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Selected Verse: Ecclesiates 2:12 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Ec 2:12	Strong Concordance	And I turned [06437] myself to behold [07200] wisdom [02451], and madness [01947], and folly [05531]: for what can the man [0120] do that cometh [0935] after [0310] the king [04428]? even that which hath been already [03528] done [06213].
	King James	And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
He had tried (worldly) wisdom (Ecc 1:12-18) and folly (foolish pleasure) (Ecc 2:1-11); he now compares them (Ecc 2:12) and finds that while (worldly) wisdom excelleth folly (Ecc 2:13-14), yet the one event, death, befalls both (Ecc 2:14-16), and that thus the wealth acquired by the wise man's "labor" may descend to a "fool" that hath not labored (Ecc 2:18-19, Ecc 2:21); therefore all his labor is vanity (Ecc 2:22-23). what can the man do . . . already done-- (Ecc 1:9). Parenthetical. A future investigator can strike nothing out "new," so as to draw a different conclusion from what I draw by comparing "wisdom and madness." HOLDEN, with less ellipsis, translates, "What, O man, shall come after the king?" &c. Better, GROTIUS, "What man can come after (compete with) the king in the things which are done?" None ever can have the same means of testing what all earthly things can do towards satisfying the soul; namely, worldly wisdom, science, riches, power, longevity, all combined.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

He had tried (worldly) wisdom (Ecc 1:12-18) and folly (foolish pleasure) (Ecc 2:1-11); he now compares them (Ecc 2:12) and finds that while (worldly)

wisdom excelleth folly (Ecc 2:13-14), yet the one event, death, befalls both (Ecc 2:14-16), and that thus the wealth acquired by the wise man's "labor" may descend to a "fool" that hath not labored (Ecc 2:18-19, Ecc 2:21); therefore all his labor is vanity (Ecc 2:22-23).

