EVERYTHING IS VANITY AND RUNNING BEHIND THE WIND...
the shortness of life
1 John 2:17
17 The world and its covetousness pass away, but he who does God's will remains forever.
If we wait on Christ only in this life, we are the most miserable of all men.
But in fact Christ rose from the dead, and was made the firstfruits of them that sleep.
Because just as death came by a man, so the resurrection of the dead came by a man.
For just as all die in Adam, so also all will be made alive in Christ.
But each by his order: Christ the firstfruits, then those who are Christ's, at his coming.
1 Corinthians 15:19-23
ECCLESIASTES 1:1-18
the vanity of all things earthly
1 WORDS of the preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, says the preacher, vanity of vanities! Everything is vanity.
3 What profit does a man have out of all his work that he does under the sun?
4 One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and he hastens and returns to his place where he was born.
6 The wind goes to the south, and turns to the north; the wind continually rotates, and returns making its circuits.
7 All rivers go to the sea, and yet the sea is not filled; to the place where the rivers go, there they run again.
8 All things are laborious; man cannot express it; the eyes are not filled with seeing, nor the ears filled with hearing.
9 What was, that is what will be; and what has been done, that will be done; so that there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything that can be said: See, is this new? It was centuries past, which were before us.
11 There is no longer any remembrance of the things that went before, and of the things that shall be of them, there shall be no remembrance of them among those that shall come after.
12 I, the preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I set my heart to search, and to inform myself in wisdom, of all that goes on under heaven; this tedious occupation God gave to the children of men, to exercise them in it.
14 I saw all the works that are done under the sun, and, behold, it was all vanity and a distress of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be straightened out; what is missing cannot be calculated.
16 I spoke with my heart, saying, Behold, I have magnified myself, and surpassed in wisdom all that were before me in Jerusalem; and my heart abundantly beheld wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I set my heart to know wisdom, and to know folly and folly, and I came to know that this also was a tribulation of spirit.
18 For in great wisdom there is much weariness; and what increases in knowledge, increases in pain.
ECCLESIASTES 2:10-26
10 And all that mine eyes desired I did not deny them, nor deprive my heart of any joy; but my heart was glad for all my work, and this was my portion of all my work.
11 And I looked upon all the works that my hands had done, and also upon the work which I, laboring, had done, and behold, it was all vanity and affliction of spirit, and what profit was none under the sun.
12 Then I proceeded to behold wisdom, and folly, and folly. For what will the man who follows the king do? The same thing others have done.
13 Then I saw that wisdom is more excellent than folly, as light is more excellent than darkness.
14 A wise man's eyes are in his head, but a fool walks in darkness; then I also understood that the same thing happens to them both.
15 So I said in my heart, As it happens to a fool, so it will happen to me; why then did I seek more wisdom? Then I said in my heart that this too was vanity.
16 For there will never be more remembrance of the wise than of the fool; because of everything, in the days to come, there will be total oblivion. And as the wise dies, so dies the fool!
17 Therefore I hated this life, for the work that is done under the sun was painful to me; yes, everything is vanity and affliction of spirit.
18 Also I hated all my work, which I did under the sun, inasmuch as I was to leave it to the man who came after me.
19 And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? However, he will master all my work that I have done and in which I have been wisely under the sun; this too is vanity.
20 So I turned and gave my heart to despair over the work, which I did under the sun.
21 For there is a man whose work is done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he will leave his work as a portion of those who did not work in it; this too is vanity and great evil.
22 For what else has a man of all his labor, and the affliction of his heart, in which he is laboring under the sun?
23 For all his days are pains, and his occupation is affliction; even at night his heart does not rest; this too is vanity.
24 There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy the good of his work. I also saw that this comes from the hand of God.
25 For who can eat, or who can enjoy better than I?
26 For to a man that is good before him God giveth wisdom and knowledge and joy; but give the sinner work, that he may gather, and heap up, to give it to what is good before God. This too is vanity and affliction of spirit.
