|
by Chabad.org
Kohelet -
Chapter 1
1. The words of
Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2. Vanity of vanities, said Koheleth; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
3. What profit has man in all his toil that he toils under the sun?
4. A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth endures
forever.
5. The sun rises and the sun sets, and to its place it yearns and rises
there.
6. It goes to the south and goes around to the north; the will goes
around and around, and the will returns to its circuits.
7. All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the
place where the rivers flow, there they repeatedly go.
8. All things are wearisome; no one can utter it; the eye shall not be
sated from seeing, nor shall the ear be filled from hearing.
9. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be
done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
10. There is a thing of which [someone] will say, "See this, it is new."
It has already been for ages which were before us.
11. [But] there is no remembrance of former [generations], neither will
the later ones that will be have any remembrance among those that will
be afterwards.
12. I am
Koheleth; I was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13. And I applied my heart to inquire and to search with wisdom all that
was done under the heaven. It is a sore task that God has given to the
sons of men with which to occupy themselves.
14. I saw all the deeds that were done under the sun, and behold,
everything is vanity and frustration.
15. What is crooked will not be able to be straightened, and what is
missing will not be able to be counted.
16. I spoke to myself, saying, "I acquired and increased great wisdom,
more than all who were before me over Jerusalem"; and my heart saw much
wisdom and knowledge.
17. And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly;
I know that this too is a frustration.
18. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge,
increases pain.
Kohelet -
Chapter 2
1. I said to
myself, "Come now, I will mix [wine] with joy and experience pleasure";
and behold, this too was vanity.
2. Of laughter, I said, "[It is] mingled"; and concerning joy, "What
does this accomplish?"
3. I
searched in my heart to indulge my body with wine, and my heart
conducting itself with wisdom and holding onto folly, until I would see
which is better for the children of men that they should do under the
heavens, the number of the days of their lives.
4. I made myself great works; I built myself houses, and I planted
myself vineyards.
5. I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted in them all sorts
of fruit trees.
6. I made myself pools of water, to water from them a forest sprouting
with trees.
7. I acquired male and female slaves, and I had household members; also
I had possession of cattle and flocks, more than all who were before me
in Jerusalem.
8. I accumulated for myself also silver and gold, and the treasures of
the kings and the provinces; I acquired for myself various types of
musical instruments, the delight of the sons of men, wagons and coaches.
9. So I
became great, and I increased more than all who were before me in
Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me.
10. And
[of] all that my eyes desired I did not deprive them; I did not deprive
my heart of any joy, but my heart rejoiced with all my toil, and this
was my portion from all my toil.
11. Then
I turned [to look] at all my deeds that my hands had wrought and upon
the toil that I had toiled to do, and behold everything is vanity and
frustration, and there is no profit under the sun.
12. And I turned to see wisdom and madness and folly, for what is the
man who will come after the king, concerning that which they have
already done?
13. And I saw that wisdom has an advantage over folly, as the advantage
of light over darkness.
14. The wise man has eyes in its beginning, but the fool goes in the
darkness, and I too know that one event happens to them all.
15. And I said to myself, "As it happens to the fool, so will it happen
to me too, so why then did I become wiser?" And I said to myself that
this too is vanity.
16. For there is no remembrance of the wise man even as of the fool
forever, seeing that in the coming days, all is forgotten. And how shall
the wise die with the fool?
17. So I
hated the living, for the deed that was done under the sun grieved me,
for everything is vanity and frustration.
18. And I
hated all my toil that I toil under the sun, that I should leave it to
the man who will be after me.
19. And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish. And he will rule
over all my toil that I have toiled and that I have gained wisdom under
the sun; this too is vanity.
20. And I
turned about to cause my heart to despair concerning all the toil that I
toiled under the sun.
21. For there is a man whose toil is with wisdom and with knowledge and
with honesty and to a man who did not toil for it he will give it as his
portion; this too is vanity and a great evil.
22. For what has a man out of all his toil and the breaking of his heart
that he toils under the sun?
23. For all his days are pains and his occupation is vexation; even at
night his heart does not rest; this too is vanity.
24. Is it not good for a man that he eat and drink and show himself
enjoyment in his toil? This too have I seen that it is from the hand of
God.
25. For who will eat and who will hasten [to swallow it] except me?
26. For to a man who is good in His sight, He has given wisdom and
knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He has given an occupation to
gather and to accumulate, to give to him who is good in God's sight;
this too is vanity and frustration.
Kohelet -
Chapter 3
1. Everything has an appointed season, and there is a time for every
matter under the heaven.