what can the man do . . . already done-- (Ecc 1:9). Parenthetical. A future investigator can strike nothing out "new," so as to draw a different conclusion from what I draw by comparing "wisdom and madness." HOLDEN, with less ellipsis, translates, "What, O man, shall come after the king?" &c. Better, GROTIUS, "What man can come after (compete with) the king in the things which are done?" None ever can have the same means of testing what all earthly things can do towards satisfying the soul; namely, worldly wisdom, science, riches, power, longevity, all combined.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Solomon having found that wisdom and folly agree in being subject to vanity, now contrasts one with the other Ecc 2:13. Both are brought under vanity by events Ecc 2:14 which come on the wise man and the feel alike from without - death and oblivion Ecc 2:16, uncertainty Ecc 2:19, disappointment Ecc 2:21 - all happening by an external law beyond human control. Amidst this vanity, the good (see Ecc 2:10 note) that accrues to man, is the pleasure felt Ecc 2:24-26 in receiving God's gifts, and in working with and for them. Ecc 2:12 What can the man do ... - i. e., "What is any man - in this study of wisdom and folly - after one like me, who, from my position, have had such special advantages (see Ecc 1:16, and compare Ecc 2:25) for carrying it on? That which man did of old he can but do again: he is not likely to add to the result of my researches, nor even to equal them." Some hold that the "man" is a reference to Solomon's successor - not in his inquiries, but in his kingdom, i. e., Jeroboam. Ecc 2:14 Event - Or, "hap" Rut 2:3. The verb from which it is derived seems in this book to refer especially to death. The word does not mean chance (compare Ecc 9:1-2), independent of the ordering of Divine Providence: the Gentile notion of "mere chance," or "blind fate," is never once contemplated by the writer of this book, and it would be inconsistent with his tenets of the unlimited power and activity of God. Ecc 2:16 Seeing that ... - Compare Ecc 1:11. Some render, "as in time past, so in days to come, all will be forgotten;" others, "because in the days to come all will have been long before forgotten." Ecc 2:17 I hated life - Compare this expression, extorted from Solomon by the perception of the vanity of his wisdom and greatness, with Rom 8:22-23. The words of Moses Num 11:15, and of Job Job 3:21; Job 6:9, are scarcely less forcible. With some people, this feeling is a powerful motive to conversion Luk 14:26. Ecc 2:19 Labour - Compare Ecc 2:4-8. Ecc 2:20 I went about - i. e., I turned from one course of action to another. Ecc 2:23 Are sorrows ... grief - Rather, sorrows and grief are his toil. See Ecc 1:13. Ecc 2:24 Nothing better for a man, than that ... - literally, no good in man that etc. The one joy of working or receiving, which, though it be transitory, a man recognizes as a real good, even that is not in the power of man to secure for himself: that good is the gift of God. Ecc 2:26 The doctrine of retribution, or, the revealed fact that God is the moral Governor of the world, is here stated for the first time (compare Ecc 3:15, Ecc 3:17 ff) in this book. This also is vanity - Not only the travail of the sinner. Even the best gifts of God, wisdom, knowledge, and joy, so far as they are given in this life, are not permanent, and are not always (see Ecc 9:11) efficacious for the purpose for which they appear to be given.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
"And I turned myself to examine wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what is the man who could come after the king, him whom they have made so long ago!" Mendelssohn's translation, Ecc 2:12: "I abandoned my design of seeking to connect wisdom with folly and madness," is impossible, because for such a rendering we should have had at least מלּראות instead of לראות. Hitzig, otherwise followed by Stuart: "I turned myself to examine me wisdom, and, lo, it was madness as well as folly." This rendering is impossible also, for in such a case הנּהו ought to have stood as the result, after חכמה. The pasage, Zac 14:6, cited by Hitz., does not prove the possibility of such a brachyology, for there we read not veqaroth veqeppayon, but eqaroth iqeppaūn (the splendid ones, i.e., the stars, will draw themselves together, i.e., will become dark bodies). The two vavs are not correlative, which is without example in the usage of this book, but copulative: he wishes to contemplate (Zckler and others) wisdom on the one side, and madness and folly on the other, in their relation to each other, viz., in their relative worth. Hitzig's ingenuity goes yet further astray in Ecc 2:12: "For what will the man do who comes after the king? (He shall do) what was long ago his (own) doing, i.e., inheriting from the king the throne, he will not also inherit his wisdom." Instead of āsūhū, he reads ǎsōhū, after Exo 18:18; but the more modern author, whose work we have here before us, would, instead of this anomalous form, use the regular form עשׂותו; but, besides, the expression ēth asher-kevar 'asotho, "(he will do) what long ago was his doing," is not Heb.; the words ought to have been keasotho kevar khen i'sah, or at least 'asāhū. If we compare Ecc 2:12 with 18b, the man who comes after the king appears certainly to be his successor. (Note: The lxx and Symm. by hammělêk think of melak, counsel, βουλή, instead of melek, king; and as Jerome, so also Bardach understands by the king the rex factor, i.e., God the Creator.) But by this supposition it is impossible to give just effect to the relation (assigning a reason or motive) of Ecc 2:12 to 12a expressed by כּי. When I considered, Knobel regards Koheleth as saying, that a fool would be heir to me a wise man, it appeared strange to me, and I was led to compare wisdom and folly to see whether or not the wise man has a superiority to the fool, or whether his labour and his fate are vanity, like those of the fool. This is in point of style absurd, but it is much more absurd logically. And who then gave the interpreter the right to stamp as a fool the man who comes after the king? In the answer: "That which has long ago been done," must lie its justification; for this that was done long ago naturally consists, as Zckler remarks, in foolish and perverse undertakings, certainly in the destruction of that which was done by the wise predecessor, in the lavish squandering of the treasures and goods collected by him. More briefly, but in the same sense, Burger: Nihil quod a solita hominum agendi ratione recedit. But in Ecc 2:19, Koheleth places it as a question whether his successor will be a wise man or a fool, while here he would presuppose that "naturally," or as a matter of course, he will be a fool. In the matter of style, we have nothing to object to the translation on which Zckler, with Rabm., Rosenm., Knobel, Hengst., and others, proceeds; the supplying of the verb יעשׂה to meh hāādām = what can the man do? is possible (cf. Mal 2:15), and the neut. interpret. of the suffix of עשׂוּהוּ is, after Ecc 7:13; Amo 1:3; Job 31:11, admissible; but the reference to a successor is not connected with the course of the thoughts, even although one attaches to the plain words a meaning which is foreign to them. The words עשׂוּהוּ...את are accordingly not the answer to the question proposed, but a component part of the question itself. Thus Ewald, and with him Elster, Heiligst., construes: "How will the man be who will follow the king, compared with him whom they made (a king) long ago, i.e., with his predecessor?" But את, in this pregnant sense, "compared with," is without example, at least in the Book of Koheleth, which generally does not use it as a prep.; and, besides, this rendering, by introducing the successor on the throne, offends against the logic of the relation of Ecc 2:12 to Ecc 2:12. The motive of Koheleth's purpose, to weigh wisdom and folly against each other as to their worth, consists in this, that a king, especially such an one as Solomon was, has in the means at his disposal and in the extent of his observation so much more than everyother, that no one who comes after him will reach a different experience. This motive would be satisfactorily expressed on the supposition that the answer begins with את, if one should read עשׂהוּ for עשׂוּהוּ: he will be able to do (accomplish) nothing but what he (the king) has long ago done, i.e., he will only repeat, only be able to confirm, the king's report. But if we take the text as it here stands, the meaning is the same; and, besides, we get rid of the harsh ellipsis měh hāādām for měh yǎǎsěh hāādām. We translate: for what is the man who might come after the king, him whom they have made so long ago! The king whom they made so long ago is Solomon, who has a richer experience, a more comprehensive knowledge, the longer the time (viz., from the present time backwards) since he occupied the throne. Regarding the expression eth asher = quem, instead of the asher simply, vid., Khler under Zac 12:10. עשׂוּהוּ, with the most general subj., is not different from נעשׂה, which, particularly in the Book of Daniel (e.g., Dan 4:28.), has frequently an active construction, with the subject unnamed, instead of the passive (Gesen. 137, margin). The author of the Book of Koheleth, alienated from the theocratic side of the kingdom of Israel, makes use of it perhaps not unintentionally; besides, Solomon's elevation to the throne was, according to 1 Kings 1, brought about very much by human agency; and one may, if he will, think of the people in the word 'asuhu also, according to Kg1 1:39, who at last decided the matter. Meh before the letters hheth and ayin commonly occurs: according to the Masora, twenty-four times; before other initial letters than these, eight times, and three of these in the Book of Koheleth before the letter he, Ecc 2:12, Ecc 2:22; Ecc 7:10. The words are more an exclamation than a question; the exclamation means: What kind of a man is that who could come after the king! cf. "What wickedness is this!" etc., Jdg 20:12; Jos 22:16; Exo 18:14; Kg1 9:13, i.e., as standing behind with reference to me-the same figure of extenuatio, as mah adam, Psa 144:3; cf. Ecc 8:5. There now follows an account of what, on the one side, happened to him thus placed on a lofty watch-tower, such as no other occupied.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

