge to make a fool of himself by oppression, and for life to be
ruined by the taking of bribes.
The end of a business
is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
Never be hasty in your
anger; it is only fools who cherish wrath.
Never ask why the past
was better than the present: that is a foolish question.
Wisdom is as good as
an inheritance, a real profit for mankind; for wisdom like
wealth is a defence, but knowledge does more good than money, it safeguards a
man's life.
Ponder the doings of
God: who can straighten what he twists?
In prosperous days
enjoy yourself, but in evil days ponder this, that the one is the
doing of God as well as the other–all to keep man from knowing what is to happen.
All manner of things
have I seen in my fleeting life, the good man perishing by his
very goodness and the evil man flourishing upon his evil. Be not over-good,
be not
over- wise; why expose yourself to trouble? And be not over-evil either, do
not play
the fool; why die before your time? The best way is to take the one line, and yet not
avoid the other [[for he who stands in awe of God shall avoid both extremes]]
[[Wisdom is better protection for the wise than a dozen wardens for a
city]], for
there is not a single good man upon earth whose good deeds are
without some
sin.
One thing more.
Never listen to all that people say; you may hear your own slave
cursing you. And many a time, you must confess, you yourself have cursed other
people.
All this I have tested
by means of wisdom. I thought to become wise, but wisdom
remained out of reach. Reality is beyond my grasp; deep it lies, very deep, and no
one can lay hands upon the heart of things. I cast about in my mind to know and
survey and discover wisdom and the reason of things, finding that wickedness is folly
and folly madness; and I discovered something, something more bitter even than
death– the woman who entangles men, whose heart is a net, whose clasp is a chain
[[A man by God's good favour shall escape her, but she will snare a sinner]]. Vainly
have I sought over and again the truth of things, putting together this and that; but
here is what I have found, says the Speaker: one true man in a thousand, but never a
true woman! Here is all I have been able to discover: God made the race of men
upright, but many a cunning wile have they contrived.
Who is like a wise
man? Who can explain things? Man's wisdom lights his face up,
it transfigures even a rough countenance.
Obey the king, for
you swore him loyalty before God. Rebel not rashly against him,
never thwart him, for he does as he pleases; the king's word is su-preme, and none
dare ask him what he means. No one knows what a king may do, and none can tell
when he will do it. He who obeys the royal command will never come to harm. Still,
the wise heart knows there is a tune of judgment coming, even though to-day men
are being crushed under the king in misery; for all there is an hour of judgment. No
man can hold the winds in check or control the day of death; in war there is no
furlough, and wrong is no shield for wrongdoers. All this I saw, as thoughtfully I
pondered what goes on within this world whenever men have power over their
fellows, power to injure them.
Then I saw bad men
being borne to burial, carried to their rest, while the pious had to
leave the sanctuary and were forgotten in the city (which also is vanity!). [[Because
sentence on a crime is not executed at once, the mind of man is prone to evil
practices; but although a sinner may sin repeatedly and thrive, I know it is the
reverent who are safe, as they revere God, while the bad man fares ill–he cannot
thrive, for lives that lack all reverence for God pass like a shadow.]]
Here again
is a vanity that goes on in the world: good men fare as though they were wicked, and
wicked men fare as though they were good. This, I repeat, is vanity.
So I praise
pleasure: the best thing for man is to eat and drink and enjoy himself, and to keep
this up as he toils right through the life God gives him in this world.
When I gave my mind
to the study of wisdom, to study all the busy life of the world, I
found that man is unable to grasp the truth of all that God does in this world; he may
labour in his efforts to attain it, in a sleepless quest for it by day and night, but he will
never find it out; a wise man may think he is coming on the secret, but .even he will
never find it out. For this I realize, this; I see clearly, that the just and wise and all
their doings are within the power of God. Will he love them? Will he hate them? None
can tell; anything may happen to them. And for all men alike there is one fate, for just
and unjust, good and bad, pure and impure, for him who sacrifices and for him who
never sacrifices; as with the good man, so with the sinner; the profane man fares like
the man whose oath is sacred. There is no evil like this in the world, that all men
have one fate; it makes men seethe with evil aims and mad desires during
their life, and then
they join the dead–not one is left. Any one still alive has something
to live for (even a live dog is better than a dead lion); the living know this at least, that
they must die. But the dead know nothing, they have nothing for their labour, their
very memory is forgotten, their love has vanished with their hate and jealousy, and
they have no share now in anything that goes on in the world.
Come, eat your food
with joy and drink your wine with a glad heart, for this has God's
approval. Wear white robes always, and spare not oil for your head; enjoy life with the
woman whom you love, through all the fleeting life which God has given you in this
world, for this is what you are meant to get out of your life of toil under the sun. Throw
yourself into any pursuit that may appeal to you, for there is no pursuit, no plan, no
knowledge or intelligence within the grave where you are going.
