No More Learning

31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her
household are clothed with scarlet.

31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk
and purple.

31:23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the
elders of the land.

31:24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles
unto the merchant.

31:25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in
time to come.

31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law
of kindness.

31:27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not
the bread of idleness.

31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also,
and he praiseth her.

31:29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them
all.

31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that
feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise
her in the gates.




Ecclesiastes

or

The Preacher


1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is
vanity.

1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the
sun? 1:4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh:
but the earth abideth for ever.

1:5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his
place where he arose.

1:6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north;
it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according
to his circuits.

1:7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the
place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

1:8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not
satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that
which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing
under the sun.

1:10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it
hath been already of old time, which was before us.

1:11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be
any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come
after.

1:12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

1:13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning
all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God
given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and,
behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

1:15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is
wanting cannot be numbered.

1:16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great
estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been
before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom
and knowledge.

1:17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and
folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.

1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth
knowledge increaseth sorrow.

2:1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth,
therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.

2:2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? 2:3 I
sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine
heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was
that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven
all the days of their life.

2:4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me
vineyards: 2:5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in
them of all kind of fruits: 2:6 I made me pools of water, to water
therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: 2:7 I got me servants
and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great
possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem
before me: 2:8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar
treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women
singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments,
and that of all sorts.

2:9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in
Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

2:10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld
not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and
this was my portion of all my labour.

2:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on
the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and
vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

2:12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for
what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath
been already done.

2:13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth
darkness.

2:14 The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in
darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them
all.

2:15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it
happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my
heart, that this also is vanity.

2:16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for
ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be
forgotten.

And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.

2:17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under
the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

2:18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun:
because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

2:19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet
shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and
wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

2:20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the
labour which I took under the sun.

2:21 For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge,
and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he
leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

2:22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his
heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? 2:23 For all his days
are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in
the night. This is also vanity.

2:24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and
drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This
also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

2:25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?
2:26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and
knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and
to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also
is vanity and vexation of spirit.

3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose
under the heaven: 3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to
plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3:3 A time to
kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build
up; 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a
time to dance; 3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather
stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing; 3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and
a time to cast away; 3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to
keep silence, and a time to speak; 3:8 A time to love, and a time to
hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
3:10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men
to be exercised in it.

3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set
the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that
God maketh from the beginning to the end.

3:12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice,
and to do good in his life.

3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good
of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing
can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that
men should fear before him.

3:15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already
been; and God requireth that which is past.

3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that
wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity
was there.

3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the
wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every
work.

3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men,
that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they
themselves are beasts.

3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even
one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea,
they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a
beast: for all is vanity.

3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust
again.

3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit
of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 3:22 Wherefore I
perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice
in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to
see what shall be after him? 4:1 So I returned, and considered all
the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of
such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of
their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

4:2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the
living which are yet alive.

4:3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who
hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

4:4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for
this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and
vexation of spirit.

4:5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

4:6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with
travail and vexation of spirit.

4:7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath
neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour;
neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom
do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it
is a sore travail.

4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their
labour.

4:10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him
that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

4:11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one
be warm alone? 4:12 And if one prevail against him, two shall
withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king,
who will no more be admonished.

4:14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is
born in his kingdom becometh poor.

4:15 I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the
second child that shall stand up in his stead.

4:16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been
before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

5:1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more
ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider
not that they do evil.

5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to
utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth:
therefore let thy words be few.

5:3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's
voice is known by multitude of words.

5:4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath
no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5:5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest
vow and not pay.

5:6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou
before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry
at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 5:7 For in the
multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but
fear thou God.

5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting
of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for
he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than
they.

5:9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is
served by the field.

5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he
that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

5:11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what
good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with
their eyes? 5:12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he
eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him
to sleep.

5:13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely,
riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

5:14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son,
and there is nothing in his hand.

5:15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to
go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may
carry away in his hand.

5:16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so
shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
5:17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow
and wrath with his sickness.

5:18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to
eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he
taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him:
for it is his portion.

5:19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath
given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to
rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

5:20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God
answereth him in the joy of his heart.

6:1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common
among men: 6:2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and
honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he
desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger
eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

6:3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that
the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good,
and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is
better than he.

6:4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his
name shall be covered with darkness.

6:5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath
more rest than the other.

6:6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen
no good: do not all go to one place? 6:7 All the labour of man is for
his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.

6:8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor,
that knoweth to walk before the living? 6:9 Better is the sight of
the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and
vexation of spirit.

6:10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is
man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.

6:11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the
better? 6:12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all
the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can
tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? 7:1 A good name is
better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of
one's birth.

7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the
house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will
lay it to his heart.

7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the
countenance the heart is made better.

7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart
of fools is in the house of mirth.

7:5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to
hear the song of fools.

7:6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of
the fool: this also is vanity.

7:7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the
heart.