"And I turned myself to examine wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what is the man who could come after the king, him whom they have made so long ago!" Mendelssohn's translation, Ecc 2:12: "I abandoned my design of seeking to connect wisdom with folly and madness," is impossible, because for such a rendering we should have had at least מלּראות instead of לראות. Hitzig, otherwise followed by Stuart: "I turned myself to examine me wisdom, and, lo, it was madness as well as folly." This rendering is impossible also, for in such a case הנּהו ought to have stood as the result, after חכמה. The pasage, Zac 14:6, cited by Hitz., does not prove the possibility of such a brachyology, for there we read not veqaroth veqeppayon, but eqaroth iqeppaūn (the splendid ones, i.e., the stars, will draw themselves together, i.e., will become dark bodies). The two vavs are not correlative, which is without example in the usage of this book, but copulative: he wishes to contemplate (Zckler and others) wisdom on the one side, and madness and folly on the other, in their relation to each other, viz., in their relative worth. Hitzig's ingenuity goes yet further astray in Ecc 2:12: "For what will the man do who comes after the king? (He shall do) what was long ago his (own) doing, i.e., inheriting from the king the throne, he will not also inherit his wisdom." Instead of āsūhū, he reads ǎsōhū, after Exo 18:18; but the more modern author, whose work we have here before us, would, instead of this anomalous form, use the regular form עשׂותו; but, besides, the expression ēth asher-kevar 'asotho, "(he will do) what long ago was his doing," is not Heb.; the words ought to have been keasotho kevar khen i'sah, or at least 'asāhū. If we compare Ecc 2:12 with 18b, the man who comes after the king appears certainly to be his successor.

(Note: The lxx and Symm. by hammělêk think of melak, counsel, βουλή, instead of melek, king; and as Jerome, so also Bardach understands by the king the rex factor, i.e., God the Creator.)

