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All Toil is Profitless and Repetitious
Qohelet Introduces His Quest
12 I, the Teacher,[fn]was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to seek and to search by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.[fn] Itis a grievous task God has given to humans.[fn] 14 I saw all the works that are done under the sun. Look! Everything is vanity and chasing wind.
16 I said to myself,[fn] “Look! I have become great and have increasedin wisdom more than anyone who has preceded[fn] me over Jerusalem.I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”[fn] 17 So I dedicated myself[fn] to learn about wisdom andto learn about delusion and folly. However, I discovered[fn] that this alsois chasing wind.
Qohelet’s Investigation of Self-Indulgence
2 I said to myself,[fn] “Come! I will test[fn] pleasureto see whether it is worthwhile.”[fn] But look, “This alsois vanity!” 2 I said of laughter, “It is folly!” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?”[fn] 3 I also explored[fn]the effects of indulging my flesh[fn] with wine. My mind guiding me with wisdom,I investigated[fn] folly so that I might discover whatis good under heaven[fn] forhumans[fn] to doduring the days of their lives.[fn]
Qohelet’s Investigation of Personal Accomplishment
4 I accomplished great things.[fn] I built for myself houses; I planted for myself vineyards. 5 I made for myself gardens and parks, and I planted all sorts of fruit trees in them. 6 I made for myself pools of water from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees. 7 I acquired male slaves and female slaves, as well as children born in my house. I also had livestock, cattle, and flocks more than anyone who was before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered to myself silver and gold—the royal and provincial treasuries. I acquired for myself male and female singers, as well as the delight of men,[fn]voluptuous concubines.[fn]
9 Thus, I accomplished far more[fn] than anyone whowas before me in Jerusalem—indeed, my wisdom stood by me. 10 I neither withheld anything from my eyes that they desired, nor did I deprive any pleasure from my heart. My heart rejoiced in all my toil, for this was my reward from all my toil. 11 Yet when I considered[fn] all the effort which I expended and the toil with which I toiled to do, then behold, “Everythingis vanity and chasing wind! There is nothing profitable under the sun!”
The Living Must Abandon the Work of their Hands to Others at Death
12 Next, I considered wisdom, as well as delusion and folly. What can anyone do who will come after the king that has not already been done? 13 I realized that wisdom has an advantage over folly, just as light has an advantage over darkness. 14 The wise man can see where he is walking,[fn] but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that both of them suffer the same fate. 15 So I said to myself,[fn] “If I also suffer the same fate as the fool,[fn]what advantage is my great wisdom?”[fn] So I saidto myself,[fn] “This alsois vanity!”
16 Certainly no one will remember the wise man or the fool in future generations.[fn] Whenfuture days come, both will have been forgotten already. How is it that the wise man dies the same as the fool? 17 So I hated life because the work done under the sun is grievous to me. For everything is vanity and chasing wind!
18 So I hated all my toil with which I have toiled under the sun, for I must leave it behind to someone who will be after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Yet he will exercise control of all the fruit of my toil with which I toiled wisely under the sun. This also is vanity!
20 So I began to despair[fn] of all the toil with which I toiled under the sun. 21 For although a person may toil with great wisdom and skill, he must leave his reward to someone who has not toiled for it. This also is vanity and a great calamity. 22 For what does a person receive for all his toil and in the longing of his heart with which he toils under the sun? 23 All his days are painful, his labor brings grief, and his heart cannot rest at night. This also is vanity!
It is Best to Simply Enjoy the Passing Pleasures of Life as Reward for Pleasing God
24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and find delight[fn] in his toil. For I also realized that thisis from the hand of God! 25 For who can eat and drink, and who can enjoy life apart from him?[fn] 26 For to the person who is good in his eyes, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and heaping up only to give it to him who is pleasing to him. This also is vanity and chasing wind!
