But as for the mighty man, he held the land,And the honoured man dwelt in it.Thou hast sent widows away empty,And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Therefore snares are round about thee,And sudden fear troubleth thee;Thy light hath become darkness, thou canst not see,And a flood of waters covereth thee.
Doth not God look down from the height of heaven,And crush the mighty for that they are grown haughty,Which say unto God: "Depart from us,"And "What can the Almighty do against us?"
And he forsooth "shall fill their houses with goods,"And "be heedless of the counsel of the wicked":No; the righteous shall look on and be glad,And the innocent shall laugh them to scorn.
Befriend now thyself with him, and thou shalt be safe,Thereby shall good come unto thee.Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth,And treasure up his words in thine heart.
If thou turnest to God and humblest thyself,If thou remove iniquity from thy tent,Then shalt thou have delight in the Almighty,And shalt lift up thy face unto God.
Thou shalt pray unto him and he shall hear thee,And thou shalt pay thy vows;If thou purpose a thing, it shall prosper unto thee,And a light shall shine upon thy ways.
Oh, I know it already: I myself am to blame for my misery,[238]And his hand is heavy upon me by reason of my groaning!Oh that I knew where I might find him,That I might come even unto his seat!
I would plead my cause before him,And fill my mouth with arguments;I would fain know the words which he could answer me,And learn what he would say unto me.
Will he plead against me with his almighty power?If not, then not even he would prevail against me.For a righteous one would dispute with him;So should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
Behold I go forward, but he is not there,And backward, but I cannot perceive him.For he knoweth the way that I have chosen:If he would try me, I should come forth as gold.
My foot has held his steps,His way have I kept and swerved not;I have not gone back from the precept of his lips,I have hid the words of his mouth in my bosom.
But he is bent upon one thing and who can turn him away?And what his soul desireth even that he doeth.Therefore am I troubled before his face;When I consider, I am afraid of him.
God hath crushed my heart,And the Almighty hath terrified me.For I am annihilated because of the darkness,And gloom enwrappeth my face.
Why do the times of judgment depend upon the Almighty,And yet they who know him do not see his days?[239]The wicked remove the landmarks;They rob flocks and lead them to pasture.
They drive away the ass of the fatherless,The widow's ox they seize for a pledge;They turn the needy out of the way,All the poor of the earth have to hide themselves.[240]
Lo, these things mine ear hath heard,Mine eye hath seen them, and so it is.[241]And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar,And render my speech meaningless?
Dominion and fear are with him,Who maketh peace in his high places.Is there any number to his armies?And upon whom doth his light not arise?
By his power the sea groweth calm,And by his understanding he smiteth the sea-dragon.By his breath the heavens become splendour;His hand hath pierced the bolt-serpent.
But the thunder of his power,Who understands its working?And how can man be deemed just before God,And how can he be clean who is born of a woman?
Behold, even the moon shineth not,Yea, the stars are not pure in his sight;How much less man, the worm;And the son of man, the maggot!
How hast thou helped him that is without power?How upholdest thou the arm that hath no strength?To whom hast thou uttered words?And whose spirit went out from thee?
As God liveth who hath taken away my right,And the Almighty who hath made my soul bitter,Never shall my lips confess untruth,Nor my tongue give utterance to falsehood!
Far be it from me to agree with you!Till I die I will not yield up my integrity!My righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go,My heart doth not censure any one of my days.
I will teach you about the hand of God,The counsel of the Almighty will I not conceal.Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it.[242]Why then do ye utter such empty things?
For there is a mine for silver,And a place for gold where they fine it;Iron is taken out of the dust,And copper is smolten out of the stone.
He that hovers far from man hath made an end to gloom,[243]He turneth the mountains upside down.He cutteth out stulms among the rocks,And the thing that is hid he bringeth forth to light.
But wisdom—whence shall it come?And where is the place of understanding?It is hid from the eyes of all living,Our ears alone have heard thereof.[244]
God understandeth its way,And he knoweth its dwelling-place;For he looketh to the ends of the earth,And seeth under the entire heaven.
When he made the weight for the winds,And weighed the waters by measure,Then did he see and declare it,He prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
Then he said unto man, "Desist!Worry not about things too high for thee.Behold, fear of me, that is wisdom,And to depart from evil, that is understanding."