2. A time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to
uproot that which is planted.
3. A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break and a time to
build.
4. A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time of wailing and a time of
dancing.
5. A time to cast stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace
and a time to refrain from embracing.
6. A time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast
away.
7. A time to rend and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to
speak.
8. A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for
peace.
9. What profit has the one who works in that which he toils?
10. I have seen the occupation that God gave to the sons of men with
which to occupy themselves.
11. He has made everything beautiful in its time; also the [wisdom of]
the world He put into their hearts, save that man should not find the
deed which God did, from beginning to end.
12. I knew that there is nothing better for them but to rejoice and to
do good during his lifetime.
13. And also, every man who eats and drinks and enjoys what is good in
all his toil, it is a gift of God.
14. I knew that everything that God made, that will be forever; we
cannot add to it, nor can we subtract from it; and God made it so that
they fear Him.
15. That which was is already [done], and that which is [destined] to
be, already was, and God seeks the pursued.
16. And moreover, I saw under the sun, [in] the place of justice, there
is wickedness, and [in] the place of righteousness, there is wickedness.
17. I said to myself, "God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for
there is a time for every matter and for every deed there."
18. I said to myself, [that this is] because of the children of men, so
that God should clarify for them, so that they may see that they are
[like] beasts to themselves.
19. For there is a happening for the children of men, and there is a
happening for the beasts -- and they have one happening -- like the
death of this one is the death of that one, and all have one spirit, and
the superiority of man over beast is nought, for all is vanity.
20. All go to one place; all came from
the dust, and all return to the dust.
21. Who knows that the spirit of the children of men is that which
ascends on high and the spirit of the beast is that which descends below
to the earth?
22. And I saw that there is nothing better than that man rejoice in his
deeds, for that is his portion, for who will bring him to see what will
be after him?
Kohelet -
Chapter 4
1. But I returned
and saw all the oppressed who are made [so] under the sun, and behold,
the tears of the oppressed, and they have no consoler, and from the hand
of their oppressors there is power, but they have no consoler.
2. And I praise the dead
who have already died, more than the living who are still alive.
3. And better than both of them is he who has not yet been, who has not
seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4. And I saw all the toil and all the excellence of work, which is a
man's envy of his friend; this too is vanity and frustration.
5. The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
6. Better is a handful of ease than two handfuls of toil and
frustration.
7. And I returned and saw vanity under the sun.
8. There is one, and there is no second; yea, he has neither son nor
brother, and there is no end to all his toil; neither is his eye sated
from wealth. Now for whom do I toil and deprive my soul of pleasure?
This too is vanity and an unhappy affair.
9. Two are better than one, since they have good reward for their toil.
10. For if they fall, one will lift up his friend, but woe to the one
who falls and has no second one to lift him up.
11. Moreover, if two lie down, they will have warmth, but how will one
have warmth?
12. And if a man prevails against the one, the two will stand against
him, and a three-stranded cord will not quickly be broken.
13. Better a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king, who no
longer knows to receive admonition.
14. For out of the prison he has come to reign, for even in his kingdom,
he becomes humble.
15. I saw all the living who walk under the sun, with the second child
who will rise in his stead.
16. There is no end to all the people, to all that were before them;
also the last ones will not rejoice with him, for this too is vanity and
frustration.
17. Watch your feet when you go to the House of God, and be ready to
obey rather than fools should give sacrifice, for they know not that
they do evil.
Kohelet -
Chapter 5
1. Be not rash
with your mouth, and let your heart not be hasty to utter a word before
God, for God is in heaven, and you are on the earth; therefore, let your
words be few.
2. For a dream comes with much concern, and the voice of the fool with
many words.
3. When you pronounce a vow to God, do not delay to pay, for He has no
pleasure in fools; that which you vow, pay.
4. It is better that you vow not, than that you vow and do not pay it.
5. Do not allow your mouth to cause sin to your flesh, and say not
before the messenger that it is an error; why should God be wroth with
your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
6. For despite many dreams and vanities and many words, only fear God.
7. If you see oppression of the poor and deprivation of justice and
righteousness in the province, wonder not about the matter, for the
Highest over the high waits, and there are higher ones over them.
8. And the loftiness of the earth is in everything; even the King is
subservient to the field.
9. Whoever loves silver will not be sated with silver, and he who loves
a multitude without increase-this too is vanity.
10. With the increase of good, its eaters increase, and what is the
advantage to its Master, except seeing [with] His eyes?