ECCLESIASTES 3:1-22
There is for all things a time determined by God
1 EVERYTHING has its appointed time, and there is a time for every purpose under heaven.
2 There is a time to be born, and a time to die; time to plant, and time to pull out what was planted;
3 Kill time, and heal time; a time to tear down, and a time to build;
4 A time to cry, and a time to laugh; time to mourn, and time to dance;
5 A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones; time to embrace, and time to withdraw from embrace;
6 Time to seek, and time to lose; a time to save, and a time to cast away;
7 Time to tear, and time to sew; time to be silent, and time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; wartime, and peacetime.
9 What profit does the worker have in what he works for?
10 I have seen the work that God has given the children of men, to exercise them with.
11 Everything made him beautiful in his time; he also put the world in man's heart, without man's being able to discover the work that God has done from the beginning to the end.
12 I have come to understand that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do well in their lives;
13 And also, let every man eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his work; this is a gift from God.
14 I know that whatever God does will last forever; nothing should be added to it, and nothing taken from it; and this does God that there might be fear before him.
15 What is, is gone; and what has to be, has already been; and God asks for an account of what happened.
16 I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there was iniquity.
17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; because there is a time for every purpose and for every work.
18 I said in my heart, as to the condition of the children of men, that God would try them, that they might thus see that they are in themselves like beasts.
19 For what happens to the children of men, this also happens to the beasts, and the same thing happens to them; as one dies, so dies the other; and all have the same breath, and the advantage of men over animals is none, because all are vanity.
20 Everyone goes to one place; all were made of dust, and all will return to dust.
21 Who knows that the breath of man goes up, and the breath of beasts goes down to the earth?
22 So I have seen that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his works, for that is his portion; for who will turn him back to see what will be after him?
ECCLESIASTES 4:1-6
The evils and tribulations of life
1 THEN I turned, and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun; and behold, I saw the tears of them that were oppressed, and of them that had no comforter, and strength was on the side of their oppressors; but they had no comforter.
2 Therefore I praised those who have died more than those who are still alive.
3 And better than either is he who is not yet; that he has not seen the evil works that are done under the sun.
4 Also I saw that all work, and all skill in works, make a man to envy his neighbor. This too is vanity and affliction of spirit.
5 A fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
6 Better is the hand full with rest than both hands full with toil, and affliction of spirit.
ECCLESIASTES 5:7-20
7 For as in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, so also in many words; but you fear God.
8 If you see in any province the oppression of the poor, and the violence of law and justice, do not marvel at such a course; for he who is highly placed has a superior who watches over him; and there are taller than them.
9 The benefit of the land is for everyone; even the king uses the field.
10 Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with it; and whoever loves abundance will never be satisfied with income; this too is vanity.
11 Where goods are increased, there are also increased those who eat of them; what more profit then have their masters than seeing them with their eyes?
12 Sweet is the sleep of the worker, whether he eats little or much; but the richness of the rich does not let him sleep.
13 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun, and it attracts sickness: the riches that their owners keep for their own harm;
14 For the same riches are lost by any bad luck, and if there is a son, nothing remains in his hand.
15 As he came out of his mother's womb, so shall he return naked, going as he came; and you will take nothing of his work, which you can take in his hand.
16 So this also is a grievous evil, which, just as it came, so shall it go; and what good is it to you from working for the wind,
17 And of having eaten all his days in darkness, and of having suffered much weary, and infirmity, and fury?
18 Here is what I saw, a good and beautiful thing: to eat and drink, and to enjoy each one of the good of all his work, in which he labored under the sun, all the days of life that God gave him, because this is your portion.
19 And to every man, to whom God has given riches and goods, and given him power to eat of them, and to take his portion, and to enjoy his labor, this is the gift of God.
20 For he will not remember much of the days of his life; for God fills his heart with joy.
ECCLESIASTES 6:1-12
It is lawful to enjoy the goods that God has given, but these cannot satisfy the soul
1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is very frequent among men:
2 A man to whom God has given riches, wealth, and honor, and lacks nothing of all that his soul desires, and God does not give him power to eat thence, but a stranger eats of him; this too is vanity and evil infirmity.