May the lot of the wicked befall mine enemy,And that of the ungodly him who riseth up against me!For what can be the hope of the iniquitous,When God cutteth his soul away?
Will God hear his cry,When trouble overtaketh him?Will he delight himself in the Almighty?Will he always call upon God?
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword,And his offspring shall not be sated with bread;They that survive him shall be buried in death,And their widows shall not weep.
Though he heap up silver as the dustAnd store up raiment as the clay,He may indeed prepare it, but the just shall put it on,And the guiltless shall divide the silver.
He buildeth his house as a spider;Rich shall he lie down, but rich he shall not remain.Terrors take hold on him like waters;A tempest sweepeth him away in the night.
Oh that I were as in months gone by,As in the days when God preserved me;When his lamp shined upon my head,And when I walked by his light through darkness!
For then I moved in sunshine,While God was familiar with my tent;While I washed my steps in cream,And the rock poured me out rivers of oil.
When I went to the gate at the city,[245]When I prepared my seat on the public place,Then the young men, seeing me, hid themselves,And the aged arose and remained standing.
Princes desisted from talking,And laid their hands upon their mouths;For the ear heard me and blessed,The eye saw me and bore me witness.
For I delivered the poor that cried aloud,And the orphan and him that had none to help him;The blessing of him that was perishing came upon me,And I gladdened the heart of the widow.
I put on righteousness and it clothed me;My judgment was as a robe and a diadem.I became eyes to the blind,And I was feet unto the lame.
I was a father to the poor,And the cause which I knew not I searched out;And I brake the grinders of the wicked.And plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
Unto me men gave ear and waited,And kept silence at my counsel.After my words they spake not again,And my speech fell upon them as a shower.
But now they laugh me to scorn,Shepherd boys approach me with insolence,Whose fathers I would not have deignedTo set with the dogs of my flock.
Yea, what booted me the strength of their hands?Pity upon them was thrown away.They were children of fools, yea, men of no name,They were driven forth from the land.
And now I am become the song of these!Yea, I am become their byword!They loathe me, they flee far from me,And withhold not spittle from my face.
For he hath dissolved my dignity and humbled me,And he hath taken away my renown.He hath opened a way to my miseries;They enter and no one helpeth me.
With rumbling and booming they bounded along;Terrors are turned upon me;Thou scatterest my dignity, as with a wind,And my welfare passeth as a cloud.
The night gnaws away my bones,And my devourers need no repose;By swellings is my garment misshapen,And I am grown like unto dust and ashes.
I cry and thou hearest me not,Thou art become ruthless towards me;With the strength of thy hand thou assailest me,And thou meltest my salvation away.
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death,And to the house appointed for all living.But shall not a drowning man stretch out his hand?Shall he not cry out in his destruction?
Did I not weep for him that was in trouble?Was not my soul grieved for the needy?I looked for good and waited for light;Behold days of sorrowing are come upon me.
I go mourning without sun;I stand up in the assembly and cry aloud;I am become a brother unto jackals,And a comrade unto ostriches.
My skin hath grown black upon meAnd my bones are scorched with heat;My harp is turned to mourning,And my bagpipe into the wail of the weeping.[246]
If I have walked with men of wickedness,Or if my feet have hastened to deceit,Let him weigh me in balances of justice,That God may know mine integrity!
If my steps have swerved from the way,And mine heart followed in the wake of mine eyes,Let me now sow and another eat,Yea, let my garden be rooted out!
If mine heart have been deceived by a woman,Or if I have lain in wait at my neighbour's door,Then let my wife turn the mill unto anotherAnd let others bow down upon her!
For adultery is a grievous crime,Yea, a crime to be punished by the judges:It is a fire that consumeth to utter destruction,And would root out all mine increase.
Had I despised the right of my man-servantOr of my maidservant, when they contended with me,What could I do, when God rose up?And when he visiteth, what could I answer him?
For perdition from God was a terror to me,And for his highness' sake I could not do such things.Did not he that made me in the womb, make him?[247]And did he not fashion us in one belly?
Never have I withheld the poor from their desire,Nor caused the widow's eyes to fail;Nor have I eaten my morsel alone,Unless the fatherless had partaken thereof.
