evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. "For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5For 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. As well their love, as their hatred and their envy, is long ago perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, And drink thy wine with a merry heart; For God hath already accepted thy works. Let thy garments be always white; 13This also have I seen as wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: 14there 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; 15now there was found in it a man poor and wise, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. 16Then 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 the wise spoken in quiet Are more acceptable than the cry of a ruler among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war; But one sinner destroyeth much good. 10 Dead flies make the ointment of the perfumer fetid and putrid; So doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honour. 2A wise man's understanding is at his right hand; And let thy head lack no oil. "Enjoy life 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 life, But a fool's understanding at his left. and in thy labour wherein thou "Yea also, when a fool walketh by the labourest under the sun. 10Whatso-way, his understanding faileth him, and ever thy hand attaineth to do by thy he saith to every one that he is a fool. strength, that do; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. "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. 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, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. 4If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, Leave not thy place; For gentleness allayeth great offences. "There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, Like an error which proceedeth "Folly is set on great heights, Ie that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; nd whoso breaketh through a fence, a serpent shall bite him. Vhoso quarrieth stones shall be hurt therewith; And he that cleaveth wood is endangered thereby. If the iron be blunt, And one do not whet the edge, Then must he put to more strength; 20Curse 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. But wisdom is profitable to direct. 11 Cast thy bread upon the waters, If the serpent bite before it is charmed, Then the charmer hath no advantage. The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; But the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; And the end of his talk is grievous madness. "A fool also multiplieth words; Yet man knoweth not what shall be; And that which shall be after him, Who can tell him? The labour of fools wearieth every one of them, For he knoweth not how to go to the city. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a boy, And thy princes feast in the morning! Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a free man, And thy princes eat in due season, In strength, and not in drunkenness! By slothfulness the rafters sink in; And through idleness of the hands the house leaketh. 19A feast is made for laughter, And wine maketh glad the life; And money answereth all things. For thou shalt find it after many days. 2Divide a portion into seven, yea, even into eight; For thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. 3If the clouds be full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree fall in the south, or in the north, In the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be. "He that observeth the wind shall not sow; And he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. "As thou knowest not what is the way of the wind, Nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child; Even so thou knowest not the work of God Who doeth all things. "In the morning sow thy seed, And in the evening withhold not thy hand; For thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, Or whether they both shall be alike good. "And the light is sweet, And a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. 8For if a man live many years, Let him rejoice in them all, And remember the days of darkness, For they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. 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 thy heart, God will bring thee into judgment. 10 Therefore remove vexation from thy heart, And put away evil from thy flesh; For childhood and youth are vanity. 12 Remember then thy Creator in the days of thy youth, Before the evil days come, And the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say: 'I have no pleasure in them'; And the almond-tree shall blown. And the grasshopper shall drag itself along, And the caperberry shall fail; "Before the silver cord is snapped asunder, And the golden bowl is shattered And the pitcher is broken at the fountain, And the wheel falleth shattered in the pit; "And the dust returneth to the ear: as it was, And the spirit returneth unto Go who gave it. Vanity of vanities, saith Kohelet All is vanity. 'And besides that Kohelethw wise, he also taught the peop knowledge; yea, he pondered, Before the sun, and the light, and sought out, and set in order ma the moon, And the stars, are darkened, And the strong men shall bow themselves, And the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look out shall be darkened in the windows, proverbs. 10Koheleth sought to f out words of delight, and that whi was written uprightly, even words truth. 11The words of the wise are as goad and as nails well fastened are the that are composed in collections they are given from one shepher 12 And furthermore, my son, be w monished: of making many book there is no end; and much study is. 13The end of the matter, all havi 4And the doors shall be shut in the weariness of the flesh. street, When the sound of the grinding is been heard: fear God, and keep i low; commandments; for this is the wh man. 14For God shall bring eve work into the judgment concerns every hidden thing, whether it good or whether it be evil. The end of the matter, all having been he fear God, and keep His commandments; for tas is the whole man. אסתר ESTHER Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus-this is Ahasuerus who gned, from India even unto Ethio, over a hundred and seven and enty provinces-that in those days, en the king Ahasuerus sat on the rone of his kingdom, which was in ushan the castle, 3in the third year his reign, he made a feast unto all s princes and his servants; the army Persia and Media, the nobles and inces of the provinces, being before m; when he showed the riches of s glorious kingdom and the honour I his excellent majesty, many days, en a hundred and fourscore days. And when these days were fulfilled, e king made a feast unto all the Pople that were present in Shushan e castle, both great and small, seven ays, in the court of the garden of the ing's palace; there were hangings of hite, fine cotton, and blue, bordered with cords of fine linen and purple, pon silver rods and pillars of marble; he couches were of gold and silver, pon a pavement of green, and white, And shell, and onyx marble. And hey gave them drink in vessels of gold-the vessels being diverse one rom another-and royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king. And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel; for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure. 'Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus. 10On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Bizzetha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that ministered in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look on. 12But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by the chamberlains; therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him. 13Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times-for so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment; 14and the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom: 15 What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, forasmuch as she hath not done the bidding of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?' 16 And Memucan answered before the king and the princes: 'Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples, that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus. 17For this deed of the queen will come abroad unto all women, to make their husbands contemptible in their eyes, when it will their ointments be given them; and let the maiden that pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti.' And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. be said: The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. 18And this day will the princesses of Persia and Media who have "There was a certain Jew in Shushan heard of the deed of the queen say the castle, whose name was Mordecai the like unto all the king's princes. the son of Jair the son of Shimei the So will there arise enough contempt son of Kish, a Benjamite, who had and wrath. 19If it please the king, let been carried away from Jerusalem there go forth a royal commandment with the captives that had been carried from him, and let it be written among away with Jeconiah king of Judah. the laws of the Persians and the Medes, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of that it be not altered, that Vashti Babylon had carried away. And he come no more before king Ahasuerus, brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, and that the king give her royal his uncle's daughter; for she had estate unto another that is better neither father nor mother, and the than she. 20 And when the king's maiden was of beautiful form and decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his kingdom, great though it be, all the wives will give to their husbands honour, both to great and small.' 21 And the word pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan; for he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and speak according to the language of his people. 2 After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was assuaged, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him: 'Let there be sought for the king young virgins fair to look on; and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the castle, to the house of the women, unto the custody of "Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let fair to look on; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter. So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree was published, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the castle, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken into the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. "And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her ointments, with her portions, and the seven maidens, who were meet to be given her out of the king's house; and he advanced her and her maidens to the best place in the house of the women. 10Esther had not made known her people nor her kindred; for Mordecai had charged her that she should not tell it. "And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what would become of her. 12 Now when the turn of every maiden was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that it had been done to her according to the law for the women, Heb. Hege. |