God Has Ordained the Ebb and Flow of Human Activities
3 For everything there is an appointed time, a time for every matter under heaven:
9 What does the worker gain in his toil?
No One Understands God’s Mysterious Plan
10 I have seen the busyness God gives to humans[fn] to preoccupy[fn] them. 11 He has made everything suitable in its time. He also has put the past[fn] in their hearts, yet no one can grasp what God does from the beginning to the end. 12 So I realized that there is nothing better[fn] for them than torejoice and enjoy themselves[fn] during their lives. 13 And for anyone to eat and drink, that is, to enjoy the fruit of all his toil,[fn] this also is a gift of God.
God’s Mysterious Plan Allows Injustice to Exist in the World
16 I saw something else under the sun: instead of justice there was evil; instead of righteousness there was wickedness. 17 So I said to myself,[fn] “God will surely judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed[fn] a timeof judgment for every deed and every work.”
18 I said to myself concerning humans,[fn] “God sifts[fn] them in order to show[fn] them that they are like beasts.” 19 For the fate of humans[fn] and the fate of the beast isthe same.[fn] The death of the one is like the death of the other, forboth are mortal.[fn] Man has no advantage over the beast, for both are fleeting. 20 Both go to one place—both came from dust and both return to dust. 21 For no one knows whether the spirit of a human ascends to heaven and whether the spirit of the beast descends to the ground!
22 So I concluded that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy the fruit of his labor, for this is his lot in life. For no one knows what will happen in the future.[fn]
The Existence of Oppression in the World Makes Human Existence Miserable
People Need Balance in Their Approach to Labor
4 I also realized that all of the toil and all of the skillful work that is done—it is envy between one man and another.[fn] This alsois vanity and chasing wind!
Wealth without Someone with Which to Enjoy It is Futile
7 I turned again and saw another vanity under the sun. 8 Sometimes a man is all alone with no companion; he also has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eye is not satisfied with wealth. He laments, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself[fn] of pleasure?” This alsois vanity—it is an unhappy business!
Friends and Family Can Help One Another in Life
9 Two are better than the one, for they enjoy a better reward for their toil. 10 For if one falls, his companion may help him up. But pity the one who falls and there is no one[fn] to help him up. 11 Also if two lie together, they can keep each other warm.[fn] But how can one person be warm? 12 Although an assailant may overpower one person, two may withstand him.[fn] A threefold cordis not easily broken![fn]
One Must Be Willing to Listen to Counsel
13 A poor but wise youth is better than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to receive advice.[fn] 14 For he came out of the prison house to reign, since he was born poor in his kingdom.[fn] 15 I saw all the living who move about under the sun with the youth; the second who will stand in his place. 16 There is no end to all the people, to all who were before him. Yet the later generation will not rejoice in him, for this also is vanity and chasing wind!
Listen to God Rather Than Uttering Rash Vows
Powerful Bureaucrats Exploit the Helpless Poor
There is Never Enough Money to Satisfy
Hoarding Wealth Can Backfire
13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded[fn] by its owner to his harm. 14 That wealth was lost in a bad venture. Although he has borne a child, he has nothing to leave to him.[fn] 15 Just as he came from his mother’s womb naked, he will depart[fn] just as he came; he will take nothing with him for his toil. 16 This also is a grievous illness. Exactly as he came, so he will go. What profit does he gain for all his toil for the wind? 17 Also, he eats in darkness all his days; he is frustrated in much sickness and resentment.
If You Have Wealth, Enjoy It as God Enables
18 Look! I have discovered what is good and fitting: to eat and to drink and to enjoy[fn] allthe fruit of the toil with which one toils under the sun during the number of the days of his life that God gives to him—for this is his lot.[fn] 19 This indeed is a gift of God: everyone to whom God gives wealth and possessions, he also empowers him to enjoy them,[fn] to accept his lot, and to rejoice inthe fruit of his toil. For he does not remember the brief days of his life, for God keeps his heart preoccupied with enjoyment of life.
Those Who Have Wealth but Do Not Enjoy It Are Pitiful
6 Here is another misfortune that I have seen under the sun, and it is prevalent among humankind. 2 God gives a man wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; yet God does not enable him to enjoy it—instead someone else ends up enjoying it. This is vanity—indeed, it is a grievous ill!