If I saw one perish for lack of clothing,Or any of the poor devoid of covering;Then surely did his loins bless me,And he was warmed with the fleece of my sheep.
If I lifted up my hand against the fatherless,When I saw my backers in the gate,[248]Then let my shoulder fall from its setting,And mine arm from its channel bone!
I have never made gold my hope,Nor said to the fine gold: "Thou art my trust;"Never did I rejoice that my wealth was great,And because mine hand had found much.
Never did I gaze upon the sun, because it shone brightly,Nor upon the moon floating in glory,So that my heart was secretly enticed,And I wafted kisses to them, putting my hand to my mouth.[249]
Never did I rejoice at the ruin of my hater,Nor exult when misery found him out;Neither have I suffered my throat to sin,By wreaking a curse upon his soul.
Never had the guests of my tent to say:"Oh, that we had our fill of his meat!"I suffered not the stranger to lodge out of doors,But I opened my gates to the traveller.
I covered not my failings after the manner of men,By locking mine iniquity in my bosom,As if I feared the vast multitude,Or because the scorn of families[250] appalled me.
And I, forsooth, should keep silence, should not come forward!Oh, that one would hear me!Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me,And hear the indictment which my adversary hath written![251]
Surely I would hoist it upon my shoulder,And weave it as a crown unto myself;I would account to him for the number of my steps;As a prince would I draw near unto him.
Who is this that darkeneth my counsel,With words devoid of knowledge?Now gird up thy loins like a man,For I shall ask of thee, and do thou teach me!
When I laid the earth's foundation where wast thou?Declare, if thou hast understanding!Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest,Or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Where are its sockets sunk down,Or who laid the corner-stone thereof?When the morning stars exulted together,And all the sons of God shouted for joy.
Who shut in the sea with doors,When it brake forth as issuing from the womb?When I made the clouds its garment,And thick darkness for its swaddling-band.
Then I brake up for it its appointed place,And set it bars and portals,And said: "Hitherto shalt thou come,And here shall thy haughty waves be stayed!"
Was it at thy prompting that I commanded the morning,And caused the dawn to know its place?That it might seize hold of the ends of the earth,That the wicked might be shaken out?[252]
Then the earth changes as clay under the seal,And all things appear therein as an embroidery;[253]But from the wicked is withholden their hiding-place,And the raised arm shall be shattered.
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?Or hast thou walked in search of the abysses?Have the gates of death been opened unto thee,Or hast thou seen the doors of darkness?
Hast thou surveyed the breadth of the earth?Declare, if thou knowest, its measure!Thou must needs know it, for then wast thou already born,And great is the number of thy days!
Which way leadeth to the dwelling of light?And of darkness, where is the abode?That thou shouldst take it to its bounds,And that thou shouldst know the paths to its house?
Hast thou entered into the granaries of the snow,Or hast thou seen the arsenals of the hail,Which I have laid up for the time of trouble,Against the day of battle and of war?
By what way is the mist parted?And the east wind scattered upon the earth?Who hath divided its course for the rain-storm?And its path for the lightning of thunder?
Out of whose womb issued the ice?And who gendered the hoar-frost of heaven?The waters are as stone,And the face of the deep condensed like clots together.
Canst thou bind the knots of the Pleiads,Or loose the fetters of Orion?Canst thou send lightnings that they may speed,And say unto thee: Here we are?
Who in his wisdom can number the clouds,Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,That the dust may thicken into mire,And the clods cleave close together?
Canst thou hunt its prey for the lion,Or sate the appetite of the young lions,When they couch in their dens,And abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Who provideth his food for the raven,When his young ones cry unto God?It hovereth around nor groweth weary,Seeking food for its nestlings.
Canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?Canst thou number the months when they bring forth?They cast out their burdens,Their little ones grow up out of doors.
Who hath sent out the wild ass free,Whose dwelling I have made the wilderness,Who scorneth the noise of the city,Nor heedeth the driver's cry?
Will the wild ox be willing to serve thee,Or abide by thy grip?Wilt thou trust him because his strength is great,Or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
Dost thou bestow might upon the horse?Dost thou clothe his neck with a waving mane?Dost thou make him to bound like a locust,In the pride of his terrible snort?
He paws in the vale and rejoices;Goes with strength to encounter the weapons;He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed,And recoileth not from the sword.
