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Introduction
The Book of Ecclesiastes
The word Ecclesiastes means "one who convenes an assembly." The Biblical book bearing that name begins with the phrase, "Words of the proclaimer, son of David, king in Jerusalem"
Subsequent verses make clear that the King was Solomon, who ruled Israel from Jerusalem between 971 BCE and 931 BCE. Originally written in Hebrew, the book was translated into Greek in the 3rd Century, B.C.E. It entered the canon of the Western church through Jerome’s translation of it into Latin, some four centuries after Christ. I have translated into English from Jerome’s Latin version, making this work a translation of a translation.
Both the Jewish and Christian traditions long accepted that Solomon himself authored the work. Though his authorship has come into question among some modern scholars, the book nevertheless represents itself as Solomon’s thoughts.
Therefore, to understand Ecclesiastes, we first need to know something about Solomon. We will leave aside for now the question of his authorship. Whether the words were his own or were placed in his mouth by a later writer, they are best understood against the backdrop of Solomon’s tumultuous background and life.
Solomon’s Birth Solomon’s life was in danger literally from the moment he was conceived. His father, David, was King of Israel. His mother, Bathsheba, had been another man’s wife. How they came to be Solomon’s parents is one of the more sordid stories in scripture.
Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, was one of David’s “mighty men,” leaders of his army. (1 Chronicles 11:41) Uriah, scripture notes, was a foreigner, a Hittite. At the time of David and Bathsheba’s first meeting, Uriah was with Israel’s army, taking part in a siege of the city of Rabbah. Scripture notes that the army had already “ravaged the Ammonites.”(2 Samuel 11:1)
Kingship was not for the faint of heart. Springtime meant war, almost without fail. Yet David was not at the front, leading his troops. He was in Jerusalem, enjoying his comfort. One late afternoon, as David walked on the flat roof of his house, he saw Bathsheba bathing. She was “very beautiful,” as scripture notes. David was King. He did whatever he chose to do. (2 Samuel 11:2)
He ordered his “messengers” to bring the woman to him. He had his way with her. Then he sent her home. It was just another one night stand for David, at least at first. A few weeks later, though, Bathsheba sent a message to him: “I’m pregnant.”
David had a dilemma on his hands. Bathsheba was a married woman now pregnant, whose husband clearly could not have been the father of her unborn child. As such, she faced execution for adultery on his return. (Leviticus 20:10: "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.”) Uriah would return, know that the child was not his, and do what honor required.
David had the option of doing nothing. He could let the event unfold. The Law required Bathsheba’s death. Who would believe her if she claimed David was the father? David’s reputation for holiness would protect him.
He wasn’t quite cynical enough to let that happen. Instead, he sent for Uriah. He consulted with him, then sent him home, hoping that Uriah would do to Bathsheba what David himself had done. David would be off the hook. Uriah would have had relations with his wife. Everyone would assume he was the unborn child’s father.
Uriah slept outside, though. His soldiers were sleeping in the field. The Ark of the Covenant, God’s own holy place, lay under the stars, not under a roof. Uriah’s conscience wouldn’t let him go in to his beautiful wife under the circumstances.
In the morning, David’s men told him Uriah hadn’t had sex with his wife. David called him in and asked him why. Uriah answered,
"The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing."(2 Samuel 11:4)
David kept Uriah with him in Jerusalem two more days, still hoping Uriah would solve his problem. He wouldn’t. Uriah refused out of loyalty to David to make love to his own wife.
On the third day, seeing no other way out, David wrote a letter to Joab, who commanded the army in his absence.
"Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die."(2 Samuel 11:15)
Uriah himself carried the letter, ignorant of its contents. Shortly thereafter, he was killed in action.
David made a show of taking the grieving widow into his own house. The country applauded. Here was a King who took care of the families of the fallen.
David’s court prophet, Nathan, did not reach his exalted position at David’s side by being a rabble-rouser. He was fierce denouncing the King’s enemies, but seldom troubled the King. If wagging tongues noticed the odd circumstances of Bathsheba’s pregnancy, David thought he could count on Nathan to not make trouble in God’s name.
According to the story, God had other plans. Scripture tells us, “The Lord sent Nathan to David.”(2 Samuel 12:1)
The Bible doesn’t tell us how God sent this message to Nathan, only that He did. So Nathan went to the King and, like a good preacher, told him a story. A rich man had great herds and flocks, Nathan said. His poor neighbor had only one lamb, which he loved and tended.
The rich man had a guest one night. Instead of feeding him with a lamb from his own flocks, he ordered his men to take the poor man’s lamb. They killed it, cooked it, and set it in front of the rich man’s guest for dinner.
David was furious. "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die,” he shouted.(2 Samuel 12:5)
Nathan said to him, “You are the man.” (2 Samuel 12:7)
Nathan, the court prophet, spoke on:
"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, `I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul; and I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites."(2 Samuel 12:7-8)
No one else had the nerve to call the King’s bluff. David was King, after all. Those who angered him often paid with their lives.
Yet Nathan wasn’t done.
"Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' Thus says the LORD, `Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun."(2 Samuel 12:9-10)
David did not kill Nathan, as most tyrants would have. Instead, David repented and begged God’s forgiveness. Nathan told the King,
“The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”(2 Samuel 12:9)
Then Nathan offered a grim prediction.
“Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14)
The child, a baby boy, died a week after his birth. David and Bathsheba’s second child was Solomon.
How Solomon Became David’s Heir Solomon came into the world as David’s family began to destroy itself. As was the custom of the time, David had many wives and a multitude of children. One of his daughters, Tamar, was a beauty. Tamar’s half-brother, Amnon, also David’s child, lusted after her as wholeheartedly as David lusted after Bathsheba.
Amnon pretended to be sick. The King came to him and asked what he could do. Caring fathers do such things, of course. Amnon’s request was, "Pray let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand." (2 Samuel 13:6)
When she came, he ordered her to order his slaves from the room. When she did, he raped her, despite her pleas. When the deed was done, he despised her even more than he had longed for her. Scripture does not tell us why his sentiment changed so dramatically.
He sent her away in disgust, commanding his slaves to, “Put this woman out of my presence, and bolt the door after her.” (2 Samuel 13:17)
Tamar fled to the home of her full brother, Absalom, where she lived the rest of her life as a desolate woman. (2 Samuel 13:20)
This was the treatment women in her situation received from their society, whether the women consented to the sex leading to pregnancy or not. No reliable birth control, other than abstinence, seems to have existed.
Scripture tells us, “When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry.” (2 Samuel 13:21)
Despite his anger, he did nothing. Absalom, Tamar’s full brother, was not so forgiving.
After biding his time for two years, Absalom invited the King to a celebration. The King declined, not wanting to burden his son.
“If not,” Absalom asked the King, “pray let my brother Amnon go with us.”(2 Samuel 13:26)
David relented. Amnon and his brothers, Solomon presumably among them, went to Absalom’s celebration.
2 Samuel 13:28 tells the rest:
"Then Absalom commanded his servants, "Mark when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, `Strike Amnon,' then kill him. Fear not; have I not commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant."
At Absalom’s command, they did what they were told. Amnon paid with his life for raping his sister.
Absalom, the King’s firstborn surviving son and heir, fled into exile, fearing for his life. David’s anger and grief gave way in time. He had suffered not only the loss of Amnon, he realized, but of Absalom as well. Persuaded by Joab, David forgave Absalom and brought him home again."
David’s faults as King grew more obvious with the passing years, though. He had won not only renown but, ultimately, the kingdom by his skill as a warrior. He possessed no similar skill when it came to governing his people.
The people of the land came up to David in Jerusalem, his capital, seeking justice, just as people today go to the courts for justice. It seems that David did not provide such justice often enough.
Absalom, seeing the lack, began to act as an impartial judge for those who came to see his father. By doing so, 2 Samuel 15:6 tells us,
“Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.”
After four years, Absalom led an uprising against his father. The people rejected David in Absalom’s favor, and David fled across the Jordan River into the desert. Absalom was King in his place.
Fooled by bad advice, Absalom set out with an army to hunt his father in the Judean desert. This was a crucial mistake. However inept David may have been as a domestic ruler, he and his army remained fearsome opponents. Despite Absalom’s numerical advantage, David’s men crushed the young rebel’s army on the battlefield.
Absalom, caught in a low-hanging tree while fleeing the battle, was killed by Joab, despite David’s order to spare him.
Only then, after the deaths of both Amnon and Absalom, did Solomon become David’s heir.
Solomon’s Path to Kingship Solomon’s childhood was marred by violence. One older brother Amnon, raped his own half-sister, Tamar. Two years later, Absalom, another older half-brother to Solomon, murdered Amnon in revenge.
Absalom himself died battling his father for the throne. Before his death in battle, Absalom had driven King David and his followers (presumably including Bathsheba and Solomon), from Jerusalem into the Judean desert.
David had been in the desert before, as a young man, fleeing King Saul. (1 Samuel 22:1ff)
No doubt it galled him having to make the trip again in middle age, after getting a taste for the softer life of Jerusalem.
David and his family seldom hesitated to kill to forward their political ambitions. Solomon, wise kid that he was, could not have been ignorant of what his father’s death would mean either to himself or to his mother.
David prevailed in battle and returned to Jerusalem. Solomon and Bathsheba lived to see another day.
In the ensuing years, David gathered the materials for a Temple to Yahweh in Jerusalem. He did not attempt to build it himself, having been warned by his court prophet not to. He left it for his successor-to-be, Solomon.
Solomon still had a rival to the throne, though: another older brother named Adonijah. (1 Kings 1ff) One day, when David seemed to be dying of extreme old age, Adonijah proclaimed himself King. Solomon and Bathsheba heard the news while attending David.