3 Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, if his heart[fn] is not satisfied withhis prosperity[fn] andhe does not receive a proper burial,[fn] I deem the stillborn better than him. 4 For he comes into vanity and departs into darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness. 5 He has neither seen nor known the sun, yet he has more rest than him. 6 Even if a man[fn] lives a thousand years twice, if he[fn] does not enjoyprosperity,[fn]both suffer the same fate![fn]
One Must Learn to Be Content with What One Has
It is Futile for Humans to Complain about God’s Irresistible Will
The Future is Inscrutable to Humans
12 For who knows what is good for a man in his life during the few days of his fleeting life, which are fleeting as a shadow? For who can tell anyone what will happen in the future[fn] under the sun?
People Generally Do Not Know What is Best for Them
Wisdom—Although Vulnerable—is Beneficial
Humans Must Accept God’s Will and Make the Best of It
The Law of Retribution Does Not Always Work—but It Does Sometimes
Wisdom is Valuable, but No One is Completely Righteous
Absolute Wisdom is Unattainable
23 All this I have tested with wisdom. I said, “I will be wise!” but it was beyond my grasp.[fn] 24 Whatever is—it is far beyond comprehension.[fn] Who can discover it?
25 I set my mind to try to seek wisdom and the plan, and to know that wickedness is foolishness and that folly is delusion. 26 I myself found that more bitter than death is the woman who is a trap, whose heart is a snare, and whose hands are bonds. The one who pleases God escapes from her, but the sinner is caught by her. 27 “Look! I found this,” said the Teacher,[fn] “while trying to find how the plan fits together. 28 What my heart sought, I did not find. Although I found one righteous man among one thousand, I did not find one upright woman among all these. 29 Look! This alone I found: God made mankind upright, but they have devised many schemes.”
Wisdom is Valuable
No One Knows the Future
The World Marred by Oppression and Injustice
9 I saw all this as I applied my heart to all the deeds done under the sun: sometimes those in authority harm others.[fn] 10 Meanwhile, I saw the wicked being honorably buried, but those who came and went from the holy place were forgotten in the city, even though they had done so. This also is vanity!
Although Evil is Not Punished Swiftly, God Does Eventually Punish Sinners
11 Because sentence against an evil deed is not carried out quickly, the heart of humans[fn] fills up within them to do evil. 12 Although the sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I also know that it will be good for those who fear God—because they fear his presence.[fn] 13 But it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not prolong their days, like the shadow; because there is no fearing God’s presence.[fn] 14 There is a vanity that happens on earth: sometimes the righteous suffer what the wicked deserve, and sometimes the wicked receive what the righteous deserve. I said, “This also is vanity!”
Humans Should Enjoy the Life That God Gives to Them
15 So I recommend enjoyment. For there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat and to drink and to rejoice. This will accompany him in his toil the days of his life that God gives to him under the sun.
No One Can Discover the Rhyme and Reason for Things
16 I applied my mind to know wisdom and to understand the business that is done on earth—how neither day nor night one’s eyes see sleep. 17 Then I saw all the work of God—man is not able to discover the work that is done under the sun. Although man may toil in seeking, he cannot find it. Even if a wise man claims that he knows it, he cannot find it.
The Same Fate—Death—Awaits Everyone
9 So all this I laid to my heart, and I concluded[fn] that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds,are in the hand of God. So no one knows anything that will come to them, whether it will be love or hatred.
Death Deprives Humans of Everything in Life
4 Whoever is joined[fn] to all the living has hope. After all, even a live dog is better than a dead lion! 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything. They no longer have a reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. 6 What they loved and hated, as well as what they desired, has already perished. They no longer have any share in what is done under the sun.
Enjoy Life While It Lasts
7 Go—eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart! For God already has approved your deeds. 8 Always be clothed in white garments, and never let your head lack oil! 9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which he gives you under the sun, because this is your lot in life and in the toil with which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do—do it with all your might; for in Sheol—where you are going—no one works, plans, knows, or thinks about anything.