But by this supposition it is impossible to give just effect to the relation (assigning a reason or motive) of Ecc 2:12 to 12a expressed by כּי. When I considered, Knobel regards Koheleth as saying, that a fool would be heir to me a wise man, it appeared strange to me, and I was led to compare wisdom and folly to see whether or not the wise man has a superiority to the fool, or whether his labour and his fate are vanity, like those of the fool. This is in point of style absurd, but it is much more absurd logically. And who then gave the interpreter the right to stamp as a fool the man who comes after the king? In the answer: "That which has long ago been done," must lie its justification; for this that was done long ago naturally consists, as Zckler remarks, in foolish and perverse undertakings, certainly in the destruction of that which was done by the wise predecessor, in the lavish squandering of the treasures and goods collected by him. More briefly, but in the same sense, Burger: Nihil quod a solita hominum agendi ratione recedit. But in Ecc 2:19, Koheleth places it as a question whether his successor will be a wise man or a fool, while here he would presuppose that "naturally," or as a matter of course, he will be a fool. In the matter of style, we have nothing to object to the translation on which Zckler, with Rabm., Rosenm., Knobel, Hengst., and others, proceeds; the supplying of the verb יעשׂה to meh hāādām = what can the man do? is possible (cf. Mal 2:15), and the neut. interpret. of the suffix of עשׂוּהוּ is, after Ecc 7:13; Amo 1:3; Job 31:11, admissible; but the reference to a successor is not connected with the course of the thoughts, even although one attaches to the plain words a meaning which is foreign to them. The words עשׂוּהוּ...את are accordingly not the answer to the question proposed, but a component part of the question itself. Thus Ewald, and with him Elster, Heiligst., construes: "How will the man be who will follow the king, compared with him whom they made (a king) long ago, i.e., with his predecessor?" But את, in this pregnant sense, "compared with," is without example, at least in the Book of Koheleth, which generally does not use it as a prep.; and, besides, this rendering, by introducing the successor on the throne, offends against the logic of the relation of Ecc 2:12 to Ecc 2:12.

The motive of Koheleth's purpose, to weigh wisdom and folly against each other as to their worth, consists in this, that a king, especially such an one as Solomon was, has in the means at his disposal and in the extent of his observation so much more than everyother, that no one who comes after him will reach a different experience. This motive would be satisfactorily expressed on the supposition that the answer begins with את, if one should read עשׂהוּ for עשׂוּהוּ: he will be able to do (accomplish) nothing but what he (the king) has long ago done, i.e., he will only repeat, only be able to confirm, the king's report. But if we take the text as it here stands, the meaning is the same; and, besides, we get rid of the harsh ellipsis měh hāādām for měh yǎǎsěh hāādām. We translate: for what is the man who might come after the king, him whom they have made so long ago! The king whom they made so long ago is Solomon, who has a richer experience, a more comprehensive knowledge, the longer the time (viz., from the present time backwards) since he occupied the throne. Regarding the expression eth asher = quem, instead of the asher simply, vid., Khler under Zac 12:10. עשׂוּהוּ, with the most general subj., is not different from נעשׂה, which, particularly in the Book of Daniel (e.g., Dan 4:28.), has frequently an active construction, with the subject unnamed, instead of the passive (Gesen. 137, margin). The author of the Book of Koheleth, alienated from the theocratic side of the kingdom of Israel, makes use of it perhaps not unintentionally; besides, Solomon's elevation to the throne was, according to 1 Kings 1, brought about very much by human agency; and one may, if he will, think of the people in the word 'asuhu also, according to Kg1 1:39, who at last decided the matter. Meh before the letters hheth and ayin commonly occurs: according to the Masora, twenty-four times; before other initial letters than these, eight times, and three of these in the Book of Koheleth before the letter he, Ecc 2:12, Ecc 2:22; Ecc 7:10. The words are more an exclamation than a question; the exclamation means: What kind of a man is that who could come after the king! cf. "What wickedness is this!" etc., Jdg 20:12; Jos 22:16; Exo 18:14; Kg1 9:13, i.e., as standing behind with reference to me-the same figure of extenuatio, as mah adam, Psa 144:3; cf. Ecc 8:5.

There now follows an account of what, on the one side, happened to him thus placed on a lofty watch-tower, such as no other occupied.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
I turned - Being frustrated of my hopes in pleasure, I returned to a second consideration of my first choice, to see whether there was not more satisfaction to be gotten from wisdom, than I discovered at my first view. Done - As by others, so especially by myself. They can make no new discoveries as to this point. They can make no more of the pleasures of sense than I have done. Let me then try once more, whether wisdom can give happiness.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
For what can the man do that cometh after the king? - I have examined every thing proposed by science, by maddening pleasure, and by more refined and regulated mirth. I seized on the whole, and used them to the uttermost; and so far, that none ever shall be able to exceed me; as none can, in the course of things, ever have such power and means of gratification.