The quiver clangs upon him,The flashing lance and the javelin;Furiously bounding, he swallows the ground,And cannot be reined in at the trumpet-blast.
When the clarion soundeth he crieth, "Aha!"And sniffs the dust raised by the hosts from afar;He dasheth into the thick of the fray,Into the captains' shouting and the roar of battle.
Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom,And spread her pinions towards the south?She builds her nest on high, dwelling on the rock,And abideth there, seeking prey.
Will the caviller still contend with the Almighty?He that reproves God, let him answer!Wilt thou even disannul my judgment?Wilt thou condemn me that thou mayst be in the right?
If thou hast an arm like God,If thou canst thunder with a voice like his,Deck thyself now with majesty and grandeurAnd array thyself in glory and splendour!
Scatter abroad the rage of thy wrath,And hurl down all that is exalted!The haughty bring low by a glance,And trample down the wicked in their place!
Hide them together in the dust,And bind their faces in secret!Then will I, too, confess unto theeThat thine own right hand can save thee!
Behold I am vile, what shall I answer thee?I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.Once have I spoken, but I will do so no more,Yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.
I know that thou canst do everything,And that nothing is beyond thy reach;Hence I say: I have uttered that I understand not,Things too wonderful for me, which I know not.
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,But now mine eye hath beheld thee;Therefore I resign and console myself,Though in dust and ashes.
7¶And if was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of methe thing that is_ right, as my servant Job_ hath.
8Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with youafter yourfolly, in that ye have not spoken of methe thing which isright, like my servant Job.
9So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job.
10And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.
12So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
13He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch.
15And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
16After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.
17So Job died, being old and full of days.
Footnotes:
[196]I.e., the magicians by means of incantations.
[197] Allusion to the Satan's remark in the Prologue, chap. i. to: "Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?"
[198] The strophe which follows in Prof. Bickell's text I consider a later insertion, and have therefore struck it out. It runs thus:
"The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,And the teeth of the young lions are broken;The old lion perisheth for lack of prey,And the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad."
[199] The prophetic vision which Eliphaz now describes is relied upon by him as the sanction for his whole discourse. To his seeming, it is a direct revelation from God.
[200] The sons of God, sons of the Elohim.Cf.Genesis vi. 4. There is no analogy between these sons of God and the angels or saints of Christianity.Cf.also Prof. Cheyne, "Job and Solomon," p. 81: Baudissin, Studien, II.
[201] The human body is likened to a tent of which the tent-pole is the breath of life; this gone, all that remains is the natural prey of the elements.
[202] Calumny.
[203] Allusion to his sufferings at night from elephantiasis. This terrible malady, which was first described by Rhazes, in the ninth century, under the namedâ-l-fîl("disease of the elephant"), was for a long time erroneously believed to be confined to Arabia. As a matter of fact, it is found in an endemic state in all warm countries, and sporadically even in Europe. In tropical and sub-tropical lands it progresses with alarming rapidity. Every new crisis is preceded by a shivering sensation and violent fever, frequently accompanied with headache, delirium, and nervous and gastric suffering. A violent attack of this kind may last seven or eight days. The seat of the disease is generally the foot or the reproductive organs. In the former case the foot swells to a monstrous size, instep, toes and heel and ankle all merging in one dense mass that reminds one of the foot of an elephant.
[204] Job feels that death is nigh.
[205] Allusion to an ocean myth. A watch had to be set upon the movements of the monsters of the sea and the firmament.
[206] The irony of these words addressed by Job to Jehovah would be deemed blasphemous in a poet like Byron or Shelley. As a matter of fact, they constitute a parody of Psalm viii. 5. as Prof. Cheyne has already pointed out ("Job and Solomon").
[207] The firmament, being a solid mass, has paths cut out along which the stars move in their courses, just as there are channels made for the clouds and rain.
[208] This entire speech is ironical.
[209] Allusion to a myth.
[210] In the light of my own conscience I am not an evil-doer.
[211] Ironical.
[212]Lit., the man of lips.
[213] Wisdom.
[214]I.e., God's wisdom enables him to discern the deceit of those who appear just, and the punishment which he deals out to them makes the result of his knowledge visible to the dullest comprehension.
[215] A name for God.