Bathsheba spoke to the aged king nervously,
"My lord, you swore to your maidservant by the LORD your God, saying, `Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.'
"And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it." (1 Kings 1:17-18)
David affirmed that he had, indeed, made Solomon his heir. Such was David’s authority, still, that Adonijah immediately obeyed and sought Solomon’s forgiveness. So it was that Solomon officially inherited his father’s kingship.
David ordered Solomon to carry out a violent revenge following the elderly King’s death. It thus fell to Solomon to avenge his father against Joab, David’s cousin and the commander of his army. Joab killed both Abner, a rival military commander, and Absalom, against the King’s orders in both cases.
Solomon also avenged David against other old enemies, including a kinsman of King Saul who had cursed David as he fled from Absalom. Solomon took his own preemptive revenge against Adonijah. His young throne was baptized in blood, most of which Solomon was responsible for shedding.
When God asked him what gift he desired with his new kingship, Solomon did the unexpected. Instead of asking for long life, riches, or the deaths of more enemies, he asked for wisdom:
"At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I shall give you." And Solomon said, "Thou hast shown great and steadfast love to thy servant David my father, because he walked before thee in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward thee; and thou hast kept for him this great and steadfast love, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. Give thy servant therefore an understanding mind to govern thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this thy great people?" (1 Kings 3:5-9)
Solomon, during his kingship, erected the Temple his father dreamed of. He solidified the kingdom, marrying a daughter of Pharaoh. In addition, according to 1 Kings 11:3,
"He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines."
Yet Solomon was the last Judean King over a united Israel. His success, so impressive in its day, did not continue in his absence. Given his insight, he no doubt anticipated the hazards that lay ahead, once his shrewd hand was removed from the wheel.
Solomon’s wisdom was proverbial, as scripture attests:
"And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and largeness of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations round about. He also uttered three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. And men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom."(1 Kings 4:29-34)
Solomon’s View of Women Solomon, like many other biblical writers, does not seem to have had a exalted opinion of women. This calls into question for many the value of any insights presented in his name. His voice may be indeed yet one more among the patriarchs who long kept women shackled in inferior social positions.
There is no getting around what he says, though. In Ecclesiastes 7:27-29, he warns his hearers against predatory women:
"and I found more bitter than death a woman who is a hunter’s snare, her heart a drag-net. Her hands are chains. One who pleases God avoids her, but a sinner is captured by her."
Difficult as the words seem, he speaks a truth that the wealthy and powerful have learned again and again through the generations. There are those in the world, male and female alike, who are “more bitter than death.”
We can also understand the text symbolically. The unnamed woman represents any of the endless varieties of vice that can put chains on our souls. Experiences of this sort certainly aren’t limited to males.
Solomon speaks of women again in Ecclesiastes 7:28-29:
“Look, I found this,” said the Proclaimer, “one after another, that I may find reason, which until now my soul seeks and I did not find. I have found one man in a thousand. I did not find one woman at all.”
The text contains a curious ambiguity. We know from it that Solomon does not consider himself to have found a final reason or purpose. That is stated clearly. We know he has “found one man in a thousand,” yet “did not find one woman at all.”
Yet he does not quite tell us what he was looking for in those men and women. Did he look for someone who understood wisdom? Did he look for friendship, companionship, faith? We don’t know. We know only that, whatever it was he was seeking, he did not find it among women.
In Ecclesiastes 9:9, the message is less harsh, yet still directed toward males:
"Enjoy life with a wife whom you love all the days of your unstable life, which are given you under the sun, all the time of your vanity, for this is your portion in life, and in your labor at which you labor under the sun."
On reflection, the passage speaks generically to humans, of whatever gender. One does equally well to “enjoy life with” husband, partner, or dear friends, as well. The passage restates a central theme of the book: that being able to enjoy the fruit of one’s labors, including another’s love, is a blessing from God, not to be disdained. He does not share in greater detail the ways in which one should “Enjoy life with a wife whom you love . . .”
Solomon’s understanding of women needs to understood against the backdrop of his culture, of course. Women’s rights under Jewish law were limited, though according to many these rights exceeded those of women in the Greco-Roman culture of the New Testament era. Solomon seems no more or less misogynistic than his companions in the canon.
There are many ways of responding to Solomon’s position. We can dismiss him and the patriarchy he represents entirely, because of his unenlightened views. We can ignore the offending passages, consider them aberrations, and try to understand the work apart from them. In Ecclesiastes, certainly, but even more so with Proverbs, that will excise significant parts of the work.
We can acknowledge the texts as being scripture, which indeed they are, then wrestle with ways in which wisdom still shines through them to us. In what senses are they true in our experience? Is there a value in them that speaks to us, though we find the language uncomfortable?
However we choose to interpret them, the passages say what they say. We can dismiss them, ignore them, or deal with them. We are not free to rewrite them.
Solomon’s Authorship The Rabbinic and Christian traditions considered the book of Ecclesiastes to be one of Solomon’s “songs,” referred to in the text above. Tradition also dates the writing of the book to the latter years of Solomon’s reign, when the inevitable end of his life and stewardship loomed before him.
This view came into question during and after the Enlightenment of the 18th Century of the Common Era. Critical biblical scholarship in the 18th- and 19th-Centuries in Europe and North America offered revisions to the traditional understanding.
Many contemporary critical scholars believe Ecclesiastes was written pseudonymously, several centuries after Solomon’s death. Pseudonymous authorship is the name given by modern scholars to the ancient practice of writing a book in the name of another. The author puts his own words on the lips of a famous hero, hoping for a wider audience than what he could reach in his or her own name.
They draw this conclusion, in part, from the presence in the text of Hebrew words borrowed from Persian and Aramaic. According to scholars, neither language was common in Canaan during Solomon’s reign. (The New Oxford Annotated Bible Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha, Michael Coogan, ed, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001, pgs. 944-945.)
Both became common during the years of Persian imperial rule.
Charles Ryrie, a prominent, contemporary, evangelical Bible scholar, calls the linguistic evidence “inconclusive.” (The Ryrie Study Bible, New International Version, Charles Caldwell Ryrie, ed, Moody Press, Chicago, 1986, pg. 891)
Whoever wrote Ecclesiastes in Hebrew “spoke Hebrew with an Aramaic accent.”127 (Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, E-J, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1962, pg. 8.)
This does not eliminate Solomon as a possible author, since Hebrews and Arameans, speakers of Aramaic, had a long history. In Deuteronomy 26:5, Moses commands Israelites to identify themselves to others as follows:
"And you shall make response before the LORD your God, `A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
Whoever its author may have been, the book had been considered scripture among the Jews long enough to have been included in the Septuagint, the first known translation of the Hebrew Bible into ancient Greek. The presence in the text of Persian and Aramaic, but not Greek, loan words suggests a date of composition prior to the emergence of Greek as a significant Near Eastern language, before Alexander the Great’s conquests in the 4th Century, B.C.E. Ecclesiastes may well be older than that. Given the linguistic evidence, though, it is not likely to be younger.
A case certainly can be made that Ecclesiastes came from Solomon directly. Ecclesiastes presents a radical view of God and of the purpose of human life. Like Job, its kinsman in the canon, Ecclesiastes presents a God who is not necessarily fair from a human perspective. Both books recognize that the truisms of religious piety sometimes ring horribly false.
Life is no picnic, according to both books. From the point of view of Ecclesiastes, the best someone can hope for is the opportunity to enjoy the works of his or her hands. Only God’s works last forever. Everything we make, everything we are, everything we hope for, comes to an end in oblivion.
These views have led many throughout the centuries to reject outright Ecclesiastes’ value, much less its place in the canon of scripture. Given how unpalatable the work seems on the surface, I find it difficult to conceive of Ecclesiastes having remained in the canon had it not been connected so intimately to Solomon.
In any event, whoever wrote the “song” of Ecclesiastes did so intending that Solomon should sing it. Understanding his life and context places the book in a context from which its strange- seeming theology is seen more clearly.
Seven Pillars of Solomon’s Theology We in North America are experiencing a long-term, gradual decline in religious participation. In such an environment, church leaders concerned about a shrinking market face a natural temptation to soften the biblical message about God. The rise of Islamic terrorism in the name of Allah has only heightened this tendency.
One such softening effort has been an increased focus on the unconditional love of God. In this picture, God loves all of us without preconditions, regardless of our actions. Many preach God as if He were an indulgent parent. God, we are told, does not judge or rebuke and would never punish. The God of unconditional love conforms to us and our needs, rather than calling us to conform to Him.
I feel safe in saying such a view of God has next to nothing in common with the view of God expressed in Ecclesiastes. The God of Ecclesiastes is not soft, warm, or inclusive. He is not a God humans approach casually or invoke lightly.
Solomon’s view of God reflects the austerity of Israel’s nomadic origins. God reveals Himself in the harshness of the desert, where the immutable laws of nature almost always prevail against the foolishness of all living beings. Even sages die of thirst in Sinai. The God who made Himself known to Israel in the remote past did so against a fierce backdrop: withering heat by day; an endless ocean of stars in an ink-black sky by night.
In the vast epic of desert life, individual human life counts remarkably little. True, wisdom’s principles help both individuals and larger communities survive the hardship. Those who share their water and bread with other wanderers, for instance, sustain life. Their generosity may, or may not, be returned. Living according to wisdom does not grant an exemption from suffering. Nevertheless, Solomon decided to live by wisdom and contemplate Truth, despite the ambiguity.
Solomon’s understanding of divinity has seven pillars, which are outlined below:
1. God, by wisdom, creates all that is real. God is both the source of and the underlying reason for what exists. Yet what seems permanent enough from our perspective – natural forms, the order of day and night, the flow of seasons – is often merely longer-lived than we are. What exactly is it we consider real?
