American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
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.
And one out of the multitude said unto him, Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.
But he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: {Or, for even in a man's abundance his life is not from the things which he possesseth}for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods.
And I will say to my {Or, life}soul, {Or, life}Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night {Greek: they require thy soul.}is thy {Or, life}soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Now the rest of the {Or, words Or, matters}acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?
And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt,
and they sent and called him), that Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?
And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him.
And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?
And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger is thicker than my father's loins.
And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me again the third day.
And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him,
and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
So the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was a thing brought about of Jehovah, that he might establish his word, which Jehovah spake by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the men subject to taskwork; and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was returned, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, that were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying,
Thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the word of Jehovah, and returned and went their way, according to the word of Jehovah.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not {Or, void}vain in the Lord.
For which cause I suffer also these things: yet I am not ashamed; for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard {Or, that which he hath committed unto me Greek: my deposit.}that which I have committed unto him against that day.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die {Or, in the Lord. From henceforth, yea, saith the Spirit}in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.
The words of {Hebrew: Koheleth}the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun?
One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever.
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.
All the {Or, torrents}rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again.
{Or, All words are feeble}All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
There is no remembrance of the former generations; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come, among those that shall come after.
I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and {Or, a feeding on wind (see Hosea 12:1) Or, vexation of spirit (and so elsewhere)}a striving after wind.
That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and {Hebrew: defect}that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom {Or, yea, more than all}above all that were before me {Hebrew: over.}in Jerusalem; yea, my heart {Hebrew: hath seen abundantly.}hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind.
For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun?
And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion: and they awake him, and say unto him, Teacher, carest thou not that we perish?
And when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and guards before the door kept the prison.