Ecclesiastes 3:16-5:20

New King James Version

Injustice Seems to Prevail

¹⁶Moreover ^(A)I saw under the sun:

In the place of ^[a]judgment,
Wickedness was there;
And in the place of righteousness,
^[b]Iniquity was there.

¹⁷I said in my heart,

^(B)“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time there for every ^[c]purpose and for every work.”

¹⁸I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” ¹⁹^(C)For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place: ^(D)all are from the dust, and all return to dust. ²¹^(E)Who^[d] knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? ²²^(F)So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for ^(G)that is his ^[e]heritage. ^(H)For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

The Uselessness of Selfish Toil

4 Then I returned and considered all the ^(I)oppression that is done under the sun:

And look! The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter—
^[f]On the side of their oppressors there is power,
But they have no comforter.
²^(J)Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.
³^(K)Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

The Vanity of Selfish Toil

⁴Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

⁵^(L)The fool folds his hands
And consumes his own flesh.
⁶^(M)Better a handful with quietness
Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

⁷Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

⁸There is one alone, without ^[g]companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his ^(N)eye satisfied with riches.
But ^(O)he never asks,
“For whom do I toil and deprive myself of ^(P)good?”
This also is vanity and a ^[h]grave misfortune.

The Value of a Friend

⁹Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
¹⁰For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
¹¹Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
¹²Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Popularity Passes Away

¹³Better a poor and wise youth
Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.
¹⁴For he comes out of prison to be king,
Although ^[i]he was born poor in his kingdom.
¹⁵I saw all the living who walk under the sun;
They were with the second youth who stands in his place.
¹⁶There was no end of all the people ^[j]over whom he was made king;
Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Fear God, Keep Your Vows

5 Walk ^(Q)prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather ^(R)than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.

²Do not be ^(S)rash with your mouth,
And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
Therefore let your words ^(T)be few.
³For a dream comes through much activity,
And ^(U)a fool’s voice is known by his many words.

⁴^(V)When you make a vow to God, do not delay to ^(W)pay it;
For He has no pleasure in fools.
Pay what you have vowed—
⁵^(X)Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

⁶Do not let your ^(Y)mouth cause your flesh to sin, ^(Z)nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your ^[k]excuse and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But ^(AA)fear God.

The Vanity of Gain and Honor

⁸If you ^(AB)see the oppression of the poor, and the violent ^[l]perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for ^(AC)high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.

⁹Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.

¹⁰He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.

¹¹When goods increase,
They increase who eat them;
So what profit have the owners
Except to see them with their eyes?

¹²The sleep of a laboring man is sweet,
Whether he eats little or much;
But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.

¹³^(AD)There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun:
Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
¹⁴But those riches perish through ^[m]misfortune;
When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
¹⁵^(AE)As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return,
To go as he came;
And he shall take nothing from his labor
Which he may carry away in his hand.

¹⁶And this also is a severe evil—
Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And ^(AF)what profit has he ^(AG)who has labored for the wind?
¹⁷All his days ^(AH)he also eats in darkness,
And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen: ^(AI)It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; ^(AJ)for it is his ^[n]heritage. ¹⁹As for ^(AK)every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his ^[o]heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the ^(AL)gift of God. ²⁰For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.