I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth; {Or, and thou shall enjoy}therefore enjoy {Or, good}pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity.
I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it?
I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet {Or, holding its course}guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven {Hebrew: the number of days of their life.}all the days of their life.
I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards;
I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit;
I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared;
I bought men-servants and maid-servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem;
I gathered me also silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I gat me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, {Or, concubines very many The meaning of the Hebrew is very uncertain.}musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom {Or, stood by me}remained with me.
And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor; and this was my portion from all my labor.
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh {Or, after the king, even him whom they made king long ago? Or, after the king in those things which have been already done?}after the king? even that which hath been done long ago.
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
The wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happeneth to them all.
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then said I in my heart, that this also is vanity.
For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. And how doth the wise man die even as the fool!
So I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun was grievous unto me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
And I hated all my labor wherein I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
And who knoweth whether he will be a wise man or a fool? yet will he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.
Therefore I turned about to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor wherein I had labored under the sun.
For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with {Or, success}skilfulness; yet to a man that hath not labored therein shall he {Hebrew: give.}leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
For what hath a man of all his labor, and of the {Or, vexation}striving of his heart, wherein he laboreth under the sun?
For all his days are but sorrows, and his travail is grief; yea, even in the night his heart taketh no rest. This also is vanity.
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.
For who can eat, or who can {Or, hasten thereto}have enjoyment, {According to Septuagint Version and Syraic. apart from him.}more than I?
For to the man that pleaseth him God giveth wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that pleaseth God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Querverweise zu Prediger 2,8 Pred 2,8
And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.
I am this day fourscore years old: can I discern between good and bad? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?
Moreover David and the captains of the host set apart for the service certain of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of them that did the work according to their service was:
And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
besides their men-servants and their maid-servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and they had two hundred singing men and singing women.
All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of Jehovah, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God; {Or, after the order of the king, even Asaph &c.}Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman being under the order of the king.
And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
They send forth their little ones like a flock,And their children dance.
And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess.
They {Hebrew: lift up the voice.}sing to the timbrel and harp,And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
And Judah did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done.
Praise him with trumpet sound:Praise him with psaltery and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance:Praise him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise him with loud cymbals:Praise him with high sounding cymbals.
And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the {Hebrew: runners.}guard, who kept the door of the king's house.
that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, {Or, bagpipe}dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up;
And the king made of the algum-trees terraces for the house of Jehovah, and for the king's house, and harps and psalteries for the singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.
Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one buckler.
And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and {Or, arms}stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays.
And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.
And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: silver was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?
that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; that invent for themselves instruments of music, {Or, like David's}like David;