A good name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one's birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made {Or, better}glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
{Or, For}Surely extortion maketh the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroyeth the understanding.
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be {Or, vexed}angry; for {Or, vexation}anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire {Hebrew: out of wisdom.}wisely concerning this.
Wisdom {Or, is good together with an inheritance, and profitable unto them &c.}is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun.
For wisdom is a defence, even as money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it.
Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yea, God hath made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything that shall be after him.
All this have I seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his evil-doing.
Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself overwise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth from them all.
Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a city.
{Or, For}Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Also {Hebrew: give not thy heart.}take not heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee;
for oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
All this have I {Or, tried by}proved in wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
That which {Or, hath been}is, is far off and exceeding deep; who can find it out?
I turned about, and my heart was set to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to know {Or, the wickedness of folly, and foolishness which is madness}that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness.
And I find more bitter than death the woman {Or, who is a snare, and her heart is as nets}whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, {Or, weighting one thing after another, to find out the reason}laying one thing to another, to find out the account;
which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
Querverweise zu Prediger 7,14 Pred 7,14
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.
Because thou servedst not Jehovah thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;
yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly;
{Or, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole master}This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for {Or, this is the duty of all men}this is the whole duty of man.
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing;Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.
Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she shall not find her paths.
To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent.O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? {Or, art thou &c.}thou art come unto me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son!
And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God:Many shall see it, and fear,And shall trust in Jehovah.
And when he was in distress, he besought Jehovah his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.
But go ye and learn what this meaneth, {Hosea 6:6.}I desire mercy, and not sacrifice: for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.
And he prayed unto him; and he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah he was God.
And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you.
My soul is weary of my life;I will give free course to my complaint;I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
And in that day ye shall {Or, ask me nothing compare verse 26; chapter 14:13, 20}ask me no question. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name.
I will say unto God, Do not condemn me;Show me wherefore thou contendest with me.
Is any among you suffering? let him pray. Is any cheerful? let him sing praise.
Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O {Hebrew: Jah.}Jehovah,And teachest out of thy law;
That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity,Until the pit be digged for the wicked.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted;That I may learn thy statutes.
And in that day did the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
and behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine: let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die.
And Jehovah of hosts revealed himself in mine ears, Surely this iniquity shall not be {Or, expiated by}forgiven you till ye die, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
Jehovah, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not: but they shall see {Or, and be put to shame, in their envy at the people}thy zeal for the people, and be put to shame; yea, {Or, the fire of thine adversaries shall devour them}fire shall devour thine adversaries.
Therefore he poured upon him the fierceness of his anger, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
The anger of Jehovah shall not return, until he have {Or, done it}executed, and till he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall {Or, consider}understand it perfectly.
The voice of Jehovah crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom will {According to Septuagint Version, Vulgate, and Syriac, fear.}see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
Now therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: {Hebrew: Set your heart on your ways.}Consider your ways.
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: {Hebrew: Set your heart on your ways.}Consider your ways.
But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight:
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.