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⁹ The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done [06213] is that which shall be done [06213]: and there is no new [02319] thing under the sun [08121].

²² For what hath [01933] man [0120] of all his labour [05999], and of the vexation [07475] of his heart [03820], wherein [01931] he hath laboured [06001] under the sun [08121]?
²³ For all his days [03117] are sorrows [04341], and his travail [06045] grief [03708]; yea, his heart [03820] taketh not rest [07901] in the night [03915]. This is also vanity [01892].

²¹ For there is [03426] a man [0120] whose labour [05999] is in wisdom [02451], and in knowledge [01847], and in equity [03788]; yet to a man [0120] that hath not laboured [05998] therein shall he leave [05414] it for his portion [02506]. This also is vanity [01892] and a great [07227] evil [07451].

¹⁸ Yea, I hated [08130] all my labour [05999] which I had taken [06001] under the sun [08121]: because I should leave [03240] it unto the man [0120] that shall be after [0310] me.
¹⁹ And who knoweth [03045] whether he shall be a wise [02450] man or a fool [05530]? yet shall he have rule [07980] over all my labour [05999] wherein I have laboured [05998], and wherein I have shewed myself wise [02449] under the sun [08121]. This is also vanity [01892].

¹⁴ The wise man's [02450] eyes [05869] are in his head [07218]; but the fool [03684] walketh [01980] in darkness [02822]: and I myself perceived [03045] also that one [0259] event [04745] happeneth [07136] to them all.
¹⁵ Then [0227] said [0559] I in my heart [03820], As it happeneth [04745] to the fool [03684], so it happeneth [07136] even to me [01571]; and why was I then more [03148] wise [02449]? Then I said [01696] in my heart [03820], that this also is vanity [01892].
¹⁶ For there is no remembrance [02146] of the wise [02450] more than [05973] of the fool [03684] for ever [05769]; seeing that which now [03528] is in the days [03117] to come [0935] shall all be forgotten [07911]. And how dieth [04191] the wise [02450] man? as the fool [03684].

¹³ Then I saw [07200] that [03426] wisdom [02451] excelleth [03504] folly [05531], as far as light [0216] excelleth [03504] darkness [02822].
¹⁴ The wise man's [02450] eyes [05869] are in his head [07218]; but the fool [03684] walketh [01980] in darkness [02822]: and I myself perceived [03045] also that one [0259] event [04745] happeneth [07136] to them all.

¹² And I turned [06437] myself to behold [07200] wisdom [02451], and madness [01947], and folly [05531]: for what can the man [0120] do that cometh [0935] after [0310] the king [04428]? even that which hath been already [03528] done [06213].

¹ I said [0559] in mine heart [03820], Go to now [03212], I will prove [05254] thee with mirth [08057], therefore enjoy [07200] pleasure [02896]: and, behold, this also is vanity [01892].
² I said [0559] of laughter [07814], It is mad [01984]: and of mirth [08057], What [02090] doeth [06213] it?
³ I sought [08446] in mine heart [03820] to give [04900] myself [01320] unto wine [03196], yet acquainting [05090] mine heart [03820] with wisdom [02451]; and to lay hold [0270] on folly [05531], till I might see [07200] what was that good [02896] for the sons [01121] of men [0120], which they should do [06213] under the heaven [08064] all [04557] the days [03117] of their life [02416].
⁴ I made me great [01431] works [04639]; I builded [01129] me houses [01004]; I planted [05193] me vineyards [03754]:
⁵ I made [06213] me gardens [01593] and orchards [06508], and I planted [05193] trees [06086] in them of all kind of fruits [06529]:
⁶ I made [06213] me pools [01295] of water [04325], to water [08248] therewith the wood [03293] that bringeth forth [06779] trees [06086]:
⁷ I got [07069] me servants [05650] and maidens [08198], and had servants born [01121] in my house [01004]; also I had great [07235] possessions [04735] of great [01241] and small cattle [06629] above all that were in Jerusalem [03389] before [06440] me:
⁸ I gathered [03664] me also silver [03701] and gold [02091], and the peculiar treasure [05459] of kings [04428] and of the provinces [04082]: I gat [06213] me men singers [07891] and women singers [07891], and the delights [08588] of the sons [01121] of men [0120], as musical instruments [07705] [07705], and that of all sorts.
⁹ So I was great [01431], and increased [03254] more than all that were before [06440] me in Jerusalem [03389]: also my wisdom [02451] remained [05975] with me.
¹⁰ And whatsoever mine eyes [05869] desired [07592] I kept [0680] not from them, I withheld [04513] not my heart [03820] from any joy [08057]; for my heart [03820] rejoiced [08056] in all my labour [05999]: and this was my portion [02506] of all my labour [05999].
¹¹ Then I looked [06437] on all the works [04639] that my hands [03027] had wrought [06213], and on the labour [05999] that I had laboured [05998] to do [06213]: and, behold, all was vanity [01892] and vexation [07469] of spirit [07307], and there was no profit [03504] under the sun [08121].