The wise, as Solomon makes clear, can’t tell us what wisdom is, exactly. They can, however, understand the difference between what really exists and what our tendency to self-deception leads us
to wish existed.
Whatever “it” is that God has created, we cannot mistake it for the sights we see with our eyes.
2. God’s works endure forever. Here is the test. If God made it, it endures forever. Even when it seems to be fading, it will be restored. What do we know of that fits that description?
It is easier to say what doesn’t fit the description. Anything that has a beginning and end, that changes, that is time-bound, does not endure forever. Therefore, any such thing is not something God has made.
What doesn’t change? Presumably, the fundamental laws of physics endure as long as the universe does: the laws of Conservation of Energy and of Entropy both seem permanent. No object we can think of lasts forever. Yet as long as there is any object at all, logic tells us there will be a subject around to know it. Only the process seems to endure, not the forms within it. The wise learn to distinguish between what endures and what doesn’t.
3. God is immensely great and immensely holy. It seems harder for city dwellers to catch the sense of God’s holiness that flashed through the desert experience, surrounded as we are by the work of human hands. We tend to shrink our world and our imagination to the size of the people and problems around us. We look for gods who are like us, suspicious of anything that makes us feel unimportant or small. Solomon’s God is not like that.
The immensity of Solomon’s God needs to be understood once again against the backdrop of the desert: the vastness of the night sky; the grandeur of earth; the sweep of time; the smallness of human life. Such sights continually remind those whose eyes see them of the majesty of One who encompasses all things. Experiencing God’s holiness and greatness keeps human life in perspective.
4. God, by wisdom, judges all actions. The same wisdom that guides the motion of stars and planets also judges our actions. Humanity, collectively, reaps what it sows on earth. But the process isn’t necessarily personal. It isn’t aimed at us directly. As Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 9:11, “time and chance work in all.”
We are not directly responsible for all the things we suffer, any more than for all the blessings that come our way. But life as a whole cannot escape the consequences of its actions. This order of cause and effect, built into the fabric of nature, is nothing more and nothing less than the wisdom of God.
5. God’s purposes go beyond our understanding. We ask questions. We want answers. Sometimes the answers don’t satisfy us. Sometimes, as Solomon tells us, there are no answers at all, at least that we can understand. As befits a being so much greater than us, God’s ways go beyond our comprehension.
An example may help. My dog may learn from living with me what my expectations of him are. He perhaps realizes the need to stay off the couch, to relieve himself outside, and not to jump on strangers. As he gets used to these things, we find we can live comfortably together. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t teach him calculus, though.
In the same way, we may learn how to live more peacefully with God and others. We may advance in knowledge and understanding of the world around us. But I am sure we would not comprehend the deepest thoughts of a Being who encompasses the entire universe, even if told.
6. God is fearsome. Contemporary believers are uncomfortable with fearing God. Yet the God Solomon knew was fearsome, as any reader of the Old Testament knows. To begin with, He is infinitely greater and holier than we are. Our caution is, in part, that of an ant among elephants. One does not saunter casually into His presence.
Solomon warns us against speaking careless words to God (5:1). He advises us to keep our promises to God (5:3), telling us we would be better off not making them, than not keeping them. He cautions us against assuming either that God doesn’t hear our promises or that our words don’t matter.
Solomon instructs us not to express ignorant doubts about God’s providence (5:5). He tells us of the finality of God’s judgment (7:14). This is no God to trifle with.
7. God is not accountable to man. Solomon reminds us that God does not answer to human beings, acknowledging that the world seems unfair at times from our perspective. “The learned die just like the unlearned,” he laments in 2:16, and one fate awaits all, whether wise or foolish.
Yet in 7:15, he tells us that God has created in such a way that humanity cannot “find a justifiable complaint against him.” However unfair life may seem, God feels no obligation to apologize or explain.
Solomon’s God, in His surpassing greatness, does not bend to meet our needs. He is not a passive enabler. While His constancy may be on display throughout the universe, no one is safe taking His favor for granted, and no one is exempt from life’s hardships.
The believer may well ask what comfort can be found in a God like this. He offers us neither guarantees in this life, nor promises for the life to come. This God is either an interior comfort, or no comfort at all.
What Is the Value of Ecclesiastes? In light of this, why should Ecclesiastes be in the Bible, other than for its now-doubted connection to Solomon? Simply put, Ecclesiastes remedies hubris, a Greek word meaning “excessive self-importance.” Hubris is an ongoing affliction in human life.
Solomon himself, for all his wisdom and great accomplishment, understood the vanity of his own life. Though the consequences of our actions may outlive us, we as individuals do not continue on in some changeless Paradise to enjoy them. Solomon’s wisdom points this out clearly, calling the reader to consider what actions and attitudes in life may be worthwhile in light of it.
Solomon’s wisdom also points us to the here-and-now. Too often, believers overlook what is present and tangible in favor of what they imagine is to come. In contrast, Solomon reminds us of the only thing that is certain in our future: our demise. He asserts that living a decent life and enjoying the fruit of our labor is a gift from God.
Solomon’s wisdom dignifies what many disdain as common and ordinary. For many, wisdom’s blessing of the ordinary is liberating in itself. Yet these factors alone hardly qualify the work for the canon.
What separates Ecclesiastes from a work of mere practical nihilism is the difficult truth it teaches about God and about ourselves. Life as we commonly live it does not offer the rewards for which we long. We do not find enduring satisfaction in the work of our hands. We do not establish an unchanging identity through either our successes or our failures.
Too often, our impulse is to cover up these difficult truths, to put make-up on the pig of our actual situation and pretend it is other than it is. Solomon refuses to do that. In taking away our customary deceptions and poking a hole in the bubble of our hubris, he points to a deeper truth.
Amidst the vanity of human preoccupations, God’s truth stands transcendent. In the vortex of ceaseless change, where no relative identity endures, One who does not change abides.
As Solomon makes clear, God is beyond our ability either to comprehend fully or to manipulate to our ends. The wise know enough of God, though, to seek to conform to His wisdom. They are clever enough to stand in awe of Him. What they fail to understand intellectually, they seek to contemplate in their souls. This sense, of the unchanging, diamond Truth of divinity, is the transcendent message of Ecclesiastes.
Suffering humanity is as inclined now as in Solomon’s day to ignore difficult truths and chase pipe dreams that lead only to further disappointment. Through it all, though, the vision of God abides, a pillar of fire guiding those who will look up through the desert night of existence. Those who receive Solomon’s wisdom, and wake up to their genuine situation, discover the comfort of an
abiding Truth.
We cannot build such a truth ourselves. It is neither inherent in us nor available in the world as we know it. It exists purely and simply by the nature and grace of God, whose ways are too often otherwise totally mysterious to us. For all we cannot do in relationship to this Truth, there remains one action we can take: we can surrender ourselves to it. Doing so, we can anchor ourselves in it. We can maintain our perspective through it. We can guide our lives by it.
This is not enough for some, of course. Many times it is not enough for us either. Yet it remains as a floor, a foundation, beneath the flimsy structures of belief we build on top of it.
Ecclesiastes is not a “feel-good” book. It will never be the preferred scripture for those whose lives are going well. Yet for those who suffer, those who have bumped up against the disappointments and heartaches of life, it offers transcendent insights. In it, we hear the voice of a wise fellow sufferer, pointing to One whose mystery and wonder endure forever.
That, for many, is value enough.
Chapter One
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 1:1 verba Ecclesiastes filii David regis Hierusalem
Words of the proclaimer, son of David, King in Jerusalem:
The Nature of Existence
1:2 vanitas vanitatum dixit Ecclesiastes vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas
“Vanity of vanities,” the Proclaimer said,
“Vanity of vanities. All is vanity.”
1:3 quid habet amplius homo de universo labore suo quod laborat sub sole
What more does man have from all his labor
at which he labors under the Sun?
1:4 generatio praeterit et generatio advenit terra vero in aeternum stat
A generation goes and a generation comes;
earth, truly, stands in eternity.
1:5 oritur sol et occidit et ad locum suum revertitur ibique renascens
The sun rises and sets,
and returns to his place,
from there rising again.
1:6 gyrat per meridiem et flectitur ad aquilonem lustrans universa circuitu pergit spiritus et in circulos suos regreditur
It turns with the south
and is turned to the north, passing all.
Spirit goes by circuit,
and, in its circles, returns.
1:7 omnia flumina intrant mare et mare non redundat ad locum unde exeunt flumina revertuntur ut iterum fluant
All rivers enter the sea,
and the sea does not overflow.
To the place where they leave rivers are returned,
that they may flow again.
1:8 cunctae res difficiles non potest eas homo explicare sermone non saturatur oculus visu nec auris impletur auditu
All things are difficult.
Man cannot explain them by word.
Eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor ear filled by hearing.
1:9 quid est quod fuit ipsum quod futurum est quid est quod factum est ipsum quod fiendum est
What exists?
What was is the same as what will be.
What exists?
What was done is the same as what will be done.
1:10 nihil sub sole novum nec valet quisquam dicere ecce hoc recens est iam enim praecessit in saeculis quae fuerunt ante nos
Nothing under the sun is new;
nor is anyone truthful who says,
“Look, this is recent;”
for it already preceded us
in the ages which were before us –
1:11 non est priorum memoria sed nec eorum quidem quae postea futura sunt erit recordatio apud eos qui futuri sunt in novissimo
neither does a memory of the former exist,
nor will one be recorded
of any with them who will be afterward,
in the future, to the end.
Ecclesiastes’ Quest
1:12 ego Ecclesiastes fui rex Israhel in Hierusalem
I, the Proclaimer, was King of Israel in Jerusalem,
1:13 et proposui in animo meo quaerere et investigare sapienter de omnibus quae fiunt sub sole hanc occupationem pessimam dedit Deus filiis hominum ut occuparentur in ea
and proposed in my soul to question and investigate wisely
from all that is done under the sun.
