Evil Under the Sun

1 ^oAgain I saw all the ^poppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. 2 And I thought the dead who are already dead ^qmore fortunate than the living who are still alive. 3 ^rBut better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity¹ and a ^sstriving after wind.

5 The fool ^tfolds his hands and eats his own flesh.

6 ^uBetter is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his ^veyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an ^wunhappy business.

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

13 Better was a ^xpoor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. 14 For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. 15 I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that² youth who was to stand in the king’s³ place. 16 There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Fear God

1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. ^yTo draw near to ^zlisten is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 ⁵ Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore ^alet your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.

4 ^bWhen you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not your mouth lead you⁶ into sin, and do not say before the messenger⁷ that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and ^cwords grow many, ^dthere is vanity;⁸ but^{9 e}God is the one you must fear.

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor

8 If you see in a province the ^foppression of the poor and the violation of ^gjustice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.¹⁰

10 He who loves money ^hwill not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

13 ⁱThere is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15 ^jAs he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and ^kshall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what ^lgain is there to him who toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to ^meat and drink and find enjoyment¹¹ in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the ⁿfew days of his life that God has given him, for this is his ^olot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given ^pwealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—^qthis is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

1 ^rThere is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man to whom God gives ^swealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, ^tbut a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity;¹² it is a grievous evil. 3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is ^unot satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a ^vstillborn child is ^wbetter off than he. 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. 5 Moreover, it has not ^xseen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy¹³ no good—^ydo not all go to the one place?

7 ^zAll the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.¹⁴ 8 For ^awhat advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better is the ^bsight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a ^cstriving after wind.

10 ^dWhatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. 11 ^eThe more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? 12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the ^ffew days of his ^gvain¹⁵ life, which he passes ^hlike a shadow? For ⁱwho can tell man what will be after him under the sun?

The Two Witnesses

1 Then I was given a ^hmeasuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure ⁱthe court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will ^jtrample the holy city for ^kforty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for ^l1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

4 These are ^mthe two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, ⁿfire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have ^othe power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to ^pturn them into blood and ^qto strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ^rrises from the bottomless pit^{1 s}will make war on them and ^tconquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of ^uthe great city that symbolically² is called ^vSodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the ^wpeoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days ^xa breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ^y“Come up here!” And they ^zwent up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was a ^agreat earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second ^bwoe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

The Seventh Trumpet

15 Then the seventh angel blew his ^ctrumpet, and there were ^dloud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord ^eand of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the ^ftwenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God ^gfell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

19 Then God’s temple in heaven ^lwas opened, and the ^mark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were ⁿflashes of lightning, rumblings,³ peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy ^ohail.