¹² I the Preacher [06953] was king [04428] over Israel [03478] in Jerusalem [03389].
¹³ And I gave [05414] my heart [03820] to seek [01875] and search out [08446] by wisdom [02451] concerning all things that are done [06213] under heaven [08064]: this sore [07451] travail [06045] hath God [0430] given [05414] to the sons [01121] of man [0120] to be exercised [06031] therewith.
¹⁴ I have seen [07200] all the works [04639] that are done [06213] under the sun [08121]; and, behold, all is vanity [01892] and vexation [07469] of spirit [07307].
¹⁵ That which is crooked [05791] cannot [03201] be made straight [08626]: and that which is wanting [02642] cannot [03201] be numbered [04487].
¹⁶ I communed [01696] with mine own heart [03820], saying [0559], Lo, I am come to great estate [01431], and have gotten [03254] more wisdom [02451] than all they that have been before [06440] me in Jerusalem [03389]: yea, my heart [03820] had great [07235] experience [07200] of wisdom [02451] and knowledge [01847].
¹⁷ And I gave [05414] my heart [03820] to know [03045] wisdom [02451], and to know [03045] madness [01947] and folly [05531]: I perceived [03045] that this [01571] also is vexation [07475] of spirit [07307].
¹⁸ For in much [07230] wisdom [02451] is much [07230] grief [03708]: and he that increaseth [03254] knowledge [01847] increaseth [03254] sorrow [04341].

¹¹ I returned [07725], and saw [07200] under the sun [08121], that the race [04793] is not to the swift [07031], nor the battle [04421] to the strong [01368], neither yet bread [03899] to the wise [02450], nor yet riches [06239] to men of understanding [0995], nor yet favour [02580] to men of skill [03045]; but time [06256] and chance [06294] happeneth [07136] to them all.

¹⁷ I said [0559] in mine heart [03820], God [0430] shall judge [08199] the righteous [06662] and the wicked [07563]: for there is a time [06256] there for every purpose [02656] and for every work [04639].

¹⁵ That which hath been is now [03528]; and that which is to be hath already [03528] been; and God [0430] requireth [01245] that which is past [07291].

²⁶ For God giveth [05414] to a man [0120] that is good [02896] in his sight [06440] wisdom [02451], and knowledge [01847], and joy [08057]: but to the sinner [02398] he giveth [05414] travail [06045], to gather [0622] and to heap up [03664], that he may give [05414] to him that is good [02896] before [06440] God [0430]. This also is vanity [01892] and vexation [07469] of spirit [07307].

¹³ And I gave [05414] my heart [03820] to seek [01875] and search out [08446] by wisdom [02451] concerning all things that are done [06213] under heaven [08064]: this sore [07451] travail [06045] hath God [0430] given [05414] to the sons [01121] of man [0120] to be exercised [06031] therewith.

²³ For all his days [03117] are sorrows [04341], and his travail [06045] grief [03708]; yea, his heart [03820] taketh not rest [07901] in the night [03915]. This is also vanity [01892].

²⁰ Therefore I went about [05437] to cause [02976] my heart [03820] to despair [02976] of all the labour [05999] which I took [05998] under the sun [08121].

⁴ I made me great [01431] works [04639]; I builded [01129] me houses [01004]; I planted [05193] me vineyards [03754]:
⁵ I made [06213] me gardens [01593] and orchards [06508], and I planted [05193] trees [06086] in them of all kind of fruits [06529]:
⁶ I made [06213] me pools [01295] of water [04325], to water [08248] therewith the wood [03293] that bringeth forth [06779] trees [06086]:
⁷ I got [07069] me servants [05650] and maidens [08198], and had servants born [01121] in my house [01004]; also I had great [07235] possessions [04735] of great [01241] and small cattle [06629] above all that were in Jerusalem [03389] before [06440] me:
⁸ I gathered [03664] me also silver [03701] and gold [02091], and the peculiar treasure [05459] of kings [04428] and of the provinces [04082]: I gat [06213] me men singers [07891] and women singers [07891], and the delights [08588] of the sons [01121] of men [0120], as musical instruments [07705] [07705], and that of all sorts.