3 If a man begets a hundred children, and lives many years, and the days of his years are many, and if his soul is not satisfied with good, and besides he has no grave, I say that an abortion is better than he.
4 For he came in vain, and in darkness he departs, and his name is covered by darkness.
5 And though he never saw the sun, nor knew anything, more rest has this than that.
6 And though he lived twice a thousand years and did not enjoy good, do they not all go to one place?
7 All a man's work is for his mouth, and yet his spirit is never satisfied.
8 For what more has a wise man than a fool? And what else has the poor man who knows how to walk before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eye than the wandering of covetousness; this too is vanity and affliction of spirit.
10 Whatever it is, his name has already been named, and it is known that he is a man, and that he cannot contend with that which is stronger than he.
11 Truly, there are many things that multiply vanity; what else does the best man have?
12 For who knows what is good for a man in this life, for all the days of his life of vanity, which he spends as a shadow? Who will declare to man what will be after him under the sun?
ECCLESIASTES 7:1-13
The advantages of suffering, patience and moderation
1 BETTER is good reputation than better ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth.
2 Better to go to the house where there is mourning than to go to the house where there is a banquet, for in that is the end of all men, and the living apply it to their hearts.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because the sadness of the face makes the heart better.
4 The hearts of the wise are in the house of mourning, but the hearts of fools in the house of joy.
5 Better to hear a wise man's rebuke than to hear someone else's song.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, such is the laugh of a fool; this too is vanity.
7 Truly oppression would drive even the wise man mad, and bribery corrupts the heart.
8 Better is the end of things than their beginning; better is the patient of mind than the haughty of mind.
9 Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the depths of fools.
10 Never say: Why were the days gone by better than these? Because this question does not come from wisdom.
11 Wisdom is as good as the inheritance, and those who see the sun benefit from it.
12 For wisdom is a defense, as money is a defense; but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its possessor.
13 Attentive to the work of God; because who can straighten out what he made crooked?
ECCLESIASTES 8:1-17
the obedience due to the king
1 WHO is like the sage? And who knows the interpretation of things? The man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face changes.
2 I say: Observe the commandment of the king, and this in consideration of the oath which thou hast sworn to God.
3 Do not be hasty out of his presence, nor persist in anything bad, for he does all he will.
4 For the king's word has power; and who will say to him: What are you doing?
5 Whoever keeps the commandment will experience no harm; and the heart of the wise will discern the time and the judgment.
6 For for every purpose there is its time and judgment; because man's misery weighs on him.
7 For he does not know what will happen, and when it will be, who will tell him?
8 There is no man who has dominion over the spirit, to retain it; nor does he have power over the day of death; as there is no license in this battle either; nor will wickedness deliver the wicked.
9 All this I saw when I applied my heart to all the work that is done under the sun; there is a time when a man has dominion over another man, to his disgrace.
10 So also I saw the wicked, when they were buried; and they went in, and out of the holy place; and were forgotten in the city, where they did so; that too is vanity.
The sinner is not punished right away. the righteous often find themselves in adversity
11 Because judgment is not immediately carried out on an evil work, therefore the hearts of the children of men are wholly disposed to do evil.
12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are long, yet I know for a certainty, that it is good for them that fear God, to them that fear before him.
13 But the wicked will not do well, and he will not prolong his days, which are like a shadow; because he does not fear before God.
14 There is yet another vanity that is done on the earth: that there are righteous whom succeed according to the works of the ungodly, and there are wicked whom succeed according to the works of the righteous. I say that this too is vanity.
15 Then I praised joy, because for a man there is nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and rejoice; for that will accompany him in his work in the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
16 As I apply my heart to know wisdom, and to see the work that is on earth (which neither by day nor by night does a man see sleep in his eyes);
17 Then I saw all the work of God, which man cannot perceive, the work that is done under the sun, however much a man labors to discover it, he will not find it; and even if the sage says that he knows it, he will not be able to understand it.