11. The sleep of the laborer is sweet, whether he eat little or much,
but the satiety of the rich does not allow him to sleep.
12. There is a grievous evil that I saw under the sun; riches kept by
their owner for his harm.
13. And those riches are lost through an evil design, and he will beget
a son who will have nothing in his hand.
14. As he left his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he
came, and he will carry nothing with his toil, that he will take in his
hand.
15. And this too is a grievous evil, that just as it came so shall it
go, and what advantage does he have that he toil for the wind?
16. Also
all his days he eats in the dark, and he has much vexation and sickness
and wrath.
17. Behold what I saw; it is good, yea, it is beautiful, to eat and
drink and to experience goodness with all his toil that he toils under
the sun, the number of the days of his life that God gave him, for that
is his portion.
18. Also every man whom God has given riches and property and has given
him power to eat thereof and to take his portion and to rejoice with his
toil; that is a gift of God.
19. For let him remember that the days of his life are not many, for God
is testimony of the joy of his heart.
Kohelet -
Chapter 6
1. There is an
evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is prevalent among men.
2. A man whom God gives riches and property and honor, and his soul
lacks nothing of all he desires, and God gives him no power to eat of
it, but a strange man eats it; this is vanity and a grievous sickness.
3. Should a man beget one hundred [children] and live many years, and he
will have much throughout the days of his years, but his soul will not
be sated from all the good, neither did he have burial. I said that the
stillborn is better than he.
4. For he comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness his name
is covered.
5.
Moreover, he did not see the sun nor did he know [it]; this one has more
gratification than that one.
6. And if
he had lived a thousand years twice and experienced no pleasure, do not
all go to one place?
7. All of a person's toil is for his mouth, and is the appetite not yet
sated?
8. For what is the advantage of the wise over the fool? What [less] has
the poor man who knows how to go along with the living?
9. Better is what he sees with his eyes than that which goes to sate his
appetite; this too is vanity and frustration.
10. What was, its name was already called, and it is known that he is a
man, and he will not be able to strive with him who is stronger than he.
11. For there are many things that increase vanity; what will remain for
a man?
12. For who knows what is good for man in his lifetime, the number of
the days of his life of vanity, that he do them like a shadow, for who
will tell man what will be after him under the sun?
Kohelet -
Chapter 7
1. A [good] name is better than good oil, and
the day of death than the day of one's birth.
2. It is better to go to a house of
mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for that is the end of every
man, and the living shall lay it to his heart.
3. Vexation is better than laughter, for with a stern countenance the
heart will rejoice.
4. The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, whereas the heart of
the fools is in a house of joy.
5. It is better to hear the rebuke of a wise man than for a man to hear
the song of the fools.
6. For as the sound of the thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of
the fool, and this too is vanity.
7. For the taunt makes the wise foolish, and it destroys the
understanding, which is a gift.
8. The end of a thing is better than
its beginning; better the patient in spirit than the haughty in
spirit.
9. Be not hasty with your spirit to become wroth, for wrath lies in the
bosom of fools.
10. Do not say, "How was it that the former days were better than
these?" For not out of wisdom have you asked concerning this.
11. Wisdom is good with a heritage, and it is a profit to those who see
the sun.
12. For whoever is in the shade of wisdom is in the shade of money, and
the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its possessor.
13. See God's work, for who can straighten out what he made crooked?
14. On a day of good, be among the good, and on a day of adversity,
ponder; God has made one corresponding to the other, to the end that man
will find nothing after Him.
15. I have seen everything in the days of my vanity; there is a
righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked
man who lives long in his wickedness.
16. Be
not overly righteous, and be not overly wise; why should you bring
desolation upon yourself?
17. Be not overly wicked, and be not a fool; why should you die before
your time?
18. It is good that you should take hold of this, and also from this you
shall not withdraw your hand, for he who fears God will discharge
himself of them all.
19. Wisdom affords strength to the wise more than ten rulers who were in
the city.
20. For there is no righteous man on earth who does good and sins not.
21. Also, take no heed of all the words that they speak, lest you hear
your servant curse you.
22. For your heart knows that many times you too cursed others.
23. All this I tested with wisdom; I said, "I will become wise," but it
was far from me.
24. What was is far off, and [it is] very deep, who can find it?
25. I
turned about with my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom
and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the
foolishness and madness.
26. And I find more bitter than death the
woman whose heart is snares and nets, her hands are bonds; whoever is
good in God's sight will escape from her, and a sinner will be taken by
her.
27. See, this I have found, said Koheleth, adding one to another to find
out the account.