7:8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the
patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the
bosom of fools.

7:10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better
than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

7:11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to
them that see the sun.

7:12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the
excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have
it.

7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which
he hath made crooked? 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in
the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against
the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

7:15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just
man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man
that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

7:16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why
shouldest thou destroy thyself ? 7:17 Be not over much wicked,
neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? 7:18
It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this
withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of
them all.

7:19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are
in the city.

7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and
sinneth not.

7:21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear
thy servant curse thee: 7:22 For oftentimes also thine own heart
knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.

7:23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it
was far from me.

7:24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?
7:25 I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out
wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly,
even of foolishness and madness: 7:26 And I find more bitter than
death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as
bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall
be taken by her.

7:27 Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by
one, to find out the account: 7:28 Which yet my soul seeketh, but I
find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all
those have I not found.

7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but
they have sought out many inventions.

8:1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a
thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of
his face shall be changed.

8:2 I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard
of the oath of God.

8:3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing;
for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.

8:4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto
him, What doest thou? 8:5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no
evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

8:6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the
misery of man is great upon him.

8:7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when
it shall be? 8:8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to
retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and
there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver
those that are given to it.

8:9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is
done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over
another to his own hurt.

8:10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the
place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had
so done: this is also vanity.

8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,
therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do
evil.

8:12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be
prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear
God, which fear before him: 8:13 But it shall not be well with the
wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow;
because he feareth not before God.

8:14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be
just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked;
again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work
of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

8:15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under
the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall
abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth
him under the sun.

8:16 When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business
that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor
night seeth sleep with his eyes:) 8:17 Then I beheld all the work of
God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun:
because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it;
yea farther; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be
able to find it.

9:1 For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this,
that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of
God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous,
and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean;
to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the
good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an
oath.

9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that
there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is
full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after
that they go to the dead.

9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a
living dog is better than a dead lion.

9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any
thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is
forgotten.

9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now
perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing
that is done under the sun.

9:7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a
merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.

9:8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no
ointment.

9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the
life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the
days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy
labour which thou takest under the sun.

9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for
there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave,
whither thou goest.

9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the
swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise,
nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of
skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

9:12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken
in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are
the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon
them.

9:13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great
unto me: 9:14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and
there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great
bulwarks against it: 9:15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man,
and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that
same poor man.

9:16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the
poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

9:17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him
that ruleth among fools.

9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth
much good.

10:1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a
stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for
wisdom and honour.

10:2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at
his left.

10:3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom
faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.

10:4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy
place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.

10:5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error
which proceedeth from the ruler: 10:6 Folly is set in great dignity,
and the rich sit in low place.

10:7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants
upon the earth.

10:8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an
hedge, a serpent shall bite him.

10:9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that
cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.

10:10 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he
put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.

10:11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler
is no better.

10:12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a
fool will swallow up himself.
10:13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the
end of his talk is mischievous madness.

10:14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be;
and what shall be after him, who can tell him? 10:15 The labour of
the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to
go to the city.

10:16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes
eat in the morning! 10:17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is
the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength,
and not for drunkenness! 10:18 By much slothfulness the building
decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth
through.

10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money
answereth all things.

10:20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the
rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice,
and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many
days.

11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not
what evil shall be upon the earth.

11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the
earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in
the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth
the clouds shall not reap.

11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the
bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou
knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not
thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or
that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes
to behold the sun: 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in
them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be
many. All that cometh is vanity.

11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee
in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in
the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God
will bring thee into judgment.

11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from
thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil
days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no
pleasure in them; 12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or
the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: 12:3
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong
men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few,
and those that look out of the windows be darkened, 12:4 And the doors
shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low,
and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters
of musick shall be brought low; 12:5 Also when they shall be afraid of
that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree
shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire
shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go
about the streets: 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the
golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or
the wheel broken at the cistern.

12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit
shall return unto God who gave it.

12:8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the
people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in
order many proverbs.

12:10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which
was written was upright, even words of truth.

12:11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the
masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many
books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and
keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.




The Song of Solomon


1:1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.

1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is
better than wine.

1:3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as
ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.

1:4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his
chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy
love more than wine: the upright love thee.

1:5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents
of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

1:6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked
upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the
keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

1:7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where
thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that
turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? 1:8 If thou know not,
O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the
flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.

1:9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in
Pharaoh's chariots.

1:10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains
of gold.

1:11 We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.

1:12 While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth
the smell thereof.

1:13 A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all
night betwixt my breasts.

1:14 My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards
of Engedi.

1:15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast
doves' eyes.

1:16 Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is
green.

1:17 The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

2:2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved
among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and
his fruit was sweet to my taste.

2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was
love.

2:5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of
love.

2:6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace
me.

2:7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the
hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he
please.

2:8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the
mountains, skipping upon the hills.

2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth
behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself
through the lattice.

2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair
one, and come away.