I looked at life again:
in this world the race is not won by the swift, nor battles by the
brave, nor bread by the wise, nor wealth by the clever, nor honour by the learned;
death and misfortune happen to them all. For no man knows his hour; like fish caught
in the deadly net, like birds trapped in a snare, so men are snared by an evil hour that
drops upon them suddenly.
Here is another case
of wisdom which I have seen on earth, and I was struck by it.
A little town there was, with few men in it; and a great king attacked it, he invested it,
and built great siegeworks round it. However, a poor wise man
was found within
the town, who saved it by his skill. And not a soul remembered that poor
man!
Wisdom is better than strength, I reflected; still, a poor man's wisdom wins no
honour or deference for him. Wise words heard in quiet far excel shouts from a
ringleader of revellers.
Wisdom is better than
weapons of war: often a single error spoils good strategy.
A poisonous fly makes
perfume putrid: a grain of folly mars wisdom and honour.
A wise man's sense
will keep him right: a fool's mind leads him wrong. Even on a
walk the fool shows lack of sense,for he calls everyone a fool. If a ruler's wrath
flares up against you, do not resign your post; defer to him, and you will pacify his
rage.
Here is an evil I have
seen on earth, a ruler blundering without meaning it: fools often
get high posts from him, while the noble have a lowly seat; so have I seen slaves on
horseback, and princes plodding afoot like slaves.
He who digs a pit may
fall into it, he who breaks a wall down
may be bitten by a
serpent.
He who quarries stones
may be hurt by them, he who cuts logs may get a wound.
If the axe is blunt
and its edge un whetted, more strength must be put into the blow;
successful skill comes from shrewd sense.
If a serpent bites
before it is charmed, then the charmer's skill is useless.
The words
of wise men win them favour, but a fool's lips are his rum; his words
are folly from the start, and they end in mad mischief; a fool prates on and on; even
the stupid are weary of his fussiness.
Man knows not what
is to be: who can tell him what happens when he is gone?
Woe betide you, 0 land,
when your king is a mere boy, and your princes revel in the
morning! Well for you when your king is
nobly born, and
princes revel at right hours, stalwart men, not sots!
Sloth make the rafters
sink: when hands are slack, the
roof will leak.
Men feast for merrymaking,
and drink for revelry– and money does it all!
Curse not the king,
not even on your couch, curse not the rich, even in your
bedchamber; for a bird of the air may carry
the sound, and
wings may betray the secret.
Trust your goods far
and wide at sea, _ " till you get good returns after a while.
Take shares in several
ventures; you never know what will go
wrong in this world.
When clouds are full of rain, they drench the earth; as the stick
falls, to south or north, where the stick falls it lies.
He whose eye is on
the wind will never sow; he who studies clouds will never reap.
As you know not how the wind blows, nor how a babe in the womb grows, so you
cannot know how God
works, God who is in
everything.
Sow your seed in the
morning of life, and stay not your hand till evening; you never
know if this or that shall prosper, or whether both shall have success.
Sweet is the light
of life, and pleasant is it for the eyes to see the sun. If a man live
many years, let him have joy throughout them all; let him remember that the dark
days will be many. All that comes after death is emptiness. So rejoice in your youth,
young man, be blithe in the flower of your age; follow your heart's desire and all that
attracts you [[but be sure that for all this God will bring you to account]]; banish all
worries from your mind, and keep your body free from pain (for youth and manhood
will not last) [[but remember your Creator in the flower of your age]], ere evil days
come on, and years approach when you shall say, "I have no joy in them"; ere the
sun grows dark, and the light goes from moon and stars, and the clouds gather after
rain; when the guards tremble in the house of Life, when its upholders bow, when the
maids that grind are few and fail, and ladies at the lattice lose their lustre, when the
doors to the street are shut, and the sound of the mill runs low, when the twitter of
birds is faint, and dull the daughters of song, when old age fears a height, and even a
walk has its terrors, when his hair is almond white, and he drags his limbs along, and
the spirit flags and fades.
So man goes to his
long, long home, and mourners pass along the street, on the day
when the silver cord is snapped, and the golden lamp drops broken, when the pitcher
breaks at the
fountain, the wheel
breaks at the cistern, when the dust returns to earth once more,
and the spirit to God who gave it.
Utterly vain–it
is the Speaker's verdict–everything is vain!
The more wise the Speaker
became, the more he taught the people knowledge;
many a maxim he pondered and examined and arranged. The Speaker's aim was
to find pleasing words, even as he put down plainly what was true. A wise man's
words are like goads, and his collected sayings are like nails driven home; they put
the mind of one man into many a life. My son, avoid anything beyond the scriptures
of wisdom; there is no end to the buying of books, and to study books closely is a
weariness to the flesh.
To sum it all up, in
conclusion. Stand in awe of God, obey his orders: that is
everything for every man. For in judging all life's secrets God will have every single
thing before him, to decide whether it is good or evil.
James Moffatt's translation 1913