ECCLESIASTES 9:1-18
The same things happen to the just and the unjust - Let us enjoy the goods that God gives us
1 MUST all these things I have considered in my heart, to declare all these: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God, and man also knows neither love nor hate; everything passes before him.
2 Everything happens equally to everyone; so with the righteous and the wicked, with the good and the pure, as with the unclean; so to the one who sacrifices and to the one who does not sacrifice; both the good and the sinner; to the one who swears as to the one who fears the oath.
3 This is the evil that is in all that is done under the sun; the same thing happens to everyone; and that also the hearts of the children of men are full of iniquity, and that their hearts are wild while they live, and afterward they go to the dead.
4 Now to him that is among the living there is hope (because a live dog is better than a dead lion).
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, neither will they have any reward, but their memory is left to be forgotten.
6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have perished, and they have no part for ever, in anything that is done under the sun.
7 Go, eat your bread with gladness, and drink your wine with a glad heart, for now God is pleased with your works.
8 Let your clothes be white at all times, and your head never lack oil.
9 Enjoy life with the woman whom you love, all the days of your vain life, which God gave you under the sun, all the days of your vanity; for this is your portion in this life, and in your work, which you have done under the sun.
10 Whatever you find at hand to do, do it according to your strength, for in the grave, whither you go, there is no work, no plan, no knowledge, no wisdom.
Wisdom is often more useful to others than to the one who has it.
11 I turned, and saw 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 wise, nor favor to the learned, but that time and opportunity occur to everyone.
12 That man also does not know his time; just as the fish that are caught with the evil net, and like the little birds that are caught with the snare, so also the children of men are snared in bad weather, when it suddenly falls upon them.
13 I also saw this wisdom under the sun, which was great for me:
14 There was a small city in which there were few men, and a great king came against it, and besieged it, and raised great bulwarks against it;
15 And there was found in her a poor wise man, who delivered that city by his wisdom, and no one remembered that poor man.
16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength, though the poor man's wisdom was despised, and his words were not heeded.
17 The words of the wise are to be silently heard, rather than the cry of the ruler among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys many goods.
ECCLESIASTES 11:7-10
7 Surely the light is gentle, and it is pleasing to the eye to see the sun.
8 But if a man lives many years, and rejoices in all of them, he must also remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. Everything that happens is vanity.
9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart be refreshed in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
10 Turn away therefore the wrath of your heart, and remove evil from your flesh, for adolescence and youth are vanity.
ECCLESIASTES 12:1-14
The youth must prepare for old age and for death
1 REMEMBER thy Creator also in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years come in which thou shalt say, I am not content in them;
2 Before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are darkened, and the clouds come again after the rain;
3 In the day when the guards of the house tremble, and the strong men bow down, and the grinders cease, because they are few, and those who look in the windows are dark;
4 And the street doors are closed because of the low noise of grinding, and the voice of the birds rises, and all the daughters of music are slain.
5 As also when they fear what is high, and there is terror in the way, and the almond tree blossoms, and the locust is a burden, and the appetite perishes; for a man goes to his eternal house, and mourners go round about the square;
6 Before the silver cord is broken, and the golden cup be broken, and the pitcher by the fountain broken, and the wheel by the well be broken,
7 And the dust returns to the earth, as it was, and the spirit returns to God, who gave it.
8 Vanity of vanities, says the preacher, everything is vanity.
9 And the wiser the preacher was, the more he taught the people wisdom; and heeding, and scrutinizing, he composed many proverbs.
The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments
10 The preacher sought to find pleasant words; and he wrote them with righteousness, words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails, well fixed by the masters of the assemblies, given to us by the one Shepherd.
12 And, too much of this, my son, beware: there is no limit to making books, and hard studying is a weariness of the flesh.
13 From all that has been heard, the end is: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is every man's duty.
14 For God will bring every work to judgment, and even all that is hidden, whether it be good or whether it be bad.
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