God gave this dismal occupation to men’s sons,
that they be overtaken by it.
1:14 vidi quae fiunt cuncta sub sole et ecce universa vanitas et adflictio spiritus
I saw all that was done under the sun, and, look!
All is vanity and affliction of spirit.
1:15 perversi difficile corriguntur et stultorum infinitus est numerus
The lawless are corrected with difficulty,
and the number of fools is infinite.
1:16 locutus sum in corde meo dicens ecce magnus effectus sum et praecessi sapientia omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Hierusalem et mens mea contemplata est multa sapienter et didicit
I spoke in my heart, saying,
“Look! I have become very powerful
and exceeded in wisdom all who came before me in Jerusalem,
and my mind has contemplated many things wisely,
and it has learned.
1:17 dedique cor meum ut scirem prudentiam atque doctrinam erroresque et stultitiam et agnovi quod in his quoque esset labor et adflictio spiritus
And I gave my heart that I might know
prudence and learning, and even errors and foolishness,
and I knew that in this also was labor and affliction of spirit,
1:18 eo quod in multa sapientia multa sit indignatio et qui addit scientiam addat et laborem
for this reason: because in much wisdom may be much outrage,
and who acquires knowledge acquires also labor.
Chapter Two
Testing Pleasure
Ecclesiastes 2:1 dixi ego in corde meo vadam et affluam deliciis et fruar bonis et vidi quod hoc quoque esset vanitas
I said in my heart,
“Let me go and abound in pleasures
and delight in attractive things,
and I saw that this also was vanity.
2:2 risum reputavi errorem et gaudio dixi quid frustra deciperis
I considered laughter an error
and I said of joy,
What are you trying to understand in vain?
Testing Abstinence
2:3 cogitavi in corde meo abstrahere a vino carnem meam ut animum meum transferrem ad sapientiam devitaremque stultitiam donec viderem quid esset utile filiis hominum quod facto opus est sub sole numero dierum vitae suae
I decided in my heart to keep my body from wine,
that my soul might go to wisdom,
and I might avoid foolishness,
until I could consider what was useful to a man’s son,
what work was necessary under the sun,
the number of the days of his life.
Testing Accomplishment
2:4 magnificavi opera mea aedificavi mihi domos plantavi vineas
I magnified my works.
I built myself homes.
I planted vineyards.
2:5 feci hortos et pomeria et consevi ea cuncti generis arboribus
I made gardens and orchards,
and planted them with all species of trees.
2:6 extruxi mihi piscinas aquarum ut inrigarem silvam lignorum germinantium
I built for myself pools of water,
that I might irrigate a forest of seedling trees.
2:7 possedi servos et ancillas multamque familiam habui armenta quoque et magnos ovium greges ultra omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Hierusalem
I possessed male and female slaves, and a large family.
I had herds and great flocks of sheep,
more than all who were before me in Jerusalem.
2:8 coacervavi mihi argentum et aurum et substantias regum ac provinciarum feci mihi cantores et cantrices et delicias filiorum hominum scyphos et urceos in ministerio ad vina fundenda
I heaped up for myself silver, gold,
substances of kings and of provinces.
I acquired for myself male and female singers
and the delights of men’s children:
goblets and pitchers made for serving wine.
2:9 et supergressus sum opibus omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Hierusalem sapientia quoque perseveravit mecum
And I exceeded in riches
all who were before me in Jerusalem,
and yet wisdom remained with me.
The Results of the Tests
2:10 et omnia quae desideraverunt oculi mei non negavi eis nec prohibui cor quin omni voluptate frueretur et oblectaret se in his quae paraveram et hanc ratus sum partem meam si uterer labore meo
And all that my eyes desired I did not deny them,
nor did I keep the heart from enjoying every desire
and amusing itself in that which I had provided.
And I have considered my portion of these,
whether I might enjoy my work.
2:11 cumque me convertissem ad universa opera quae fecerant manus meae et ad labores in quibus frustra sudaveram vidi in omnibus vanitatem et adflictionem animi et nihil permanere sub sole
And I turned to all the works which my hands had done,
and to the labors in which I sweat to no purpose.
I saw in all vanity and affliction of soul,
and nothing endured under the sun.
Testing Wisdom
2:12 transivi ad contemplandam sapientiam erroresque et stultitiam quid est inquam homo ut sequi possit regem factorem suum
I turned to contemplate
wisdom, errors, and foolishness, saying,
“What is man that he can pursue the King his maker?”
2:13 et vidi quia tantum praecederet sapientia stultitiam quantum differt lux tenebris
And I saw that wisdom only exceeds foolishness
to the degree light dispels darkness.
2:14 sapientis oculi in capite eius stultus in tenebris ambulat et didici quod unus utriusque esset interitus
There is an eye in the head of the wise;
a fool walks in darkness.
Yet I knew that one is destroyed like the other.
2:15 et dixi in corde meo si unus et stulti et meus occasus erit quid mihi prodest quod maiorem sapientiae dedi operam locutusque cum mente mea animadverti quod hoc quoque esset vanitas
And I said in my heart,
If one death will befall both a fool and me,
what does it matter that I gave myself more
to a work of great wisdom?
Speaking with my mind,
I understood that this too is vanity –
2:16 non enim erit memoria sapientis similiter ut stulti in perpetuum et futura tempora oblivione cuncta pariter obruent moritur doctus similiter et indoctus
for there will be no more memory
of the wise in eternity than of the fool,
and in future time together
they will be covered up equally in oblivion.
The learned die just like the unlearned.
Life Is Wearisome
2:17 et idcirco taeduit me vitae meae videntem mala esse universa sub sole et cuncta vanitatem atque adflictionem spiritus
And for this, my life wearied me,
seeing all to be harmful under the sun,
and altogether vanity and affliction of spirit.
2:18 rursum detestatus sum omnem industriam meam quae sub sole studiosissime laboravi habiturus heredem post me
In return I detested all my hard work
at which I labored so studiously under the sun,
having an heir after me
2:19 quem ignoro utrum sapiens an stultus futurus sit et dominabitur in laboribus meis quibus desudavi et sollicitus fui et est quicquam tam vanum
whom I do not know.
Whether in the future he be wise or foolish,
yet he will have dominion in my labors,
over which I sweat and was anxious –
and this is utterly vain.
2:20 unde cessavi renuntiavitque cor meum ultra laborare sub sole
From this I gave up,
and my heart renounced further labor under the sun –
2:21 nam cum alius laboret in sapientia et doctrina et sollicitudine homini otioso quaesita dimittit et hoc ergo vanitas et magnum malum
for when one works in wisdom, learning, and anxiety,
he leaves his acquisitions to an idle man,
and this, therefore, is vanity and great harm.
2:22 quid enim proderit homini de universo labore suo et adflictione spiritus qua sub sole cruciatus est
For what benefit will there be for man
from all his labor and affliction of spirit
by which he is tortured under the sun?
2:23 cuncti dies eius doloribus et aerumnis pleni sunt nec per noctem mente requiescit et haec non vanitas est
All his days are full of pains,
and hardships are abundant.
Not even at night does the mind rest,
and is this not vanity?
Enjoy the Good
2:24 nonne melius est comedere et bibere et ostendere animae suae bona de laboribus
suis et hoc de manu Dei est
Is it not best to eat and drink
and demonstrate the good of his labors to his soul?
And this is from God’s hand.
2:25 quis ita vorabit et deliciis affluet ut ego
Who thus will eat
and quietly pursue pleasures as I?
2:26 homini bono in conspectu suo dedit Deus sapientiam et scientiam et laetitiam peccatori autem dedit adflictionem et curam superfluam ut addat et congreget et tradat ei qui placuit Deo sed et hoc vanitas et cassa sollicitudo mentis
To a man good in His sight,
God gave wisdom, understanding, and happiness.
But to the sinner he gave affliction and needless care,
that he may add and gather
and hand it over to one who pleases God.
Yet even this is vain and a worthless anxiety of mind.
Chapter Three
Times and Intervals
Ecclesiastes 3:1 omnia tempus habent et suis spatiis transeunt universa sub caelo
All things have a time,
and pass through their intervals under the sky:
3:2 tempus nascendi et tempus moriendi tempus plantandi et tempus evellendi quod plantatum est
time to be born and time to die;
time to plant and time to pluck up what is planted;
3:3 tempus occidendi et tempus sanandi tempus destruendi et tempus aedificandi
time for killing and time for healing;
time for destroying and time for building;
3:4 tempus flendi et tempus ridendi tempus plangendi et tempus saltandi
time for weeping and time for laughing;
time for bitter grieving and time to leap for joy;
3:5 tempus spargendi lapides et tempus colligendi tempus amplexandi et tempus longe fieri a conplexibus
time for scattering rocks and time for gathering;
time for embracing and time to hold back from embracing;
3:6 tempus adquirendi et tempus perdendi tempus custodiendi et tempus abiciendi
time for acquiring and time for losing;
time for caring and time for casting aside;
3:7 tempus scindendi et tempus consuendi tempus tacendi et tempus loquendi
time for cutting apart and time for sewing together;
time for keeping silent and time for speaking;
3:8 tempus dilectionis et tempus odii tempus belli et tempus pacis
time to delight and time to hate;
time to make war and time for peace.
3:9 quid habet amplius homo de labore suo
What more does man have from his labor?
God’s Ways Are Beyond Knowing
3:10 vidi adflictionem quam dedit Deus filiis hominum ut distendantur in ea
I saw the affliction which God gave to men’s children,
that they be stretched out in it.
