1 Ὅτι σὺν πᾶν τοῦτο ἔδωκα εἰς καρδίαν μου,
καὶ καρδία μου σὺν πᾶν εἶδεν τοῦτο,
ὡς οἱ δίκαιοι καὶ οἱ σοφοὶ
καὶ ἐργασίαι αὐτῶν ἐν χειρὶ τοῦ θεοῦ,
καί γε ἀγάπην καί γε μῖσος οὐκ ἔστιν εἰδὼς ὁ ἄνθρωπος·
τὰ πάντα πρὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν,
2 ματαιότης ἐν τοῖς πᾶσιν.
συνάντημα ἓν τῷ δικαίῳ καὶ τῷ ἀσεβεῖ,
τῷ ἀγαθῷ καὶ τῷ κακῷ
καὶ τῷ καθαρῷ καὶ τῷ ἀκαθάρτῳ
καὶ τῷ θυσιάζοντι καὶ τῷ μὴ θυσιάζοντι·
ὡς ὁ ἀγαθός, ὧς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων·
ὧς ὁ ὀμνύων, καθὼς ὁ τὸν ὅρκον φοβούμενος.
3 τοῦτο πονηρὸν ἐν παντὶ πεποιημένῳ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον,
ὅτι συνάντημα ἓν τοῖς πᾶσιν·
καί γε καρδία υἱῶν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐπληρώθη πονηροῦ,
καὶ περιφέρεια ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν ἐν ζωῇ αὐτῶν,
καὶ ὀπίσω αὐτῶν πρὸς τοὺς νεκρούς.
4 ὅτι τίς ὃς κοινωνεῖ πρὸς πάντας τοὺς ζῶντας;
ἔστιν ἐλπίς, ὅτι ὁ κύων ὁ ζῶν, αὐτὸς ἀγαθὸς
ὑπὲρ τὸν λέοντα τὸν νεκρόν.
5 ὅτι οἱ ζῶντες γνώσονται ὅτι ἀποθανοῦνται,
καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ οὔκ εἰσιν γινώσκοντες οὐδέν·
καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς ἔτι μισθός,
ὅτι ἐπελήσθη ἡ μνήμη αὐτῶν·
6 καί γε ἀγάπη αὐτῶν καί γε μῖσος αὐτῶν
καί γε ζῆλος αὐτῶν ἤδη ἀπώλετο,
καὶ μερὶς οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς ἔτι εἰς αἰῶνα
ἐν παντὶ τῷ πεποιημένῳ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον.
7 Δεῦρο φάγε ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ ἄρτον σου
καὶ πίε ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀγαθῇ οἶνόν σου,
ὅτι ἤδη εὐδόκησεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ ποιήματά σου.
8 ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ ἔστωσαν ἱμάτιά σου λευκά,
καὶ ἔλαιον ἐπὶ κεφαλήν σου μὴ ὑστερησάτω.
9 ἰδὲ ζωὴν μετὰ γυναικός, ἧς ἠγάπησας,
πάσας ἡμέρας ζωῆς ματαιότητός σου
τὰς δοθείσας σοι ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον,
πάσας ἡμέρας ματαιότητός σου,
ὅτι αὐτὸ μερίς σου ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου
καὶ ἐν τῷ μόχθῳ σου, ᾧ σὺ μοχθεῖς ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον.
10 πάντα, ὅσα ἂν εὕρῃ ἡ χείρ σου τοῦ ποιῆσαι,
ὡς ἡ δύναμίς σου ποίησον,
ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ποίημα καὶ λογισμὸς καὶ γνῶσις
καὶ σοφία ἐν ᾅδῃ, ὅπου σὺ πορεύῃ ἐκεῖ.
11 Ἐπέστρεψα καὶ εἶδον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον
ὅτι οὐ τοῖς κούφοις ὁ δρόμος
καὶ οὐ τοῖς δυνατοῖς ὁ πόλεμος
καί γε οὐ τοῖς σοφοῖς ἄρτος
καί γε οὐ τοῖς συνετοῖς πλοῦτος
καί γε οὐ τοῖς γινώσκουσιν χάρις,
ὅτι καιρὸς καὶ ἀπάντημα συναντήσεται τοῖς πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς.
12 ὅτι καί γε οὐκ ἔγνω ὁ ἄνθρωπος τὸν καιρὸν αὐτοῦ·
ὡς οἱ ἰχθύες οἱ θηρευόμενοι ἐν ἀμφιβλήστρῳ κακῷ
καὶ ὡς ὄρνεα τὰ θηρευόμενα ἐν παγίδι,
ὡς αὐτὰ παγιδεύονται οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
εἰς καιρὸν πονηρόν,
ὅταν ἐπιπέσῃ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἄφνω.
13 Καί γε τοῦτο εἶδον σοφίαν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον,
καὶ μεγάλη ἐστὶν πρός με·
14 πόλις μικρὰ καὶ ἄνδρες ἐν αὐτῇ ὀλίγοι,
καὶ ἔλθῃ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν βασιλεὺς μέγας καὶ κυκλώσῃ αὐτὴν
καὶ οἰκοδομήσῃ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν χάρακας μεγάλους·
15 καὶ εὕρῃ ἐν αὐτῇ ἄνδρα πένητα σοφόν,
καὶ διασώσει αὐτὸς τὴν πόλιν ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ·
καὶ ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἐμνήσθη σὺν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τοῦ πένητος ἐκείνου.
16 καὶ εἶπα ἐγώ Ἀγαθὴ σοφία ὑπὲρ δύναμιν·
καὶ σοφία τοῦ πένητος ἐξουδενωμένη,
καὶ λόγοι αὐτοῦ οὔκ εἰσιν ἀκουόμενοι.
17 λόγοι σοφῶν ἐν ἀναπαύσει ἀκούονται
ὑπὲρ κραυγὴν ἐξουσιαζόντων ἐν ἀφροσύναις.
18 ἀγαθὴ σοφία ὑπὲρ σκεύη πολέμου,
καὶ ἁμαρτάνων εἷς ἀπολέσει ἀγαθωσύνην πολλήν.
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. 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. 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.
4 ¶ For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 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. 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.
7 ¶ Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. 8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. 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. 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.
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. 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.
13 ¶ This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: 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: 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. 16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. 17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.