The Injustice of Time and Chance
11 I looked again and saw under the sun that the race does not belong to the swift, the battle does not belong to the mighty, food does not belong to the wise, wealth does not belong to the intelligent, and success[fn]does not belong to the skillful, for time and chance befalls all of them. 12 For man does not know his time. Just as fish are caught in a cruel net and like birds who are seized in a snare, so also humans[fn] are ensnared at a cruel time when it falls suddenly upon them.
Wisdom—Although Vulnerable—is Superior to Power
13 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14 There was a small city with few people in it. A great king came and besieged it, building great siege works against it. 15 Now, a poor wise man was found in it, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. 16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, yet the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.
Wisdom—Although Vulnerable—is Superior to Folly
Accidents Happen—Even to Professionals
Hard Work and Skill Alone Cannot Succeed—Wisdom is Necessary
The Consequences of Foolishness
Living in the Light of the Limits of Human Knowledge
Enjoy Life to the Fullest within the Auspices of the Fear of God
Advice to the Young: Life is Short and Then You Die
Epilogue
9 The Teacher[fn] was full of wisdom, and he taught the people with knowledge. He carefully considered many proverbs and carefully arranged them. 10 The Teacher[fn] sought to find delightful words,[fn] and he wrote[fn] what is upright—truthful words.
11 The words of the wise are like cattle goads; the collections of the sages are like pricks inflicted by one shepherd.[fn] 12 My son, be careful about anything beyond these things.[fn] For the writing of books is endless, and too much studyis wearisome.[fn]
?:? Hebrew “Qohelet”
?:? Hebrew “Qohelet”
?:? The MT reads “it gasps for breath ,” which is supported by LXX “to draw breath ”; the BHS editors suggest “it returns again”
?:? Or “are wearisome”
?:? The MT reads “no one is able to speak.” The BHS editors suggest “no one can finish speaking.” On the basis of internal evidence, the latter is adopted in the translation, since it makes better sense in the light of the immediate context
?:? Or “not”
?:? Or “not”
?:? Hebrew “Qohelet”
?:? MT reads “under the heavens,” which is supported by LXX; however, several versions (Syriac Peshitta, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate) as well as the Cairo Geniza manuscript read, “under the sun,” cf. 1:3, 9, etc.
?:? Literally “the sons of the man”
?:? The MT reads the active “to be straight”; however, the BHS editors suggest the passive “to be straightened,” which is supported by LXX, which reflects a passive form
?:? The MT reads “to be numbered”; however, the BHS editors suggest “to be supplied,” comparing 1:15b with similar wording in the Babylonian Talmud: “May the Almighty replenish your loss” (b. Berachot 16b)
?:? Literally “I myself said to my heart”
?:? Literally “before me”
?:? Literally “And my mind has seen much wisdom and knowledge”
?:? Literally “So I gave my heart”
?:? Or “I knew”
?:? Or “vexation”
?:? Literally “to my heart”
?:? The MT reads “I will test you,” but the BHS editors propose “I will test …” Whether or not one adopts MT, Qohelet is speaking to himself
?:? Literally “and look at goodness”; this idiom refers to the enjoyment of life
?:? Literally “What does it give?”
?:? Literally “I searched in my mind”
?:? Literally “to cheer my flesh”
?:? Literally “laid hold of”
?:? Follows MT; two medieval Hebrew manuscripts, LXX, Peshitta read, “under the sun,” cf. 1:3, 9, etc.
?:? Literally “the sons of the man”
?:? Literally “the number of the days of their lives”
?:? Literally “I made great my works”
?:? Literally “the sons of the man”
?:? Literally “a breast and breasts,” as a synecdoche for beautiful women in the king’s harem
?:? Literally “I became great and I surpassed”
?:? Or “turned to”
?:? Literally “The eyes of the wise are in his head”
?:? Literally “in my heart”
?:? Literally “Just as the fate of the fool—so it will happen to me!”
?:? Literally “why have I been so exceedingly wise?”