28. Which
my soul sought yet, but I did not find; one man out of a thousand I
found, but a woman among all these I did not find.
29. See, only this one have I found, for God made man straight, but they
sought many intrigues.
Kohelet -
Chapter 8
1. Who is like the
wise man, and who knows the meaning of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his
face shine, and the boldness of his face is changed.
2. I [am prepared to] observe the commandment of the King, and
concerning the oath of God.
3. Hasten not to go away from before Him; stay not in an evil thing; for
all that He wishes, He will do.
4.
Inasmuch as the King's word is the rule, and who will say to Him, "What
are You doing?"
5. Whoever keeps the commandment shall know no evil thing, and the heart
of a wise man knows time and justice.
6. For every desire has a time and judgment, when the evil of man is
great upon him.
7. For he knows not what will be, for how it will be, who will tell him?
8. No man controls the will [of God's messenger] to retain the spirit,
and there is no ruling on the day of death; neither is there discharge
in war, nor will wickedness save the one who practices it.
9. I saw all this, and I applied my heart to all the work that is done
under the sun, a time that a man ruled over [another] man for his [own]
harm.
10. And so I saw the wicked buried, and they came, and from the place of
the Holy One they go away, and they will be forgotten in the city that
they did so; this too is vanity.
11. Because the sentence of the deed of evil is not executed swiftly;
therefore, the heart of the children of men is encouraged to do evil.
12. For a sinner does evil a hundred [years], and He grants him an
extension; but I know too that it will be good for those who fear God
because they fear Him.
13. But it will not be well with the wicked, and he will not prolong
[his] days, like a shadow, because he does not fear God.
14. There is vanity that is done on the earth, that there are righteous
men to whom it happens according to the deed of the wicked, and there
are wicked men to whom it happens according to the deed of the
righteous; I said that this too is vanity.
15. And I
praised joy, for there is nothing better for man under the sun than to
eat and to drink and to be merry, and that will accompany him in his
toil the days of his life that God gave him under the sun.
16. When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the conduct that
is done upon the earth, for neither by day nor by night does he see
sleep with his eyes.
17. And I saw all the deed of God, for a person will not be able to
fathom the deed that is done under the sun, because though a man toils
to seek, he will not fathom [it], and even if the wise man claims to
know [it], he will be unable to fathom [it].
Kohelet -
Chapter 9
1. For all this I
laid to my heart and to clarify all this, that the righteous and the
wise and their works are in God's hand; even love, even hate, man does
not know; everything is before them.
2. Everything [comes to them] as [it comes] to all; [there is] one
occurrence for the righteous and for the wicked, for the good, and for
the pure, and for the unclean, and for he who sacrifices, and for he who
does not sacrifice; like the good, so is the sinner; he who swears is
like him who fears an oath.
3. This
is the most evil in all that is done under the sun, that all have one
occurrence, and also the heart of the children of men is full of evil,
and there is madness in their heart in their lifetime,
and after that they go to the
dead.
4. For whoever is joined to all the living has hope, for concerning a
live dog [it is said that] he is better than a dead lion.
5. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing,
and they have no more reward, for their remembrance is forgotten.
6. Also their love, as well as their hate, as well as their provocation
has already been lost, and they have no more share forever in all that
is done under the sun.
7. Go,
eat your bread joyfully and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God
has already accepted your deeds.
8. At all times, let your garments be white, and let oil not be wanting
on your head.
9. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of the life of
your vanity, whom He has given you under the sun, all the days of your
vanity, for that is your portion in life and in your toil that you toil
under the sun.
10. Whatever your hand attains to do [as long as you are] with your
strength, do; for there is neither deed nor reckoning, neither knowledge
nor wisdom in the grave, where you are going.
11. I returned and saw under the sun, that the race does not belong to
the swift, nor the war to the mighty; neither do the wise have bread,
nor do the understanding have riches, nor the knowledgeable, favor; for
time and fate will overtake them all.
12. For a
person does not even know his time, like the fish that are caught with
an inferior trap and like the birds that are caught in the snare; like
them, the children of men are trapped at a time of evil, when it falls
upon them suddenly.
13. This also have I seen as wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great
to me.
14. [There was] a small city, with few people in it, and a great king
came upon it and surrounded it and built over it great bulwarks.
15. And there was found therein a poor wise man, and he extricated the
city through his wisdom, but no man remembered that poor man.
16. And I said, "Wisdom is better than might, but the wisdom of the poor
man is despised, and his words are not heard."
17. The words of the wise are heard [when spoken] softly, more than the
shout of a ruler of fools.
