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 2,23 Pred 2,23
And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my {Or, sojournings}pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their {Or, sojournings}pilgrimage.
The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much; but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
But man is born unto trouble,As {Hebrew: the sons of flame (or, of lightning).}the sparks fly upward.
On that night {Hebrew: the king's sleep fled from him.}could not the king sleep; and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king.
Man, that is born of a woman,Is of few days, and full of trouble.
When I say, My bed shall comfort me,My couch shall ease my complaint;
For we are consumed in thine anger,And in thy wrath are we troubled.
Thou hast set our iniquities before thee,Our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath:We bring our years to an end as {Or, a sound}a sigh.
The days of our years are threescore years and ten,Or even by reason of strength fourscore years;Yet is their pride but labor and sorrow;For it is soon gone, and we fly away.
Then thou scarest me with dreams,And terrifiest me through visions:
Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us,And the years wherein we have seen evil.
I am weary with my groaning;Every night make I my bed to swim;I water my couch with my tears.
It is vain for you to rise up early,To take rest late,To eat the bread of toil;For so he giveth unto his beloved {Or, in sleep}sleep.
Mine eye wasteth away because of grief;It waxeth old because of all mine adversaries.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:My moisture was changed {Or, into the}as with the drought of summer. [Selah
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord:My hand was stretched out in the night, and slacked not;My soul refused to be comforted.
I remember God, and am disquieted:I complain, and my spirit {Or, fainteth}is overwhelmed. [Selah
Thou holdest mine eyes watching:I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were {Or, dancing girls}instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him.
confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.