¹⁹ And who knoweth [03045] whether he shall be a wise [02450] man or a fool [05530]? yet shall he have rule [07980] over all my labour [05999] wherein I have laboured [05998], and wherein I have shewed myself wise [02449] under the sun [08121]. This is also vanity [01892].

²⁶ If any [1536] man come [2064] to [4314] me [3165], and [2532] hate [3404] not [3756] his [1438] father [3962], and [2532] mother [3384], and [2532] wife [1135], and [2532] children [5043], and [2532] brethren [80], and [2532] sisters [79], yea [2089], and [1161] his own [1438] life [5590] also [2532], he cannot [3756] [1410] be [1511] my [3450] disciple [3101].

⁹ Even that it would please [02974] God [0433] to destroy [01792] me; that he would let loose [05425] his hand [03027], and cut me off [01214] !

²¹ Which long [02442] for death [04194], but it cometh not; and dig [02658] for it more than for hid treasures [04301];

¹⁵ And if thou deal [06213] thus with me, kill [02026] me, I pray thee, out of hand [02026], if I have found [04672] favour [02580] in thy sight [05869]; and let me not see [07200] my wretchedness [07451].

²² For [1063] we know [1492] that [3754] the whole [3956] creation [2937] groaneth [4959] and [2532] travaileth in pain together [4944] until [891] now [3568].
²³ And [1161] not [3756] only [3440] they, but [235] ourselves [846] also [2532], which have [2192] the firstfruits [536] of the Spirit [4151], even [2532] we [2249] ourselves [846] groan [4727] within [1722] ourselves [1438], waiting [553] for the adoption [5206], to wit, the redemption [629] of our [2257] body [4983].

¹⁷ Therefore I hated [08130] life [02416]; because the work [04639] that is wrought [06213] under the sun [08121] is grievous [07451] unto me: for all is vanity [01892] and vexation [07469] of spirit [07307].

¹¹ There is no remembrance [02146] of former [07223] things; neither shall there be any remembrance [02146] of things that are to come [0314] with those that shall come after [0314].

¹⁶ For there is no remembrance [02146] of the wise [02450] more than [05973] of the fool [03684] for ever [05769]; seeing that which now [03528] is in the days [03117] to come [0935] shall all be forgotten [07911]. And how dieth [04191] the wise [02450] man? as the fool [03684].

¹ For all this I considered [05414] in my heart [03820] even to declare [0952] all this, that the righteous [06662], and the wise [02450], and their works [05652], are in the hand [03027] of God [0430]: no man [0120] knoweth [03045] either [01571] love [0160] or hatred [08135] by all that is before [06440] them.
² All things come alike to all: there is one [0259] event [04745] to the righteous [06662], and to the wicked [07563]; to the good [02896] and to the clean [02889], and to the unclean [02931]; to him that sacrificeth [02076], and to him that [0834] sacrificeth [02076] not: as is the good [02896], so is the sinner [02398]; and he that sweareth [07650], as he that feareth [03373] an oath [07621].

³ And she went [03212], and came [0935], and gleaned [03950] in the field [07704] after [0310] the reapers [07114]: and her hap [04745] was to light [07136] on a part [02513] of the field [07704] belonging unto Boaz [01162], who was of the kindred [04940] of Elimelech [0458].

²⁵ For who can eat [0398], or who else can hasten [02363] hereunto, more [02351] than I?

¹⁶ I communed [01696] with mine own heart [03820], saying [0559], Lo, I am come to great estate [01431], and have gotten [03254] more wisdom [02451] than all they that have been before [06440] me in Jerusalem [03389]: yea, my heart [03820] had great [07235] experience [07200] of wisdom [02451] and knowledge [01847].

²⁴ There is nothing better [02896] for a man [0120], than that he should eat [0398] and drink [08354], and that he should make his soul [05315] enjoy [07200] good [02896] in his labour [05999]. This [02090] also I saw [07200], that it was from the hand [03027] of God [0430].
²⁵ For who can eat [0398], or who else can hasten [02363] hereunto, more [02351] than I?
²⁶ For God giveth [05414] to a man [0120] that is good [02896] in his sight [06440] wisdom [02451], and knowledge [01847], and joy [08057]: but to the sinner [02398] he giveth [05414] travail [06045], to gather [0622] and to heap up [03664], that he may give [05414] to him that is good [02896] before [06440] God [0430]. This also is vanity [01892] and vexation [07469] of spirit [07307].