3:11 cuncta fecit bona in tempore suo et mundum tradidit disputationi eorum ut non inveniat homo opus quod operatus est Deus ab initio usque ad finem
He made everything good in its time,
yet handed the world over to their disputation,
that man may not discover the work God has done
from beginning even to end.
3:12 et cognovi quod non esset melius nisi laetari et facere bene in vita sua
And I understood that nothing is better or happier
than to do well in one’s life.
3:13 omnis enim homo qui comedit et bibit et videt bonum de labore suo hoc donum Dei est
Every man who eats and drinks and sees good from his labor –
this is a gift from God.
3:14 didici quod omnia opera quae fecit Deus perseverent in perpetuum non possumus eis quicquam addere nec auferre quae fecit Deus ut timeatur
I learned that all the works which God made endure forever.
We cannot add or take away anything
from these which God made,
that God may be feared.
3:15 quod factum est ipsum permanet quae futura sunt iam fuerunt et Deus instaurat quod abiit
What was made, this endures,
what things will be in the future already were,
and God restores what passes away.
The Riddle of Lawlessness
3:16 vidi sub sole in loco iudicii impietatem et in loco iustitiae iniquitatem
I saw under the sun in the place of judgment, lawlessness,
and in the place of justice, iniquity.
3:17 et dixi in corde meo iustum et impium iudicabit Deus et tempus omni rei tunc erit
And I said in my heart,
“God will judge the just and the lawless,
and a time will be then for all these things.”
Death Rules over All
3:18 dixi in corde meo de filiis hominum ut probaret eos Deus et ostenderet similes esse bestiis
I said in my heart of men’s children that God will prove them
and show that they are like beasts,
3:19 idcirco unus interitus est hominis et iumentorum et aequa utriusque condicio sicut moritur homo sic et illa moriuntur similiter spirant omnia et nihil habet homo iumento amplius cuncta subiacent vanitati
because one destruction exists for men and beasts,
and their condition is equal.
As man dies, so they die.
All likewise breathe,
and man has nothing more than beast.
Together they lie exposed as vanity,
3:20 et omnia pergunt ad unum locum de terra facta sunt et in terram pariter revertentur
and all go to one place.
They are made of dirt,
and equally will return to dirt.
3:21 quis novit si spiritus filiorum Adam ascendat sursum et si spiritus iumentorum descendat deorsum
Who knows if the breath of Adam’s children ascends above,
or if the breath of beasts descends below?
Again, Enjoy Life
3:22 et deprehendi nihil esse melius quam laetari hominem in opere suo et hanc esse partem illius quis enim eum adducet ut post se futura cognoscat
And I recognized nothing to be better for a man
than to be happy in his work,
and his portion is this.
For who can show him that after him the future may know?
Chapter Four
The Dead and the Living
Ecclesiastes 4:1 verti me ad alia et vidi calumnias quae sub sole geruntur et lacrimas innocentum et consolatorem neminem nec posse resistere eorum violentiae cunctorum auxilio destitutos
I turned myself to another way,
and saw the lies which are carried on under the sun,
and the tears of the innocent,
and they have no comforter,
nor can they resist their violence, entirely destitute of help.
4:2 et laudavi magis mortuos quam viventes
And I praised more the dead than the living,
4:3 et feliciorem utroque iudicavi qui necdum natus est nec vidit mala quae sub sole fiunt
and I judged happier than both one who is as yet unborn,
and has not seen the harms which are done under the sun.
Envy and Hatred
4:4 rursum contemplatus omnes labores hominum et industrias animadverti patere invidiae proximi et in hoc ergo vanitas et cura superflua est
Again contemplating all the labors of men,
I noticed their hard work laid bare to a neighbor's hatred,
and in this, therefore, is vanity and needless care.
A Fool’s Excuse
4:5 stultus conplicat manus suas et comedit carnes suas dicens
A fool folds his hands
and eats his own flesh, saying,
4:6 melior est pugillus cum requie quam plena utraque manus cum labore et adflictione animi
“Better is a handful with respite
than two full hands with labor and affliction of spirit.”
Working for Nothing
4:7 considerans repperi et aliam vanitatem sub sole
Considering, I have found yet another vanity under the sun:
4:8 unus est et secundum non habet non filium non fratrem et tamen laborare non cessat nec satiantur oculi eius divitiis nec recogitat dicens cui laboro et fraudo animam meam bonis in hoc quoque vanitas est et adflictio pessima
One is alone, and has no second, neither child, nor brother.
Even so he does not stop laboring,
nor are his eyes satisfied with riches,
nor does he reflect, saying,
‘For whom am I working and defrauding my soul of good?’
In this as well is vanity and dismal affliction.
The Value of Companionship
4:9 melius ergo est duos simul esse quam unum habent enim emolumentum societatis suae
Therefore, two together are better than one,
for they have the comfort of their companionship.
4:10 si unus ceciderit ab altero fulcietur vae soli quia cum ruerit non habet sublevantem
If one should fall,
she will find support from the other.
Woe to one alone!
She has none to lift her up when she falls.
4:11 et si dormierint duo fovebuntur mutuo unus quomodo calefiet
And if two sleep together, they warm each other.
How can one alone be warmed?
4:12 et si quispiam praevaluerit contra unum duo resistent ei funiculus triplex difficile rumpitur
And should someone prevail against one, two will resist him.
A three-fold cord is broken with difficulty.
Wisdom Better than Power
4:13 melior est puer pauper et sapiens rege sene et stulto qui nescit providere in posterum
Better is a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish King,
who does not know how to provide for the future,
4:14 quod et de carcere catenisque interdum quis egrediatur ad regnum et alius natus in regno inopia consumatur
because, sometimes someone comes to kingship
even from prison and chains,
while another, born to kingship, is consumed by poverty.
Ambition
4:15 vidi cunctos viventes qui ambulant sub sole cum adulescente secundo qui consurgit pro eo
I saw all the living who walk under the sun
with a younger follower, who rises up before them.
4:16 infinitus numerus est populi omnium qui fuerunt ante eum et qui postea futuri sunt non laetabuntur in eo sed et hoc vanitas et adflictio spiritus
The number is infinite of all the people who were before him,
and those who will be after him do not delight in him.
Yet this, also, is vanity and affliction of spirit.
Watch Your Step
4:17 custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei multo enim melior est oboedientia quam stultorum victimae qui nesciunt quid faciant mali
Guard your step going into God’s house,
for obedience is much better than the offerings of fools,
who do not realize what they are doing wrong.
Chapter Five
Words before God
Ecclesiastes 5:1 ne temere quid loquaris neque cor tuum sit velox ad proferendum sermonem coram Deo Deus enim in caelo et tu super terram idcirco sint pauci sermones tui
Do not speak rashly,
nor let your heart be quick to offer words before God,
for God is in heaven and you are on earth.
Therefore, let your words be few.
5:2 multas curas sequuntur somnia et in multis sermonibus invenitur stultitia
Dreams follow many cares,
and foolishness is revealed in many words.
Promises and Payment
5:3 si quid vovisti Deo ne moreris reddere displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio sed quodcumque voveris redde
If you have promised something to God, do not be slow to deliver,
for unfaithful and foolish promises displease Him.
Whatever you promise, pay.
5:4 multoque melius est non vovere quam post votum promissa non conplere
It is much better, rather, not to promise,
than not to pay after making a promise.
5:5 ne dederis os tuum ut peccare faciat carnem tuam neque dicas coram angelo non est providentia ne forte iratus Deus super sermone tuo dissipet cuncta opera manuum tuarum
Don’t let your mouth make your body sin,
nor say before a messenger “There is no providence,”
lest by chance God, provoked by your talk,
scatter all the works of your hands.
5:6 ubi multa sunt somnia plurimae vanitates et sermones innumeri tu vero Deum time
Where dreams are many,
there are many vanities and innumerable words.
You, instead, fear God.
Oppression
5:7 si videris calumnias egenorum et violenta iudicia et subverti iustitiam in provincia non mireris super hoc negotio quia excelso alius excelsior est et super hos quoque eminentiores sunt alii
If you see oppressions against the poor,
violent judgment, and subverted justice in a province,
don’t be amazed at this business,
because over the high authority is one who is higher still,
and over those, others who are still more eminent.
5:8 et insuper universae terrae rex imperat servienti
And over the whole land
a king commands his servants.
Greed Is not Satisfied
5:9 avarus non implebitur pecunia et qui amat divitias fructus non capiet ex eis et hoc ergo vanitas
A greedy person will not be filled by money,
and one who loves riches will not capture fruit from them,
and this, therefore, is vanity.
5:10 ubi multae sunt opes multi et qui comedant eas et quid prodest possessori nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis
Where there are many riches,
there are also many who eat them,
and what value does the possessor have,
other than to sift riches with his eyes?
5:11 dulcis est somnus operanti sive parum sive multum comedat saturitas autem divitis non sinit dormire eum
A laborer’s sleep is sweet whether he eats little or much,
but the satisfaction of a rich man will not allow him to sleep.
Holding on to Riches
5:12 est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole divitiae conservatae in malum domini sui
There is another grim infirmity which I saw under the sun:
riches conserved to their owner’s harm;
5:13 pereunt enim in adflictione pessima generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit
for the riches perish in dismal affliction.
The rich man has a child who will be in utter poverty.
5:14 sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suae sic revertetur et nihil auferet secum de labore suo
Just as he came out naked from his mother’s womb,
so he will return,
and will carry nothing with him from his labor.
5:15 miserabilis prorsus infirmitas quomodo venit sic revertetur quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum
A most miserable sickness!
As he came out, so he will return.
What, then, does it benefit him that he labored in the wind?
5:16 cunctis diebus vitae suae comedit in tenebris et in curis multis et in aerumna atque tristitia
All his life’s days he eats in shadows and in many cares,
in toil, and even in sadness.