[216] The current versions of the Bible make Job say the contrary: "Withthe ancientiswisdom; and in length of days understanding" (Jobxii. 12, Authorised Version).Cf. ante, "Interpolations."
[217]I.e., Will ye persist in maintaining that God rewards the goodand punishes the wicked (as Zophar has just done, strophe xcvii.) inspite of the fact that ye know it is untrue?
[218]I.e., not on grounds obvious to all, but because your own particular lot is satisfactory.
[219] Compare this with the extraordinary verse in our Authorised Version: "Thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet"! (Job ii. 27).
[220] This is one of the very few passages in the Poem which throw light upon the date of its composition.
[221]I.e., the object for which he bartered righteousness.
[222] Host of evils which has attacked me from all sides.
[223] Ironical.
[224] An allusion to the promises made by the friends on the part of God that Job would, if he repented and asked for pardon, recover his former prosperity.
[225]Lit., the pieces of his skin.
[226] Probably an allusion to elephantiasis.
[227] The personification of death.
[228] Either "the sons of the womb which has borne me," as in iii. 10, or else "my own children," the poet forgetting that in the prologue they are described as having been killed.
[229]I.e., when it is too late.
[230] Zophar discerns perfect moral order in the world.
[231] God.
[232]I.e., by man.
[233]I.e., be silent.
[234] Job's ideal of a happy death was identical with that of Julius Caesar—the most sudden and least foreseen.
[235] Literally, "his."
[236]I.e., after his death.
[237]I.e., God.
[238] Ironical.
[239] If there be a God who rules the world, punishes evil, and rewards good, how comes it that we descry no signs of such just retribution?
[240] About seven strophes in the same quasi-impious strain, characterising the real reign of Jehovah upon earth as distinguished from the optimistic delineations of Job's friends, are lost. The verses that have taken their place in our manuscripts are portions of a different work, which has no relation whatever to our poem. They are not even in the same metre as Job, but contain strophes of three lines only.
[241] Conjecture of Professor Bickell; these two lines are not found in the MSS.
[242] I will judge ye out of your own mouths. Ye maintained, all of you, that the principles on which the world is governed are absolutely unintelligible. How then can ye reason as if the moral order were based upon retribution, and from my sufferings infer my sins?
[243] The miner who descends into the abyss of the earth, and carries a lamp.
[244] Wisdom is here identified with God, of whom we know nothing and have only vaguely heard from those who knew less, i.e., former generations, for whom Job has scant respect.
[245] To mete out justice.
[246] Two strophes are wanting here, in which Job presumably says that this great change of fortune is not the result of his conduct. The LXX offers nothing here in lieu of the lost verses; but the Massoretic text has the strophes which occur in the Authorised Version (xxxi. 1-4), and which would seem to have been substituted for the original verses. The present Hebrew text is useless here. If the four Massoretic verses which it offers had stood in the original, so important are they that they would never have been omitted by the Greek translators, who evidently did not possess them in their texts. They remind one to some extent of certain passages of the Sermon on the Mount, and are manifestly of late origin.
[247]I.e., my servant.
[248] The concourse of people and partisans at the gate where justice was administered.
[249]I.e., I never adored them as gods.
[250] Of the nobles.
[251] This is the passage become famous in the imaginary form: "That mine adversary had written a book!" (xxxi. 35).
[252] Daylight is hostile to criminals, and the manner in which it operates is here compared to a tossing of them off the outspread carpet of the earth.
[253] On a carpet, to which the earth is still compared.
* * * * *
* * * * *
I. THESIS:Vanity of the so-called Absolute Joys of Living.
I 1.[254] The words of the Speaker, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2. Vanity of vanities, saith the Speaker, vanity of vanities: all is vanity.
3. What profit hath man of all his toil wherewith he wearies himself under the sun?
4. One generation passeth away and another cometh; the earth alone abideth for ever.
5. The sun riseth and the sun goeth down and panting hasteneth back to his place where he rose.
6. The wind sweepeth towards the south and veereth round to the north, whirling about everlastingly; and back to his circuits returneth the wind.
7. All rivers flow into the sea; yet the sea is not full; whence the rivers take their source, thither they return again.