¹⁰ And whatsoever mine eyes [05869] desired [07592] I kept [0680] not from them, I withheld [04513] not my heart [03820] from any joy [08057]; for my heart [03820] rejoiced [08056] in all my labour [05999]: and this was my portion [02506] of all my labour [05999].

¹³ Then I saw [07200] that [03426] wisdom [02451] excelleth [03504] folly [05531], as far as light [0216] excelleth [03504] darkness [02822].

⁵ Whoso keepeth [08104] the commandment [04687] shall feel [03045] no evil [07451] thing [01697]: and a wise man's [02450] heart [03820] discerneth [03045] both time [06256] and judgment [04941].

³ LORD [03068], what is man [0120], that thou takest knowledge [03045] of him! or the son [01121] of man [0582], that thou makest account [02803] of him!

¹³ And he said [0559], What cities [05892] are these which thou hast given [05414] me, my brother [0251]? And he called [07121] them the land [0776] of Cabul [03521] unto this day [03117].

¹⁴ And when Moses [04872]' father in law [02859] saw [07200] all that he did [06213] to the people [05971], he said [0559], What is this thing [01697] that thou doest [06213] to the people [05971]? why sittest [03427] thou thyself alone, and all the people [05971] stand [05324] by thee from morning [01242] unto even [06153]?

¹⁶ Thus saith [0559] the whole congregation [05712] of the LORD [03068], What trespass [04604] is this that ye have committed [04603] against the God [0430] of Israel [03478], to turn away [07725] this day [03117] from following [0310] the LORD [03068], in that ye have builded [01129] you an altar [04196], that ye might rebel [04775] this day [03117] against the LORD [03068]?

¹² And the tribes [07626] of Israel [03478] sent [07971] men [0582] through all the tribe [07626] of Benjamin [01144], saying [0559], What wickedness [07451] is this that is done [01961] among you?

¹⁰ Say [0559] not thou, What is the cause that the former [07223] days [03117] were better [02896] than these? for thou dost not enquire [07592] wisely [02451] concerning this.

²² For what hath [01933] man [0120] of all his labour [05999], and of the vexation [07475] of his heart [03820], wherein [01931] he hath laboured [06001] under the sun [08121]?

³⁹ And Zadok [06659] the priest [03548] took [03947] an horn [07161] of oil [08081] out of the tabernacle [0168], and anointed [04886] Solomon [08010]. And they blew [08628] the trumpet [07782]; and all the people [05971] said [0559], God save [02421] king [04428] Solomon [08010].

²⁸ All [03606] this came [04291] upon [05922] the king [04430] Nebuchadnezzar [05020].

¹⁰ And I will pour [08210] upon the house [01004] of David [01732], and upon the inhabitants [03427] of Jerusalem [03389], the spirit [07307] of grace [02580] and of supplications [08469]: and they shall look [05027] upon me whom they have pierced [01856], and they shall mourn [04553] for him, as one mourneth [05594] for his only [03173] son, and shall be in bitterness [04843] for him, as one that is in bitterness [04843] for his firstborn [01060].

¹¹ For this is an heinous crime [02154]; yea, it is an iniquity [05771] to be punished by the judges [06414].

³ Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068]; For three [07969] transgressions [06588] of Damascus [01834], and for four [0702], I will not turn away [07725] the punishment thereof; because they have threshed [01758] Gilead [01568] with threshing instruments [02742] of iron [01270]:

¹³ Consider [07200] the work [04639] of God [0430]: for who can [03201] make that straight [08626], which he hath made crooked [05791]?

¹⁵ And did not he make [06213] one [0259]? Yet had he the residue [07605] of the spirit [07307]. And wherefore one [0259]? That he might seek [01245] a godly [0430] seed [02233]. Therefore take heed [08104] to your spirit [07307], and let none deal treacherously [0898] against the wife [0802] of his youth [05271].

¹⁸ Thou wilt surely [05034] wear away [05034], both thou, and this people [05971] that is with thee: for this thing [01697] is too heavy [03515] for thee; thou art not able [03201] to perform [06213] it thyself alone.

⁶ And it shall come to pass in that day [03117], that the light [0216] shall not be clear [03368], nor dark [07087] [07087]: