American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them.
All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
{Another reading is, For who is exempted? With all &c., or, who can choose? With all &c.}For to him that is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
As well their love, as their hatred and their envy, is perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun.
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,And the {Or, spirit}breath of all mankind?
My times are in thy hand:Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses:He turneth it whithersoever he will.
Yea, he loveth the {Or, tribes}people;All {Or, their holy ones}his saints are in thy hand:And they sat down at thy feet;Every one {Or, received}shall receive of thy words.
Thou shalt also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.
And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Jehovah; for his mercies are {Or, many}great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.
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.
Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the {Hebrew: strength.}hardness of his face is changed.
I counsel thee, Keep the king's command, and that in regard of the oath of God.
Be not hasty to go out of his presence; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
For the king's word hath power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man's heart discerneth time and judgment:
for to every {Or, matter}purpose there is a time and judgment; because the {Or, evil}misery of man is great upon him:
for he knoweth not that which shall be; {Or, for even when it cometh to pass, who shall declare it unto him?}for who can tell him how it shall be?
There is no man that hath power over the {Or, wind}spirit to retain the {Or, wind}spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge {Or, in battle}in war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.
All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: {Or, what time one man had &c.}there is a time wherein one man hath power over another {Or, to his own hurt}to his hurt.
So I saw the wicked buried, {Or, who had come and gone away from the holy place; and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done Or, and men came and went &c.}and they came to the grave; and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is {Or, emboldened}fully set in them to do evil.
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:
but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
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.
When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the {Or, travail}business that is done upon the earth ( {Or, how that neither by day nor by night do men see sleep with their eyes}for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes),
then I beheld all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because however much a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea moreover, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
So I saw the wicked buried, {Or, who had come and gone away from the holy place; and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done Or, and men came and went &c.}and they came to the grave; and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity.
There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
It is all one; therefore I say,He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
And Haman recounted unto them the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
And a certain man drew his bow {Hebrew: in his simplicity.}at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between {Or, the lower armor and the breastplate}the joints of the armor: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am sore wounded.
In his days Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and Pharaoh-necoh slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets.
For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, {Or, what doth it profit me, if the dead are not raised? Let us eat &c.}what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried.
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful {Greek: bondservant.}servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
And cast ye out the unprofitable {Greek: bondservant.}servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and, behold, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive;
yea, {Or, better than they both is he that &c.}better than them both did I esteem him that hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
Then I saw all labor and every {Or, successful}skilful work, that {Or, it cometh of a man's rivalry with his neighbor}for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
Better is a handful, {Or, of}with quietness, than two handfuls {Or, of}with labor and striving after wind.
Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.
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.
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up.
Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone?
And if a man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth not how to receive admonition any more.
For out of prison he came forth to be king; yea, even in his kingdom he was born poor.
I saw all the living that walk under the sun, that they were with the youth, the second, that stood up in his stead.
{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.
Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive;
And he said also unto the disciples, There was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he was wasting his goods.
And he called him, and said unto him, What is this that I hear of thee? render the account of thy stewardship; for thou canst be no longer steward.
And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my lord taketh away the stewardship from me? I have not strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed.
I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
And calling to him each one of his lord's debtors, he said to the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
And he said, A hundred {Greek: baths, the bath being a Hebrew measure. See Ezekiel 45:10, 11, 14}measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy {Greek: writings.}bond, and sit down quickly and write fifty.
Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred {Greek: cors, the cor being a Hebrew measure. See Ezekiel 45:14.}measures of wheat. He saith unto him, Take thy {Greek: writings.}bond, and write fourscore.
And his lord commended {Greek: the stewart of unrightousness.}the unrighteous steward because he had done wisely: for the sons of this {Or, age}world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light.
And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends {Greek: out of.}by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.
He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much.
If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is {Some ancient authorities read your own.}your own?
No {Greek: household-servant.}servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things; and they scoffed at him.
And he said unto them, Ye are they that justify yourselves in the sight of men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the {Or, good tidings: compare chapter 3:18.}gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it.
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall.
Every one that putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth one that is put away from a husband committeth adultery.
Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, {Or, living in mirth and splendor every day}faring sumptuously every day:
and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores,
and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; yea, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried.
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.
But Abraham said, {Greek: Child.}Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish.
And {Or, in all these things}besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they that would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us.
And he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house;
for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
But Abraham saith, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried.
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a {Or, jealously}fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries.
(for he saith, {Isaiah 49:8.}At an acceptable time I hearkened unto thee,And in a day of salvation did I succor thee:behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation):