viz. that the Jews gained immensely in the clearness and compass of
their religious faith during the Captivity. That, which was the
punishment, was also the term, of their idolatry; into that sin they
never afterwards fell. Now first, too, they began to understand that
the bond of their unity was not local, not national even, but
spiritual and religious; they were spread over every province of a
foreign empire, yet they were one people, and a sacred people, in
virtue of their common service of Jehovah and their common hope of
Messiah's advent. This hope had been vaguely felt before, and just
previous to the Captivity Isaiah had arrayed it in an unrivalled
splendour of imagery; now it sank into the popular mind, which needed
it so sorely, and became a deep and ardent longing of the national
heart. From this period, moreover, the immortality of the soul and the
life beyond death entered distinctly and prominently into the Hebrew
creed. Always latent in their Scriptures, these truths disclosed
themselves to the Jews as they came into contact with the Persian
doctrines of judgment and future rewards. Hitherto they had thought
mainly, if not exclusively, of the temporal rewards and punishments by
which the Mosaic law enforced its precepts. Henceforth they saw that,
in time and on earth, human actions are not carried to their final
and due results; they looked forward to a judgment in which all wrongs
should be righted, all unpunished sins receive their recompense, and
all the sufferings of the good be transmuted into joy and peace.
Now this, as we shall see, is the very moral of the Book Ecclesiastes,
the triumphant climax to which it mounts. The endeavour of Coheleth is
to show how evil and good were blended in the human lot, evil so
largely preponderating in the lot of many of the good as to make life
a curse unless it were sustained by hope; to give hope by assuring the
Hebrew captives that "God takes cognizance of all things," and "will
bring every work to judgment," good or bad; and to urge on them, as
the conclusion of his Quest, and as the whole duty of man, to prepare
for that supreme audit by fearing God and keeping his commandments.
This was the light he was commissioned to carry into their great
darkness; and if the lamp and the oil were of God, it is hardly too
much to say that the spark which kindled the lamp was taken from the
Persian fire, since that too was of God. Or, to vary the figure, and
make it more accurate, we may say that the truths of the future life
lay hidden in the Hebrew Scriptures, and that it was by the light of
the Persian doctrine of the future that the Jews, stimulated by the
mental culture and activity acquired in Babylon, discovered them in
the Word.
It is thus, indeed, that God has taught men in all ages. The Word
remains ever the same, but our conditions change, our mental posture
varies, and with our posture the angle at which the light of Heaven
falls on the sacred page. We are brought into contact with new races,
new ideas, new forms of culture, new discoveries of science, and the
familiar Word forthwith teems with new meanings, with new adaptations
to our needs; truths unseen before, though they were always there,
come to view, deep truths rise to the surface, mysterious truths grow
simple and plain, truths that jangled on the ear melt into harmony;
our new needs stretch out lame hands of faith, and find an unexpected
but ample supply; and we are rapt in wonder and admiration as we
afresh discover the Bible to be the Book for all races and for all
ages, an inexhaustible fountain of truth and comfort and grace.
TRANSLATION.
THE PROLOGUE.
_IN WHICH THE PROBLEM OF THE BOOK IS INDIRECTLY STATED._
CHAP. I., vv. 1-11.
1 The words of the Preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher;
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,
3 Since man hath no profit from all his labour
Which he laboureth under the sun![23]
[23] Just as we speak of this "sublunary world," so "under the sun" is
the characteristic designation of the earth throughout this Book.
4 One generation passeth, and another generation cometh;
While the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down;
And panteth toward the place at which it will rise again.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and veereth to the north;
It whirleth round and round;
And the wind returneth on its course.
7 All the streams run into the sea, yet the sea is not full;
To the place whence the streams came, thither they return again.
8 All things are weary with toil. Man cannot utter it.
The eye can never be satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear with hearing.
9 What hath been will be,
And that which is done is that which will be done;
And there is no new thing under the sun.
10 If there be anything of which it is said, "Behold, this is new!"
It hath been long ago, in the ages that were before us.
11 There is no remembrance of those who have been;
Nor will there be any remembrance of men who are to come
Among those that will live after them.
FIRST SECTION.
_THE QUEST OF THE CHIEF GOOD IN WISDOM AND IN PLEASURE._
CHAP. I., v. 12, to CHAP. II., v. 26.
[Sidenote: _The Quest in Wisdom._ Ch. i., vv. 12-18.]
12 I, the Preacher, was King over Israel, in Jerusalem:
13 And I applied my heart to survey and search by wisdom
Into all that is done under heaven:
This sore task hath God given to the children of men,
To exercise themselves therewith.
VER. 13. _To survey and search into, etc._ The verbs
indicate the broad extent which his researches covered, and
the depth to which they penetrated.
14 I have considered all the works that are done under the sun,
And, behold, they are all vanity and vexation of spirit.
VER. 14. _Vexation of spirit._ Literally, "striving after
the wind." But the time-honoured phrase, "vexation of
spirit," sufficiently expresses the writer's meaning; and it
seems better to retain it than, with the Revised Version, to
introduce the Hebrew metaphor, which has a somewhat novel
and foreign sound.
15 That which is crooked cannot be set straight,
And that which is lacking cannot be made up.
16 Therefore I spake to my heart, saying,
Lo, I have acquired greater wisdom
Than all who were before me in Jerusalem,
My heart having seen much wisdom and knowledge;
17 For I had given my heart to find knowledge and wisdom.
I perceive that even this is vexation of spirit;
VER. 17. _To find knowledge and wisdom._ Both the Authorized
and Revised Versions render "to know wisdom, and to know
_madness and folly_." The latter clause, however, violates
both the sense and the grammatical construction. The word
translated "to know" is not an infinitive, but a noun, and
should be rendered "knowledge;" the word translated "folly"
means "prudence," and the word translated "madness" hardly
means more than "folly." The text, too, seems corrupt. The
sense of the passage is against it, I think, as it now
stands; for the design of the Preacher is simply to show the
insufficiency of wisdom and knowledge, not to prove folly
foolish. On the whole, therefore, it seems better to follow
the high authority which arranges the text as it is here
rendered. The Hebraist will find the question fully
discussed in _Ginsburg_.
18 For in much wisdom is much sadness,
And to multiply knowledge is to multiply sorrow.
[Sidenote: _The Quest in Pleasure._ Ch ii., vv. 1-11.]
1 Then I said to my heart,
Go to, now let me prove thee with mirth,
And thou shalt see pleasure:
And, lo, this too is vanity!
2 To mirth I said, Thou art mad!
And to pleasure, What canst thou do?
3 I thought in my heart to cheer my body with pleasure,
While my spirit guided it wisely,
And to lay hold on folly,
Till I should see what it is good for the sons of men to do under heaven,
Through the brief day of their life.
4 I gave myself to great works;
I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards;
5 I made me gardens and parks,
And I planted in them all manner of fruit-trees;
6 I made me tanks of water,
From which to water the groves:
7 I bought me men-servants and maid-servants,
And had servants born in my house.
I had also many herds of oxen and sheep,
More than all who were before me in Jerusalem:
8 I heaped up silver and gold,
And the treasures of kings and of kingdoms:
I got me men-singers and women-singers;
And took delight in many fair concubines:
9 So that I surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem,
My wisdom abiding with me;
10 And nothing that my eyes desired did I withhold from them,
I did not keep back my heart from any pleasure;
For my heart took joy in all my toil,
And this was my portion therefrom.
11 But when I turned to look on all the works which my hands had wrought,
And at the labour which it cost me to accomplish them,
Behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit,
And there was no profit under the sun.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _Wisdom and Pleasure compared._ Ch. ii., vv. 12-23.]
12 Then I turned to compare wisdom with madness and folly--
And what can he do that cometh after the king
Whom they made king long ago?--
13 And I saw that wisdom excelleth folly
As far as light excelleth darkness:
14 The wise man's eyes are in his head,
While the fool walketh blindly.
Nevertheless I knew that the same fate will befall both.
15 Therefore I spake with my heart:
"A fate like that of the fool will befall me, even me;
To what end, then, am I wiser?"
And I said to my heart:
"This too is vanity,
16 For there is no more remembrance of the wise man than of the fool;
For both will be forgotten,
As in time past so also in days to come:
And, alas, the wise man dieth even as the fool!"
17 So life became hateful to me, for a sore burden was upon me,
Even the labour which I wrought under the sun;
Since all is vanity and vexation of spirit:
18 Yea, I hated all the gain which I had gained under the sun,
Because I must leave it to the man who shall come after me,
19 And who can tell whether he will be a wise man or a fool?
Yet shall he have power over all my gain
Which I have wisely gained under the sun:
This too is vanity.
20 Then I turned and gave my heart up to despair
Concerning all the gain which I had gained under the sun;
21 For here is a man who hath laboured wisely, and prudently,
and dexterously,
And he must leave it as a portion to one who hath not laboured therein:
This also is vanity and a great evil;
22 For man hath nothing of all his heavy labour,
And the vexation of his heart under the sun,
23 Since his task grieveth and vexeth him all his days,
And even at night his heart hath no rest:
This too is vanity.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _The Conclusion._ Ch. ii., vv. 24-26.]
24 There is nothing better for a man than to eat and to drink,
And to let his soul take pleasure in his labour.
But even this, I saw, cometh from God;
25 For who can eat,
And who enjoy himself, apart from Him?
26 For to the man who is good before Him,
He giveth wisdom and knowledge and joy;
But to the sinner He giveth the task to gather and to heap up,
That he may leave it to him who is good before God:
This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
_SECOND SECTION._
_THE QUEST OF THE CHIEF GOOD IN DEVOTION TO THE AFFAIRS OF BUSINESS._
CHAP. III., v. 1, to CHAP. V., v. 20.
[Sidenote: _The Quest obstructed by Divine Ordinances_; Ch. iii., vv.
1-15.]
1 There is a time for all things,
And a season for every undertaking under heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up plants;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast stones, and a time to gather up stones;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to be silent, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace:
9 He who laboureth hath therefore no profit from his labours.
10 I have considered the task which God hath given to the sons of men,
To exercise themselves withal:
11 He hath made everything beautiful in its season;
He hath also put eternity into their heart;
Only they understand not the work of God from beginning to end.
12 I found that there was no good for them but to rejoice,
And to do themselves good all their life;
13 But also that, if a man eat and drink,
And take pleasure in all his labour,
It is a gift of God.
14 I found too that whatever God hath ordained continueth for ever;
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it:
And God hath so ordered it that men may fear before Him.
15 That which is hath been,
And that which is to be was long ago;
For God recalleth the past.
[Sidenote: _And by Human Injustice and Perversity._ Ch. iii., v. 16.
Ch. iv., v. 3.]
16 Moreover, I saw under the sun
That there was iniquity in the place of justice,
And in the place of equity there was iniquity.
17 I said to mine heart:
"God will judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time for everything and for every deed with Him."
18 Yet I said to my heart of the children of men:
"God hath sifted them,
To show that they, even they, are but as beasts.
19 For a mere chance is man, and the beast a mere chance,
And they are both subject to the same chance;
As is the death of the one, so is the death of the other;
And both have the same spirit:
And the man hath no advantage over the beast,
For both are vanity:
20 Both go to the same place;
Both sprang from dust, and both turn into dust:
21 And who knoweth whether the spirit of man goeth upward,
Or the spirit of the beast goeth downward to the earth?"
VER. 21. The question is here, as so often in Hebrew, the
strongest form of negative. As in ver. 19 the Preacher
affirms of man and beast that "both have the same spirit,"
and, in ver. 20, that "both go to the same place," so, in
this verse, he emphatically denies that there is any
difference in their destination at death.
22 Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better for man
Than to rejoice in his labours;
For this is his portion:
And who shall give him to see what will be after him?
[Sidenote: iv.]
1 Then I turned to consider once more
All the oppressions that are done under the sun:
I beheld the tears of the oppressed,
And they had no comforter;
And their oppressors were violent,
Yet had they no comforter:
2 And I accounted the dead who died long ago
Happier than the living who are still alive;
3 While happier than either is he who hath not been born,
Who hath not seen the evil which is done under the sun.
[Sidenote: _It is rendered hopeless by the base Origin of Human
Industries._ Ch. iv., vv. 4-8.]
4 Then too I saw that all this toil,
And all this dexterity in toil,
Spring from man's rivalry with his neighbour:
This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
5 The sluggard foldeth his hands,
Yet he eateth his meat:
6 Better a handful of quiet
Than two handsful of labour with vexation of spirit.
7 And again I turned, and saw a vanity under the sun:
8 Here is a man who hath no one with him,
Not even a son or a brother;
And yet there is no end of all his labour,
Neither are his eyes satisfied with riches:
For whom, then, doth he labour and deny his soul any of his wealth?
This too is vanity and an evil work.
[Sidenote: _Yet these are capable of a nobler Motive and Mode._ Ch.
iv., vv. 9-16.]
9 Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labour:
10 For if one fall, the other will lift up his fellow;
But woe to the lonely one who falleth
And hath no fellow to lift him up!
11 Moreover, if two sleep together, they are warm;
But he that is alone, how can he be warm?
12 And if an enemy assail the one, two will withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not easily broken.
13 Happier is a poor and wise youth
Than an old and foolish king
Who even yet has not learned to take warning;
14 For he goeth forth from the prison to the throne,
Although he was born a poor man in the kingdom.
15 I see all the living who walk under the sun
Flocking to the youth who stood up in his stead;
16 There is no end to the multitude of the people over whom he ruleth:
Nevertheless those who live after him will not rejoice in him;
For even this is vanity and vexation of spirit.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _So also a nobler and happier Mode of Worship is open to
men:_ Ch. v., vv. 1-7.]
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the House of God;
For it is better to obey than to offer the sacrifice of fools,
Who know not when they do evil.
2 Do not hurry on thy mouth,
And do not force thy heart to utter words before God;
For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth:
Therefore let thy words be few.
3 For as a dream cometh through much occupation,
So foolish talk through many words.
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God,
Defer not to pay it;
For he is a fool whose will is not steadfast.
Pay that which thou hast vowed.
5 Better that thou shouldest not vow
Than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin,
And say not before the Angel, "It was an error:"
For why should God be angry at thine idle talk
And destroy the work of thy hands?
VER. 6. _Before the Angel._ That is, before the Angel who,
as the Hebrews thought, presided over the altar of worship,
and who was present even when only two or three met for the
study of the Law: to study the Law being in itself an act of
worship.
7 For in many words, as in many dreams, there is vanity:
But fear thou God.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _And a more helpful and consolatory Trust in the Divine
Providence._ Ch. v., vv. 8-17.]
8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor,
And the perversion of justice in the State,
Be not dismayed thereat;
For superior watcheth superior,
And superiors again watch over them:
9 And the advantage for the people is, that it extendeth to all,
For even the king is servant to the field.
VER. 9. Some commentators prefer another possible reading of
this difficult verse: _But the profit of a land is every way
a king devoted to the field, i.e._ a lover and promoter of
good husbandry. This reading, however, does not, I think,
harmonise so well with the context as that given above.
10 He that loveth silver is never satisfied with silver,
Nor he that clingeth to riches with what they yield:
This too is vanity;
11 For when riches increase they increase that consume them:
What advantage then hath the owner thereof,
Save the looking thereupon with his eyes?
12 Sweet is the sleep of the husbandman,
Whether he eat little or much;
While abundance suffereth not the rich to sleep.
13 There is a great evil which I have seen under the sun--
Riches hoarded up by the rich
To the hurt of the owner thereof:
14 For the riches perish in some unlucky adventure,
And he begetteth a son when he hath nothing in his hand:
15 As he cometh forth from the womb of his mother,
Even as he cometh naked,
So also he returneth again,
And taketh nothing from his labour
Which he may carry away in his hand.
16 This also is a great evil,
That just as he came so he must go.
For what profit hath he who laboureth for the wind?
17 Yet all his days he eateth in darkness,
And is much perturbed, and hath vexation and grief.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _The Conclusion._ Ch. v., vv. 18-20.]
18 Behold, that which I have said holds good,--
That it is well for man to eat and to drink
And to enjoy the good of all his labour wherein he laboureth
under the sun,
Through the brief day of his life which God hath given him:
For this is his portion.
19 And I have also said,
That a man to whom God hath given riches and wealth,
If He hath also enabled him to eat thereof,
And to take his portion and to rejoice in his labour;--
This is a gift of God:
20 He doth not fret because the days of his life are not many,
For God hath sanctioned the joy of his heart.
THIRD SECTION.
_THE QUEST IN WEALTH AND IN THE GOLDEN MEAN._
CHAPS. VI., VER. 1, TO VIII., VER. 15.
[Sidenote: _The Quest in Wealth. He who makes Riches his Chief Good is
haunted by Fears and Perplexities_: Ch. vi., vv. 1-6.]
1 There is another evil which I have seen under the sun,
And it weigheth heavily upon men:
2 Here is a man to whom God hath given riches and wealth and abundance,
So that his soul lacketh nothing of all that it desireth;
And God hath not given him the power to enjoy it,
But a stranger enjoyeth it:
This is vanity and a great evil.
3 Though one beget a hundred children,
And live many years,
Yea, however many the days of his years,
Yet if his soul be not satisfied with good,
Even though the grave did not wait for him,
Better is an abortion than he:
4 For this cometh in nothingness and goeth in darkness,
And its memory is shrouded in darkness;
5 It doth not even see and know the sun:
It hath more rest than he.
6 And if he live twice a thousand years and see no good:--
Do not both go to the same place?
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _For God has put Eternity into his Heart_; Ch. vi., vv.
7-10.]
7 All the labour of this man is for his mouth;
Therefore his soul cannot be satisfied:
8 For what advantage hath the wise man over the fool,
Or what the poor man over the stately magnate?
VER. 8. _The magnate._ Literally, "he who knoweth to walk
before the living;" some "great person," some man of eminent
station, who is much in the eye of the public.
9 It is better, indeed, to enjoy the good we have
Than to crave a good beyond our reach:
Yet even this is vanity and vexation of spirit.
VER. 9. _To enjoy the good we have_, etc. Literally, "Better
is that which is seen by the eyes (the present good) than
that which is pursued by the soul (the distant and uncertain
good)."
10 That which hath been was long since ordained;
And it is very certain that even the greatest is but a man,
And cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.
[Sidenote: _And much that he gains only feeds Vanity;_]
11 Moreover there are many things which increase vanity:
What advantage then hath man?
[Sidenote: _Nor can he tell what will become of his Gains._]
12 And who knoweth what is good for man in life,
The brief day of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow?
And who can tell what shall be after him under the sun?
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _The Quest in the Golden Mean. The Method of the Man who
pursues it._ Ch. vii., vv. 1-14.]
1 A good name is better than good nard,
And the day of death better than the day of one's birth:
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
Than to the house of feasting,
Because this is the end of every man,
And the living should lay it to heart:
VER. 2. "Because _this_ is the end;" _i.e._ the death
bewailed in the house of mourning.
3 Better is serious thought than wanton mirth,
For by a sad countenance the heart is bettered:
4 The heart of the wise therefore is in the house of mourning,
But in the house of mirth is the heart of fools.
5 It is better for a man to listen to the reproof of the wise
Than to listen to the song of fools;
6 For the laughter of fools is like the crackling of thorns under a pot:
This also is vanity.
VER. 6. _The laughter of fools_, etc. There is a play on
words in the original which cannot be reproduced in English.
Dean Plumptre, following the lead of Delitzsch, proposes as
the nearest equivalents, "As crackling nettles under
kettles," or "As crackling stubble makes the pot bubble."
7 Wrong-doing maketh the wise man mad,
As a bribe corrupteth the heart.
8 The end of a reproof is better than its beginning,
And patience is better than pride;
9 Therefore hurry not on thy spirit to be angry:
For anger is nursed in the bosom of fools.
10 Say not, "How is it that former days were better than these?"
For that is not the part of wisdom.
11 Wisdom is as good as wealth,
And hath an advantage over it for those who lead an active life:
VER. 11. _Those who lead an active life._ Literally, "those
who see the sun," _i.e._ those who are much in the sun, who
lead a busy active life, are much occupied with traffic or
public affairs.
12 For wisdom is a shelter,
And wealth is a shelter;
But the advantage of wisdom is
That it fortifieth the heart of them that have it.
VER. 12. _Fortifieth the heart; i.e._ quickens life, a new
life, a life which keeps the heart tranquil and serene under
all chances and changes.
13 Consider moreover the work of God,
Since no man can straighten that which He hath made crooked.
14 In the day of prosperity be thou content;
And in the day of adversity
Consider that God hath made this as well as that,
In order that man should not be able to foresee that which is to come.
VER. 14.: _In the day of prosperity_, etc. Literally, "in
the day of good be in good." It may be rendered "in the good
day be of good cheer." _This as well as that; i.e._
adversity as well as prosperity. God sends both in order
that, not foreseeing what will come to pass, we may live in
a constant and humble dependence on Him.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _The Perils to which it exposes him._ (1) _He is likely to
compromise Conscience_: Ch. vii., vv. 15-20.]