?:? Literally “in my heart”
?:? Literally “the futures”
?:? Literally “I myself turned to cause my heart to despair”
?:? Literally “to see good”
?:? The MT reads “more than me,” which is supported by Aramaic Targum and Latin Vulgate, but several medieval Hebrew manuscripts read “from him”
?:? Or “a time to be born”; MT reads the active form “to bear children”
?:? Literally “the sons of the man”
?:? Or “to be busy”
?:? Literally “eternity”
?:? Literally “no good”
?:? Literally “to rejoice and to do good”
?:? Literally “to see good in all his toil”
?:? Or “they”
?:? Literally “God seeks what is pursued”
?:? Literally “in my heart”
?:? The MT reads שָׁם “there,” but repointing to שָׂם, “he has appointed,” makes better sense
?:? Literally “the sons of the man”
?:? Or “tests”
?:? The MT reads active “to see,” but causative “to show” is reflected by LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate
?:? Literally “the sons of the man”
?:? Literally “is one”
?:? Literally “and one breath is for all”
?:? Literally “For who can bring him to see in what will be after him?”
?:? Literally “And look! The tears of the oppressed, and there is no comforting for them, and from the hand of oppressors of them was power, and there is no comforting for them”
?:? Literally “his friend”
?:? Literally “The fool folds his hands and eats his flesh”
?:? Literally “his soul”
?:? Literally “there is not a second”
?:? Literally “and it will be warm for them”
?:? Literally “And even though he will prevail against him, the one; the second, they will withstand opposite him”
?:? Literally “will not be broken in haste”
?:? Literally “how to be warned”
?:? Literally “for all in his kingdom he was born poor”
?:? Literally “there is no desire”
?:? Literally “for the field is even worked for the king”
?:? Literally “And what gain has its owner but to see it with his eyes?”
?:? Literally “kept ”
?:? Literally “he has nothing in his hand”
?:? Literally “return to go”
?:? Literally “to see goodness”
?:? Or “fate”
?:? Literally “to eat from it”
?:? Or “his soul”
?:? Literally “the good”
?:? Literally “and also there is no burial for him”
?:? Hebrew “he”
?:? Hebrew “and”
?:? Literally “good”
?:? Literally “are not the all going to the same place?”
?:? Literally “What is there for the poor knowing how to conduct themselves before the living?”
?:? Literally “Sight of the eyes is better than wandering of desire”
?:? Literally “and his name is known what he is man”
?:? Literally “Where there are numerous words, it makes numerous vanity”
?:? Literally “after him”
?:? Literally “one who is long of spirit is better than one who is high of spirit”
?:? Literally “to those who see the sun”
?:? Literally “For in the shade of wisdom is the shade of money”
?:? Literally “after him”
?:? Or “abundantly”
?:? Literally “it was far from me”
?:? Literally “That which is—it is far and deep deep”
?:? Hebrew “Qohelet”
?:? While MT reads “I said, ‘Keep the mouth of the king,’ ” the versions read “Keep the mouth of the king,” which is adopted in the translation
?:? Literally “because of the oath of God”
?:? Literally “sometimes one man domineers another man to his harm”
?:? Literally “the sons of the man”
?:? Literally “from before his face”
?:? Literally “from before the face of God”
?:? Or “examined”
?:? Several versions (Greek, Syriac, Latin) insert “and to the bad”
?:? Literally “evil”
?:? Literally “the sons of the man”
?:? The Kethib reads “chosen,” but the Qere as well as all the versions and numerous medieval Hebrew manuscripts read “joined”
?:? Or “favor”
?:? Literally “the sons of the man”
?:? Literally “breaks out”
?:? Literally “he must be more strength”
?:? Literally “there is no advantage to the owner of the charm”
?:? Literally “increases words”
?:? Literally “after him”
?:? Or “for he knows not to go to a city”
?:? Literally “They make bread for laughter”
?:? Or “the breath”
?:? Hebrew “Qohelet”
?:? Hebrew “Qohelet”
?:? Hebrew “Qohelet”
?:? Hebrew “words of delight”
?:? The MT reads the term passively, “what is written,” but an alternate textual tradition reads, “and he wrote”
?:? Or “The owner of collections are given by one shepherd”
?:? Literally “but from more than them”
?:? Literally “increases weariness of flesh”