8. The all is in a never-ceasing whirl,No man can utter it in words;Rest is not vouchsafed to the eye from seeing,Nor unto the ear from hearing.[255]
9. The thing that hath been is the same that shall be, and what befell is the same that shall come to pass, and there is no new thing under the sun. 10. If aught there be whereof one would say, "Lo, this is new!"—it was erstwhile in the eternities that were before us.[256]
11. There is no memory of those that were; neither shall there be any remembrance of them that are to come, among their posterity.
12. I, the Speaker, was king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13. and I set my heart to seek out and probe with wisdom all things that are done under heaven. 14. I surveyed all the works that are wrought under the sun, and behold all was vanity and the grasping of wind.
15. That which is crooked cannot be straight, Nor can loss be reckoned as gain.
16_a_. I communed with my heart, saying: Lo, I have gathered great and ever-increasing wisdom, more than all that were before me in Jerusalem. 17. Then I set my heart to learn wisdom and understanding. 16_b_. And my heart discerned much wisdom and knowledge, 17. madness and folly. I realised that this also is but a grasping of wind. 18. For
In much wisdom is much grief;Who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.
II.1. I said in my heart: Go to, now, I will try mirth and taste pleasure! But behold, this too was vanity.
2. Unto laughter I said: It is mad. Unto mirth: What cometh of it?
(a) Because Enjoyment is Marred by Possession
II. 3. I cast about me, how I might confer pleasure upon my body—my reason continuing to guide with wisdom the while—and how I might take to folly till I should discern what is good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven during the brief days of their existence. 4. I undertook huge works, I builded me houses, cultivated vineyards, 5. laid out gardens and orchards wherein I planted trees with all kinds of fruits; 6. I dug out reservoirs of water wherewith to water the tree-bearing wood. 7. I got me men slaves and female slaves and had servants born in my house; I likewise owned horned and small cattle, above all that were in Jerusalem before me. 8. I also piled up silver and gold, the treasures of kings and provinces, I got me men singers and women singers, and the delight of the sons of men, wife and wives. 9. And I waxed great and increased more than all that had been before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom abode with me. 10. And what thing so ever mine eyes coveted, I kept not from them. I withheld not my heart from any joy; but my heart took pleasure in all my labour, for this only was my portion of all my toil.
II. Then I turned to all my works that my hands had wrought and to the worry wherewith I had wearied myself, and behold, all was vanity and a grasping of wind; and there is no profit under the sun.
V.10. Whoso loveth silver shall not have joy of silver;[257]And he who sets his heart on riches reaps nought therefrom.
This too is vanity.
11. When goods increase, they also are multiplied that devour them, and what profit hath the owner thereof save the gazing thereon with his eyes?
12. Sweet is the sleep of the toiler; but his wealth suffered not the rich man to slumber.[258]
(b) Because Possession is at best but Fleeting
V. 13. There is a sore evil which I have witnessed under the sun; riches hoarded up by the owner thereof to his own undoing.[259] [For such an one treasures them, spending thereby all his days in worry, vexation, grief, and carking care without gladdening his soul;] 14. then the riches perish by evil mishap, and if that man have begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.
16_a_. But this likewise is a sore evil: exactly as he came, even so shall he go; 15. naked, as he issued from his mother's womb, must he depart again, nor for all his labour shall he carry away aught that might go with him in his hand. 16_b_. What profit hath he then for having toiled for the wind, 17. and likewise passed all his days in darkness, mourning and much grief, suffering and wrath?
(c) Because the Capacity for Pleasure is hedged round with Conditions
V. 18. Behold what I have found to be good and beautiful: that a man eat, drink and make merry amid all his labour whereat he striveth under the sun during the brief days of his life which God hath allotted to him; for such is his portion. 19. But that God should enable every man on whom he has bestowed riches and treasures, to enjoy these, and taking his share, to have pleasure in his labour, this is itself a gift of God.[260] 20. For then he shall not ponder overmuch on the days of his life, since God approveth the joy of his heart.