Once More, Enjoy Life
5:17 hoc itaque mihi visum est bonum ut comedat quis et bibat et fruatur laetitia ex labore suo quod laboravit ipse sub sole numerum dierum vitae suae quos dedit ei Deus et haec est pars illius
And so this, to my sight, is good:
that someone eat and drink and delight in happiness
from his labor, which he himself performed under the sun,
all the days of the life which God gave him,
and this is his portion.
5:18 et omni homini cui dedit Deus divitias atque substantiam potestatemque ei tribuit ut comedat ex eis et fruatur parte sua et laetetur de labore suo hoc est donum Dei
And every man to whom God gave riches and substance,
and gave also power to him that he may eat from them
and enjoy his portion, and delight in his labor,
this is a gift from God –
5:19 non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitae suae eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor eius
for he will not remember enough the days of his life,
because God occupied his heart with pleasures.
Chapter Six
Power that Serves No Purpose
Ecclesiastes 6:1 est et aliud malum quod vidi sub sole et quidem frequens apud homines
There is yet another harm which I have seen under the sun,
and which is frequent among men:
6:2 vir cui dedit Deus divitias et substantiam et honorem et nihil deest animae eius ex omnibus quae desiderat nec tribuit ei potestatem Deus ut comedat ex eo sed homo extraneus vorabit illud hoc vanitas et magna miseria est
a man to whom God gave riches, substance, and honor,
and lacking nothing to his soul of all that he desired.
Yet God did not grant him power that he might eat from it,
but a stranger will consume it.
This is vanity and great misery.
An Aborted Child
6:3 si genuerit quispiam centum et vixerit multos annos et plures dies aetatis habuerit et anima illius non utatur bonis substantiae suae sepulturaque careat de hoc ego pronuntio quod melior illo sit abortivus
If someone should reach the age of a hundred,
see many years and have many days of life,
yet his soul does not enjoy the pleasure of his substance,
and he lacks also a burial,
from this I say that an aborted child is better than him,
6:4 frustra enim venit et pergit ad tenebras et oblivione delebitur nomen eius
for it came to no purpose,
and it goes to shadows,
and in oblivion its name will be forgotten.
6:5 non vidit solem neque cognovit distantiam boni et mali
It has not seen the sun,
nor known the distance between good and harm.
6:6 etiam si duobus milibus annis vixerit et non fuerit perfruitus bonis nonne ad unum locum properant omnia
Even if he sees two thousand years,
but does not manage to enjoy good things,
do all not hurry to one place?
6:7 omnis labor hominis in ore eius sed anima illius non impletur
All man’s labor goes to fill his mouth,
yet his soul is not filled.
What More Do the Wise Have
6:8 quid habet amplius sapiens ab stulto et quid pauper nisi ut pergat illuc ubi est vita
What more does the wise have than the fool,
or what does a poor person, except that he goes there,
where life is?
Beware of Dreams
6:9 melius est videre quod cupias quam desiderare quod nescias sed et hoc vanitas est et praesumptio spiritus
It is better to see what you want,
than to long for what you do not know,
yet even this is vanity and presumption of spirit.
The Future
6:10 qui futurus est iam vocatum est nomen eius et scitur quod homo sit et non possit contra fortiorem se in iudicio contendere
Who will be in the future?
His name already is spoken,
and what man can be is known,
and he cannot contend in judgment
against those mightier than him.
6:11 verba sunt plurima multa in disputando habentia vanitatem
There are many meaningless words in arguments.
Chapter Seven
What the Future Holds
Ecclesiastes 7:1 quid necesse est homini maiora se quaerere cum ignoret quid conducat sibi in vita sua numero dierum peregrinationis suae et tempore quo velut umbra praeterit aut quis ei poterit indicare quid post eum futurum sub sole sit
Why is it necessary that man question things greater than himself,
when he does not know what benefits him
in the days of his pilgrimage,
and time passes like a shadow?
Or who can tell him what will happen
under the sun after him in the future?
A Good Name
7:2 melius est nomen bonum quam unguenta pretiosa et dies mortis die nativitatis
A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth.
Mourning
7:3 melius est ire ad domum luctus quam ad domum convivii in illa enim finis cunctorum admonetur hominum et vivens cogitat quid futurum sit
It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to the house of feasting,
for in it is the end of all men.
It admonishes a man,
and, yet living, he considers what the future might be.
Anger
7:4 melior est ira risu quia per tristitiam vultus corrigitur animus delinquentis
Anger is better than laughter,
because by sadness of outlook the straying mind is corrected.
Where Is Your Heart?
7:5 cor sapientium ubi tristitia est et cor stultorum ubi laetitia
The heart of the wise abides where sadness is,
but the heart of a fool where happiness.
The Value of a Rebuke
7:6 melius est a sapiente corripi quam stultorum adulatione decipi
Being rebuked by the wise is better
than being deceived by the praise of fools,
7:7 quia sicut sonitus spinarum ardentium sub olla sic risus stulti sed et hoc vanitas
because as the sound of thorns burning under a pot,
thus is a fool’s laughter,
and this is vanity.
False Accusation
7:8 calumnia conturbat sapientem et perdet robur cordis illius
Oppression disturbs the wise,
and he loses the resolve of his heart.
Patience and Arrogance
7:9 melior est finis orationis quam principium melior est patiens arrogante
The end of a speech is better than the beginning.
The patient is better than the arrogant.
Temper
7:10 ne velox sis ad irascendum quia ira in sinu stulti requiescit
Don’t be quick to anger,
because anger rests in the innards of a fool.
Good Old Days?
7:11 ne dicas quid putas causae est quod priora tempora meliora fuere quam nunc sunt stulta est enim huiuscemodi interrogatio
Don’t say, “What do you think the reason is
earlier times were better than today,”
for it this type of question is foolishness.
Wisdom and Riches
7:12 utilior est sapientia cum divitiis et magis prodest videntibus solem
Wisdom is more useful than riches,
and it greatly helps those seeing the sun,
7:13 sicut enim protegit sapientia sic protegit pecunia hoc autem plus habet eruditio et sapientia quod vitam tribuunt possessori suo
for just as wisdom protects, money also protects.
Yet learning and wisdom have this more:
that they give life to one possessing them.
Consider God’s Work
7:14 considera opera Dei quod nemo possit corrigere quem ille despexerit
Consider God’s work,
because no one can reclaim someone God has disdained.
Eyes Open
7:15 in die bona fruere bonis et malam diem praecave sicut enim hanc sic et illam fecit Deus ut non inveniat homo contra eum iustas querimonias
In a good day, delight in good things,
and guard against a bad day;
for just as God made one, thus also the other,
that man might not find justifiable complaints against him.
Unrecognized Worth
7:16 haec quoque vidi in diebus vanitatis meae iustus perit in iustitia sua et impius multo vivit tempore in malitia sua
This also I saw in the days of my vanity:
an honest person dies in his honesty
and a liar lives a long time in his lie.
7:17 noli esse iustus multum neque plus sapias quam necesse est ne obstupescas
Don’t be too righteous,
or wiser than is necessary.
Don’t be stupid.
7:18 ne impie agas multum et noli esse stultus ne moriaris in tempore non tuo
Don’t carry on much lawlessly,
and don’t be a fool,
so that you do not die at a time not meant for you.
Support the Straightforward
7:19 bonum est te sustentare iustum sed et ab illo ne subtrahas manum tuam quia qui Deum timet nihil neglegit
It’s good to sustain the honest,
but don’t take your support away from him,
because one who fears God ignores nothing.
Wisdom Strengthens
7:20 sapientia confortabit sapientem super decem principes civitatis
Wisdom will strengthen the wise
more than ten princes a city,
7:2 non est enim homo iustus in terra qui faciat bonum et non peccet
yet there is not a righteous man on earth
who does good and does not sin.
Ignore Foolish Words
7:22 sed et cunctis sermonibus qui dicuntur ne accommodes cor tuum ne forte audias servum tuum maledicentem tibi
Nevertheless, do not adjust your heart
to fit all the words which others say.
You might hear your slave cursing you,
7:23 scit enim tua conscientia quia et tu crebro maledixisti aliis
for your conscience knows that you cursed others too.
Wisdom Is Far Away
7:24 cuncta temptavi in sapientia dixi sapiens efficiar et ipsa longius recessit a me
I tested all by wisdom.
I said, “I will be wise!”
Yet it withdrew further from me,
7:25 multo magis quam erat et alta profunditas quis inveniet eam
much more than it was, and at a great depth.
Who can find it?
More Bitter than Death
7:26 lustravi universa animo meo ut scirem et considerarem et quaererem sapientiam et rationem et ut cognoscerem impietatem stulti et errorem inprudentium
I passed through all in my soul,
that I might know and consider
and seek wisdom and reason,
and that I might know a fool’s lawlessness
and the error of the imprudent,
7:27 et inveni amariorem morte mulierem quae laqueus venatorum est et sagena cor eius vincula sunt manus illius qui placet Deo effugiet eam qui autem peccator est capietur ab illa
and I found more bitter than death
a woman who is a hunter’s snare,
her heart a drag-net, her hands chains.
Who pleases God avoids her,
but a sinner is captured by her.
One in a Thousand
7:28 ecce hoc inveni dicit Ecclesiastes unum et alterum ut invenirem rationem
“Look, I found this,” said the Proclaimer,
“one after another, that I may find reason,
7:29 quam adhuc quaerit anima mea et non inveni virum de mille unum repperi mulierem ex omnibus non inveni
“which until now my soul seeks and I did not find.
I have found one man in a thousand.
I did not find one woman at all.