2:11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 2:12 The
flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come,
and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 2:13 The fig tree
putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give
a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

2:14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret
places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy
voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for
our vines have tender grapes.

2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

2:17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved,
and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

3:1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him,
but I found him not.

3:2 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the
broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I
found him not.

3:3 The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw
ye him whom my soul loveth? 3:4 It was but a little that I passed
from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would
not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and
into the chamber of her that conceived me.

3:5 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the
hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he
please.

3:6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of
smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the
merchant? 3:7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant
men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

3:8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his
sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

3:9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.

3:10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of
gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with
love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.

3:11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with
the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his
espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

4:1 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast
doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that
appear from mount Gilead.

4:2 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which
came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is
barren among them.

4:3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely:
thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

4:4 Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury,
whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

4:5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed
among the lilies.

4:6 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to
the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

4:7 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look
from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the
lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

4:9 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast
ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

4:10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is
thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
4:11 Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are
under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of
Lebanon.

4:12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a
fountain sealed.

4:13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits;
camphire, with spikenard, 4:14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and
cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all
the chief spices: 4:15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters,
and streams from Lebanon.

4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden,
that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his
garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my
myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have
drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink
abundantly, O beloved.

5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that
knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my
undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops
of the night.

5:3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my
feet; how shall I defile them? 5:4 My beloved put in his hand by the
hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

5:5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh,
and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the
lock.

5:6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and
was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not
find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

5:7 The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me,
they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

5:8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved,
that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.

5:9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest
among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou
dost so charge us? 5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest
among ten thousand.

5:11 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black
as a raven.

5:12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed
with milk, and fitly set.

5:13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips
like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

5:14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as
bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.

5:15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold:
his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

5:16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my
beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

6:1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither
is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to
feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

6:3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the
lilies.

6:4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army with banners.

6:5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair
is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

6:6 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing,
whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among
them.

6:7 As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.

6:8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins
without number.

6:9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her
mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw
her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they
praised her.

6:10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon,
clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? 6:11 I went
down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to
see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded.

6:12 Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of
Amminadib.

6:13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look
upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company
of two armies.

7:1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the
joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a
cunning workman.

7:2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy
belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

7:3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

7:4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in
Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of
Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

7:5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head
like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

7:6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! 7:7
This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters
of grapes.

7:8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the
boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine,
and the smell of thy nose like apples; 7:9 And the roof of thy mouth
like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing
the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

7:10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.

7:11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in
the villages.

7:12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine
flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud
forth: there will I give thee my loves.

7:13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of
pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my
beloved.

8:1 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my
mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I
should not be despised.

8:2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who
would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the
juice of my pomegranate.

8:3 His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should
embrace me.

8:4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor
awake my love, until he please.

8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her
beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother
brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for
love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals
thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it:
if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would
utterly be contemned.

8:8 We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do
for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? 8:9 If she be
a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a
door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

8:10 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes
as one that found favour.

8:11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto
keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand
pieces of silver.

8:12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must
have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

8:13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy
voice: cause me to hear it.

8:14 Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young
hart upon the mountains of spices.




The Book of the Prophet Isaiah


1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning
Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah,
kings of Judah.

1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken,
I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled
against me.

1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but
Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of
evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD,
they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone
away backward.

1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more:
the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness
in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not
been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

1:7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your
land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as
overthrown by strangers.

1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a
lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we
should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the
law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

1:11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?
saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat
of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of
lambs, or of he goats.

1:12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your
hand, to tread my courts? 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense
is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of
assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn
meeting.

1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are
a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from
you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are
full of blood.

1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from
before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 1:17 Learn to do well; seek
judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the
widow.

1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red
like crimson, they shall be as wool.

1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword:
for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of
judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

1:22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: 1:23 Thy
princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth
gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless,
neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

1:24 Therefore saith the LORD, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of
Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine
enemies: 1:25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away
thy dross, and take away all thy tin: 1:26 And I will restore thy
judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning:
afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the
faithful city.

1:27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with
righteousness.

1:28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall
be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

1:29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and
ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

1:30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that
hath no water.

1:31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark,
and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

2:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem.

2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of
the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and
shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the
mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will
teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion
shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many
people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their
spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the
LORD.

2:6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob,
because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like
the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of
strangers.

2:7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any
end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is
there any end of their chariots: 2:8 Their land also is full of idols;
they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers
have made: 2:9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man
humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

2:10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the
LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.

2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of
men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that
day.

2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is
proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be
brought low: 2:13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high
and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 2:14 And upon all the
high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 2:15 And
upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, 2:16 And upon all
the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.

2:17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness
of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that
day.

2:18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.

2:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves
of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty,
when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

2:20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols
of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles
and to the bats; 2:21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the
tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of
his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein
is he to be accounted of ? 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of
hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the
staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water.