{Or, Send forth}Cast thy bread {Hebrew: upon the face of the waters}upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.
{Or, Divide a portion into seven, yea, even into eight}Give a portion to seven, yea, even unto eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall {Or, in}toward the south, or {Or, in}toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be.
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
As thou knowest not what is the way of the {Or, spirit}wind, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the work of God who doeth all.
In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.
{Or, For}Yea, if a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all; {Or, and remember}but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
Therefore remove {Or, vexation Or, provocation}sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
Querverweise zu Prediger 11,8 Pred 11,8
yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet enjoy no good, do not all go to one place?
I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and {Or, to get good}to do good so long as they live.
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.
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.
Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his days, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before him:
And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.
Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;
in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the {Or, grinding women}grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened,
and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;
yea, they shall be afraid {Or, of danger from on high}of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond-tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper {Or, shall drag itself along}shall be a burden, and {Or, the caperberry}desire shall {Or, burst}fail; because man goeth to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets:
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.
Behold, {Or, that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one &c.}that which I have seen to be good and to be comely is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, wherein he laboreth under the sun, {Hebrew: the number of days.}all the days of his life which God hath given him: for this is his portion.
Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor — this is the gift of God.
For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.
Oh that they were wise, that they understood this,That they would consider their latter end!
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.
Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: {Or, and that this should accompany him}for that shall abide with him in his labor all the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.
The land dark as {Hebrew: thick darkness.}midnight,The land of the shadow of death, without any order,And where the light is as {Hebrew: thick darkness.}midnight.
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.
But man dieth, and is laid low:Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
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.
He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it?He knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
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.
He shall be driven from light into darkness,And chased out of the world.
There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches. For whom then, saith he, do I labor, and deprive my soul of good? This also is vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
Give glory to Jehovah your God, before {Or, it grow dark}he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the {Hebrew: mountains of twilight.}dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into {Or, deep darkness}the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
{Or, There is no end, in the mind of all the people, to all that hath been before them; they also &c.}There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was: yet they that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the dawn spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.
As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.
Then the king said to the {Or, ministers}servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that he laboreth for the wind?
Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light {Or, in}among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not: and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Seeing there are many {Or, words}things that increase vanity, what is man the better?
that they said to you, In the last time there shall be mockers, walking after {Greek: their own lusts of ungodlinesses.}their own ungodly lusts.