God Made Humanity Upright
7:30 solummodo hoc inveni quod fecerit Deus hominem rectum et ipse se infinitis miscuerit quaestionibus quis talis ut sapiens est et quis cognovit solutionem verbi
“I only found this: that God made man upright,
but he stirred up for himself endless questions.”
Who is like the wise,
and who has known a solution to the word?
Chapter Eight
Wisdom Shines Forth
Ecclesiastes 8:1 sapientia hominis lucet in vultu eius et potentissimus faciem illius commutavit
The wisdom of a man shines in his face,
and the mightiest has changed his expression.
Dealing with the Powerful
8:2 ego os regis observo et praecepta iuramenti Dei
I watch the mouth of Kings
and the precepts of God’s laws.
8:3 ne festines recedere a facie eius neque permaneas in opere malo quia omne quod voluerit faciet
Don’t hurry to withdraw from his presence,
and don’t stay in harmful works,
because everything he desires, he does,
8:4 et sermo illius potestate plenus est nec dicere ei quisquam potest quare ita facis
and his word is full of power.
No one can say to him, “Why do you act so?”
Keep Precepts
8:5 qui custodit praeceptum non experietur quicquam mali tempus et responsionem cor sapientis intellegit
Who keeps a precept does not experience any punishment.
The wise heart understands the time and response.
8:6 omni negotio tempus est et oportunitas et multa hominis adflictio
To every activity there is time and opportunity,
and much affliction to men.
Don’t Bother Trying to Warn
8:7 quia ignorat praeterita et ventura nullo scire potest nuntio
Because he ignores past and future,
he won’t understand anything by a messenger.
Human Limits
8:8 non est in hominis dicione prohibere spiritum nec habet potestatem in die mortis nec sinitur quiescere ingruente bello neque salvabit impietas impium
There is no authority in man to stop the breath,
nor does he have power in the day of death,
nor is he permitted to remain uninvolved when war threatens,
nor will a lie save a liar.
Guidance for Public Life
8:9 omnia haec consideravi et dedi cor meum in cunctis operibus quae fiunt sub sole interdum dominatur homo homini in malum suum
All these I considered,
and gave my heart to all works which are done under the sun.
Sometimes a man rules a man to his harm.
8:10 vidi impios sepultos qui etiam cum adviverent in loco sancto erant et laudabantur in civitate quasi iustorum operum sed et hoc vanitas est
I saw liars buried who, even when they were still alive,
were in the holy place, and were praised in the city
as if of righteous works.
Yet this too is vanity.
8:11 etenim quia non profertur cito contra malos sententia absque ullo timore filii hominum perpetrant mala
Because judgment is not pronounced quickly against wrongdoers,
men’s children do harm without any fear.
8:12 attamen ex eo quod peccator centies facit malum et per patientiam sustentatur ego cognovi quod erit bonum timentibus Deum qui verentur faciem eius
Nevertheless, though a sinner do harm a hundred times
and is borne with patiently,
I knew that it will be good for those fearing God,
who respect his presence.
8:13 non sit bonum impio nec prolongentur dies eius sed quasi umbra transeant qui non timent faciem Dei
May it not be well for a liar,
nor let his days be prolonged.
But like a shadow may they pass away
who do not fear the presence of God.
Being Misunderstood
8:14 est et alia vanitas quae fit super terram sunt iusti quibus multa proveniunt quasi opera egerint impiorum et sunt impii qui ita securi sunt quasi iustorum facta habeant sed et hoc vanissimum iudico
And there is another vanity which is done on earth:
many are decent, whose works have results as if done by liars;
and there are liars who are as secure
as if their works had been done fairly.
I consider this utterly vain.
Do Enjoy Life
8:15 laudavi igitur laetitiam quod non esset homini bonum sub sole nisi quod comederet et biberet atque gauderet et hoc solum secum auferret de labore suo in diebus vitae quos dedit ei Deus sub sole
I praised happiness, as a result,
because what else could be good for man under the sun,
except that he eat, drink, and even rejoice,
and this only he might carry with him from his labor
in his life’s days which God gave him under the sun.
8:16 et adposui cor meum ut scirem sapientiam et intellegerem distentionem quae versatur in terra est homo qui diebus ac noctibus somnum oculis non capit
And I set my heart that I know wisdom
and understand a spasm which writhes on earth:
a man whose eyes capture no sleep day and night.
Not Even the Wise Know
8:17 et intellexi quod omnium operum Dei nullam possit homo invenire rationem eorum quae fiunt sub sole et quanto plus laboraverit ad quaerendum tanto minus inveniat etiam si dixerit sapiens se nosse non poterit repperire
And I understood that a man can find
no reason for every work of God,
for those which are done under the sun,
and the more he labors in seeking,
the less he finds.
Even if the wise claims himself to know,
he won’t be able to find out.
Chapter Nine
Limits of Moral Knowledge
Ecclesiastes 9:1 omnia haec tractavi in corde meo ut curiose intellegerem sunt iusti atque sapientes et opera eorum in manu Dei et tamen nescit homo utrum amore an odio dignus sit
All this I examined in my heart,
that, by curiosity, I might understand.
The fair-minded are wise,
and their works are in God’s hand.
Nevertheless, man does not know
whether another deserves love or hatred.
Our Fate
9:2 sed omnia in futuro servantur incerta eo quod universa aeque eveniant iusto et impio bono et malo mundo et inmundo immolanti victimas et sacrificia contemnenti sicut bonus sic et peccator ut periurus ita et ille qui verum deierat
Yet all serve the uncertain in the future,
because all turn out the same:
to the truthful and the liar,
the good and the bad,
the clean and the unclean,
the one burning offerings, and the one condemning sacrifices;
as with the good, so with the sinner;
as with the perjurer, thus with one who swears truthfully.
9:3 hoc est pessimum inter omnia quae sub sole fiunt quia eadem cunctis eveniunt unde et corda filiorum hominum implentur malitia et contemptu in vita sua et post haec ad inferos deducentur
This is worst among all things which are done under the sun,
because these come to all together,
from which even the hearts of men’s children
are filled with malice and contempt in their life;
and after them they are sucked down to the dead.
9:4 nemo est qui semper vivat et qui huius rei habeat fiduciam melior est canis vivens leone mortuo
No one exists who lives forever,
and who has confidence in this thing.
A living dog is better than a dead lion,
9:5 viventes enim sciunt se esse morituros mortui vero nihil noverunt amplius nec habent ultra mercedem quia oblivioni tradita est memoria eorum
for the living know themselves to be dying.
The dead, in truth, know nothing more,
nor do they have a further reward,
because their memory is handed over to oblivion.
9:6 amor quoque et odium et invidia simul perierunt nec habent partem in hoc saeculo et in opere quod sub sole geritur
Their love and even hatred and envy perish together,
nor do they have part in this time,
and in the work which is done under the sun.
Be Sure to Enjoy Life
9:7 vade ergo et comede in laetitia panem tuum et bibe cum gaudio vinum tuum quia Deo placent opera tua
Hurry, therefore!
Eat your bread in happiness,
and drink your wine with rejoicing,
because your works are pleasing to God.
9:8 omni tempore sint vestimenta tua candida et oleum de capite tuo non deficiat
At all times let your clothing be beautiful,
and do not lack ointment for your head.
9:9 perfruere vita cum uxore quam diligis cunctis diebus vitae instabilitatis tuae qui dati sunt tibi sub sole omni tempore vanitatis tuae haec est enim pars in vita et in labore tuo quod laboras sub sole
Enjoy life with a wife whom you love
all the days of your unstable life,
which are given you under the sun,
all the time of your vanity,
for this is your portion in life,
and in your labor at which you labor under the sun.
9:10 quodcumque potest manus tua facere instanter operare quia nec opus nec ratio nec scientia nec sapientia erunt apud inferos quo tu properas
So, whatever your hand is able to do,
do it quickly,
because neither work, nor reason,
nor understanding, nor wisdom
are with the dead, where you are hurrying.
Accidents Happen
9:11 verti me alio vidique sub sole nec velocium esse cursum nec fortium bellum nec sapientium panem nec doctorum divitias nec artificum gratiam sed tempus casumque in omnibus
I turned myself to another topic,
and saw also under the sun,
that the race is not to the swift
nor the battle to the strong,
nor bread to the wise,
nor riches to the learned,
nor popularity to the skilled,
but time and chance work in all.
9:12 nescit homo finem suum sed sicut pisces capiuntur hamo et sicut aves conprehenduntur laqueo sic capiuntur homines tempore malo cum eis extemplo supervenerit
Man does not know his end,
but as fish are captured by a hook,
and as birds are trapped by a snare,
thus men are captured by a harmful time,
immediately, when it comes upon them.
Wisdom Isn’t Always Appreciated
9:13 hanc quoque vidi sub sole sapientiam et probavi maximam
And I also saw this wisdom under the sun,
and I proved it greatly:
9:14 civitas parva et pauci in ea viri venit contra eam rex magnus et vallavit eam extruxitque munitiones per gyrum et perfecta est obsidio
a small city and few men in it.
A great king came against it,
and surrounded it,
and piled up weapons by turn,
and the siege was total.
9:15 inventusque in ea vir pauper et sapiens liberavit urbem per sapientiam suam et nullus deinceps recordatus est hominis illius pauperis
But a poor and wise man found in it
freed the city by his wits,
and nothing thereafter was recorded of this poor man.
9:16 et dicebam ego meliorem esse sapientiam fortitudine quomodo ergo sapientia pauperis contempta est et verba eius non sunt audita
and I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.
How is it, then, a poor man’s wisdom is despised,
and his words are not heard?”
Where Wisdom Is Heard
9:17 verba sapientium audiuntur in silentio plus quam clamor principis inter stultos
The wise ones' words are heard more in silence
than in the shouting of a prince among fools.