18. Wisdom is better than weapons, and one sinner destroys much good.
Kohelet -
Chapter 10
1. Dying flies
make putrid and foamy the oil of a perfumer; so does a little folly
outweigh wisdom and honor.
2. The heart of the wise man is at his right, whereas the heart of the
fool is at his left.
3. Also on the road, when a fool walks, his understanding is lacking,
and he says to all that he is a fool.
4. If the spirit of the Ruler ascends upon you, do not leave your place,
for a cure assuages great sins.
5. There is an evil that I saw under the sun, like an error that goes
forth from before the ruler.
6. Folly was set at great heights, and the rich sit in a low place.
7. I saw slaves on horses and princes walking like slaves on the ground.
8. One who digs a pit shall fall therein, and one who breaks a fence --
a snake shall bite him.
9. One who quarries stones shall be wearied by them; one who hews wood
shall be warmed by it.
10. If the iron is dull, and he did not sharpen the edge, it [still]
strengthens the armies, but wisdom has a greater advantage.
11. If the snake bites, it is because it was
not charmed, and there is no advantage to one who has a tongue.
12. The words of a wise man's mouth [find] favor, but a fool's lips will
destroy him.
13. The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly, and the end of his
speech is grievous madness.
14. And the fool increases words; a man does not know what will be, and
what will be behind him, who will tell him?
15. The toil of the fools wearies him, for he does not know to go to the
city.
16. Woe to you, O land whose king is a lad, and your princes eat in the
morning.
17. Fortunate are you, O land, whose king is the son of nobles, and your
princes eat at the proper time, in might and not in drinking.
18. Through laziness the rafter sinks, and with idleness of the hands
the house leaks.
19. On joyous occasions, a feast is made, and wine gladdens the living,
and money answers everything.
20. Even in your thought, you shall not curse a king, nor in your
bedrooms shall you curse a wealthy man, for the bird of the heaven shall
carry the voice, and the winged creature will tell the matter.
Kohelet -
Chapter 11
1. Send forth your
bread upon the surface of the water, for after many days you will find
it.
2. Give a portion to seven and even to eight, for you do not know what
evil will be on the earth.
3. If the clouds be full of rain, they will empty it upon the earth, and
if a tree rests in the south or in the north, the place where the tree
rests, there it will be.
4. He who waits for the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the
clouds will not reap.
5. As you do not know what is the way of the wind, just as things
enclosed in the full womb; so will you not know God's work, Who does
everything.
6. In the morning, sow your seed, and in the evening, do not withhold
your hand, for you know not which will succeed, this one or that one, or
whether both of them will be equally good.
7. And the light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.
8. For if
a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him
remember the days of darkness, for they will be many; all that befalls
[him] is vanity.
9. Rejoice, O youth, in your childhood, and let your heart bring you
cheer in the days of your youth, and go in the ways of your heart, and
in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these God will bring
you to judgment.
10. And remove anger from your heart, and take evil away from your
flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity.
Kohelet -
Chapter 12
1. And remember
your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of evil come,
and years arrive, about which you will say, "I have no desire in them."
2. Before
the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars darken, and the clouds
return after the rain.
3. On the day that the keepers of the house tremble, and the mighty men
are seized by cramps, and the grinders cease since they have become few,
and those who look out of the windows become darkened.
4. And the doors shall be shut in the street when the sound of the mill
is low, and one shall rise at the voice of a bird, and all the
songstresses shall be brought low.
5. Also from the high places they will fear, and terrors on the road,
and the almond tree will blossom, and the grasshopper will drag itself
along, and sexual desire will fail, for man goes to his everlasting
home, and the mourners go about in the street.
6. Before the silver cord snaps, and the golden fountain is shattered,
and the pitcher breaks at the fountain, and the wheel falls shattered
into the pit.
7. And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns
to God, Who gave it.
8. "Vanity of vanities," said Koheleth; "all is vanity."
9. And more [than this], Koheleth was wise, he also taught knowledge to
the people; he listened and sought out, he established many proverbs.
10. Koheleth sought to find words of delight and properly recorded words
of truth.
11. The
words of the wise are like goads, and like well-fastened nails with
large heads, given from one shepherd.
12. And more than they, my son, beware; making many books has no end,
and studying much is a weariness of the flesh.
13. The
end of the matter, everything having been heard, fear God and keep His
commandments, for this is the entire man.
14. For every deed God will bring to judgment-for every hidden thing,
whether good or bad.
Return to Table of Contents
|