9:18 melior est sapientia quam arma bellica et qui in uno peccaverit multa bona perdet
Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
and a person who sins in one thing
will lose many good things.
Chapter Ten
Various Proverbs
Ecclesiastes 10:1 muscae morientes perdunt suavitatem unguenti pretiosior est sapientia et gloria parva ad tempus stultitia
Dying flies ruin the ointment’s smoothness.
Wisdom and glory are more precious
than a brief moment of foolishness.
10:2 cor sapientis in dextera eius et cor stulti in sinistra illius
The heart of the wise is in his right,
but the heart of a fool in his left,
10:3 sed et in via stultus ambulans cum ipse insipiens sit omnes stultos aestimat
yet even a fool walking in the way
considers all fools because he is a fool.
10:4 si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te locum tuum ne dimiseris quia curatio cessare faciet peccata maxima
If a spirit having power should ascend over you,
do not give up your place,
because planning will make great sins cease.
10:5 est malum quod vidi sub sole quasi per errorem egrediens a facie principis
A harm which I saw under the sun
is going out as if by mistake
from the presence of a prince.
10:6 positum stultum in dignitate sublimi et divites sedere deorsum
A fool is placed in sublime dignity,
and the rich set below him.
10:7 vidi servos in equis et principes ambulantes quasi servos super terram
I saw slaves on horseback,
and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
10:8 qui fodit foveam incidet in eam et qui dissipat sepem mordebit eum coluber
Who digs a pit will fall in it,
and a snake will bite one who tears down a fence.
10:9 qui transfert lapides adfligetur in eis et qui scindit ligna vulnerabitur ab eis
Who moves rocks will be hurt by them,
and who splits trees will be wounded by them.
10:10 si retunsum fuerit ferrum et hoc non ut prius sed hebetatum erit multo labore exacuatur et post industriam sequitur sapientia
If iron is blunted
and is not as it was before,
but is made blunt,
it will be sharpened by much labor,
and wisdom will follow after the work.
10:11 si mordeat serpens in silentio nihil eo minus habet qui occulte detrahit
If a snake bites in silence,
he does nothing less who disparages in secret.
10:12 verba oris sapientis gratia et labia insipientis praecipitabunt eum
Words from the mouths of the wise are pleasing,
and the lips of fools will throw them down headlong.
10:13 initium verborum eius stultitia et novissimum oris illius error pessimus
The beginning of his words is foolishness,
and the end of his speech a grave error.
10:14 stultus verba multiplicat ignorat homo quid ante se fuerit et quod post futurum est quis illi poterit indicare
A fool multiplies words.
Man does not know what was before him,
and who can tell him what will be after in the future?
10:15 labor stultorum adfliget eos qui nesciunt in urbem pergere
The labor of fools will afflict those
who do not know how to go to the city.
The Need for Experienced, Sober Leaders
10:16 vae tibi terra cuius rex est puer et cuius principes mane comedunt
Woe to you, land whose king is a boy,
and whose leaders eat in the morning!
10:17 beata terra cuius rex nobilis est et cuius principes vescuntur in tempore suo ad reficiendum et non ad luxuriam
Happy the land whose King is noble,
and whose leaders eat in their time,
for replenishment, and not for luxury.
Various Proverbs II
10:18 in pigritiis humiliabitur contignatio et in infirmitate manuum perstillabit domus
By laziness, the upper floors will fall,
and by a slack hand a house leaks.
10:19 in risu faciunt panem ac vinum ut epulentur viventes et pecuniae oboedient omnia
In laughter, they make bread and wine
that the living may dine sumptuously;
and all obey money.
10:20 in cogitatione tua regi ne detrahas et in secreto cubiculi tui ne maledixeris diviti quia avis caeli portabit vocem tuam et qui habet pinnas adnuntiabit sententiam
Do not disparage the King even in your thought,
and do not speak ill of the rich, even in your bed in secret,
because a bird of the air will carry your voice,
and the feathered one will tell your opinion.
Chapter Eleven
Generosity
Ecclesiastes 11:1 mitte panem tuum super transeuntes aquas quia post multa tempora invenies illum
Send your bread over passing waters,
because after a long time you will find it.
11:2 da partem septem necnon et octo quia ignoras quid futurum sit mali super terram
Give a portion to seven, or even to eight,
because you do not know what future harm may be on the earth.
11:3 si repletae fuerint nubes imbrem super terram effundent si ceciderit lignum ad austrum aut ad aquilonem in quocumque loco ceciderit ibi erit
If clouds are full,
they will pour out rain over the earth.
If a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in whatever place it fell, there it will be.
Quit Daydreaming
11:4 qui observat ventum non seminat et qui considerat nubes numquam metet
Who watches the wind does not sow,
and one who considers the clouds will never reap.
The Mystery of God’s Work
11:5 quomodo ignoras quae sit via spiritus et qua ratione conpingantur ossa in ventre praegnatis sic nescis opera Dei qui fabricator est omnium
Just as you do not know which is the way of the wind,
or by what understanding bones are formed in a pregnant womb,
even so you do not know God’s works,
who made all.
Again, Get to Work
11:6 mane semina sementem tuam et vespere ne cesset manus tua quia nescis quid magis oriatur hoc an illud et si utrumque simul melius erit
In the morning, sow your seed,
and in the evening do not cease your work,
because you do not know which is better.
This may spring up, or that,
or even both together at the same time will be best.
Light and Vanity
11:7 dulce lumen et delectabile est oculis videre solem
Light is sweet,
and it is delightful for eyes to see the sun.
11:8 si annis multis vixerit homo et in omnibus his laetatus fuerit meminisse debet tenebrosi temporis et dierum multorum qui cum venerint vanitatis arguentur praeterita
If a man lives many years
and has happiness in all of them,
he must remember the gloomy time,
and many days which, when they come,
arguing about the past will be pointless.
Advice to the Young
11:9 laetare ergo iuvenis in adulescentia tua et in bono sit cor tuum in diebus iuventutis tuae et ambula in viis cordis tui et in intuitu oculorum tuorum et scito quod pro omnibus his adducet te Deus in iudicium
Be happy, therefore, young person, in your youth,
and let your heart dwell in the good
in the days of your youth,
and walk in the strength of your heart
and in the intuition of your eyes.
Yet know that for all these
God will bring you to judgment.
11:10 aufer iram a corde tuo et amove malitiam a carne tua adulescentia enim et voluptas vana sunt
Put away anger from your heart
and remove malice from your flesh,
for youth and lust are vain.
Chapter Twelve
The Coming Days Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 12:1 memento creatoris tui in diebus iuventutis tuae antequam veniat tempus adflictionis et adpropinquent anni de quibus dicas non mihi placent
Remember your creator in the days of your youth,
before times of affliction come,
and years draw near of which you say,
“They do not please me” –
12:2 antequam tenebrescat sol et lumen et luna et stellae et revertantur nubes post pluviam
before the sun is darkened
and the light and the moon and the stars;
and clouds return after the rain;
12:3 quando commovebuntur custodes domus et nutabuntur viri fortissimi et otiosae erunt molentes inminuto numero et tenebrescent videntes per foramina
when the keepers of the house are moved;
and the strongest men give way;
and the grinders will be idle,
being diminished in number;
and the ones peering through the opening
are obscured;
12:4 et claudent ostia in platea in humilitate vocis molentis et consurgent ad vocem volucris et obsurdescent omnes filiae carminis
and they shut the doorways to the street
at the weakness of the grinder’s voice;
and they are startled at the voice of a bird;
and all the daughters of song become deaf;
12:5 excelsa quoque timebunt et formidabunt in via florebit amigdalum inpinguabitur lucusta et dissipabitur capparis quoniam ibit homo in domum aeternitatis suae et circumibunt in platea plangentes
and they will fear greatly
and be afraid in the way;
the almond will flourish
and the locust be fattened;
and the caper plant will be scattered;
because man will go to his eternal home,
and mourners will go about in the street;
12:6 antequam rumpatur funis argenteus et recurrat vitta aurea et conteratur hydria super fontem et confringatur rota super cisternam
before the silver bowl is broken,
and the golden band returns,
and the water pot crumbles over the spring,
and the rotor is broken over the well,
12:7 et revertatur pulvis in terram suam unde erat et spiritus redeat ad Deum qui dedit illum
and dust returns to its earth, where it was,
and breath returns to God who gave it.
12:8 vanitas vanitatum dixit Ecclesiastes omnia vanitas
“Vanity of vanities,” the Proclaimer said,
“all is vanity.”
Summary
12:9 cumque esset sapientissimus Ecclesiastes docuit populum et enarravit quae fecerit et investigans conposuit parabolas multas
Along with being most wise,
the Proclaimer taught the people
and recorded what he had done,
and, investigating, composed many parables,
12:10 quaesivit verba utilia et conscripsit sermones rectissimos ac veritate plenos
and sought useful words
and wrote most accurate words and full of truth.
12:11 verba sapientium sicut stimuli et quasi clavi in altum defixi quae per magistrorum concilium data sunt a pastore uno
The words of a wise man are like goads,
and like nails fastened high up,
which by the council of teachers
are given by one shepherd.
12:12 his amplius fili mi ne requiras faciendi plures libros nullus est finis frequensque meditatio carnis adflictio est
More than these, my son, do not require.
Of making of many books there is no end,
and frequent meditation is an affliction to the body.
12:13 finem loquendi omnes pariter audiamus Deum time et mandata eius observa hoc est enim omnis homo
The end of speaking:
all is finished.
Let us hear.
Fear God and observe His commands,
for this is all to a man.
12:14 et cuncta quae fiunt adducet Deus in iudicium pro omni errato sive bonum sive malum sit
And God brings to judgment
all things that are done,
whether they be good or evil,
on behalf of all.