VI. 1. But there is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavy upon men: 2. that God bestows upon one riches, wealth and honour, grudging him nought for which his soul yearns, yet permitteth him not to taste thereof, but a stranger enjoyeth it. This is vanity and a sore evil. 3. If such an one should beget even a hundred sons and live many years, but his soul could not revel in bliss then I say, an untimely birth is better off than he. 4. For it came into nothingness, and departed in gloom and its name is shrouded in darkness; 3. not even a sepulchre fell to its lot; 5. moreover, it had not gazed upon, nor known the sun; this latter hath more rest than the former. 6. Yea, though one lived a thousand years twice told, yet had not tasted happiness, must not all wander into one place?[261]
7. All man's toil is for his mouth; And yet the soul[262] gets not its fill.
III. 9. What profit hath the toiler from that whereat he labours? 12. I perceived that for him there is no good other than to eat, drink, and make merry in his life; 13. but even this same that any one may eat, drink, and enjoy himself during all his toil, is for him a gift of God.[263]
(a)Because of its Limitation
III. 10. I considered the working of the world which God gave unto man as a subject of meditation. 11. Unto their perception he made over the universe and likewise all eternity; yet so that they are unable to discern the work that he worketh from the beginning unto the end.[264]
(6)From its Depressing Effects as Applied to the Order of the World
III. 14. I discovered that whatever God doeth is for ever; nothing can be superadded to it, neither can aught be taken away; and God hath so contrived it that man must fear him.
15. What came into being had been already long before, and what will be was long ago; and God quickeneth the past.
(c)Because of its Depressing Effects as Applied to Human Life and Conduct
III. 16. Moreover, I saw, under the sun, in the place of equity iniquity, and in lieu of justice crime. 18. I said in mine heart: It is for men's sake that God should try them and show that they are beasts, they unto themselves. 19. For men are an accident, and the beasts are an accident, and the same accident befalleth them all: as these die even so die those, and the selfsame breath have they all, nor is there any pre-eminence of man above beast;[265] for all is nothingness. 20. All drift into one place; all sprang from the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21. Who knoweth whether the breath of man riseth upwards or whether the breath of the beast sinketh downwards to the earth?
22. And I perceived that other good there is none, save only that man should enjoy himself in his work; for that is his portion. For who can show him what shall become of him after his death?
IV. I. And again I saw all the oppressive deeds that are wrought under the sun; and behold the downtrodden weep, and none comforteth them; and they endure violence from their tyrants, and none consoleth them. 2. Then I appraised the dead who died long since, as happier than the quick who are yet alive; 3. but luckier than both, him who is still unborn, who hath not yet witnessed the evil doings under the sun.
4. And I saw that all striving and all painstaking in the working of men is but the jealousy of one with another; this too is vanity and the grasping of wind. 5. True,
The fool foldeth his hands,And eateth up his own flesh.
6. And yet better is a handful of quietness than both fists filled with drudgery and the grasping of wind.
7. And again I beheld a vain thing under the sun: 8. one who toileth restlessly without enjoying his riches. For whom do I wear myself out and bereave my soul of pleasure? This too is vanity and irksome drudgery.
II. 12. For what manner of man will he be who shall come after me? 18. Then I loathed all my toil, wherewith I had wearied myself under the sun, in order that I should leave it to one who shall come after me. 19. And who knoweth whether he be a wise man or a fool? Yet shall he have sway over all the fruits of my labour which I have gained by toil and wisdom under the sun; this likewise is vanity. 20. And I turned away to let my heart abandon itself to despair because of the pains wherewith I laboured under the sun. 21. For here is a man who hath performed his work with wisdom, knowledge and painstaking, and to one who hath not laboured thereat he must leave it, as his portion. This also is vanity and a sore evil.
22. For what hath man of all his striving and of the worry of his heart wherewith he labours under the sun? 23. For all his days are sorrows and his work grief; yea, even at night his heart taketh no rest; this too is vanity.
24. There is no good for man, save that he should eat and drink and make glad his soul in his labour. Yet I saw that even this lieth in the hand of God.[266] 25. For who can eat and who can enjoy except through him? 26. For on the man who findeth favour in his sight he bestoweth wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to him who is not pleasing in his sight[267] he giveth drudgery, to gather and to heap up in order to make it over to him in whom he is well pleased. This also is vanity and a grasping of wind.
(a) Because in the Chances of Life and Death the Just are Nowise Favoured
II. 12_a_. Then I turned to behold wisdom, madness and folly, 13. and I saw that wisdom excelleth folly as much as light surpasseth darkness:
14. The wise man hath eyes in his head; But the fool walketh in obscurity.
But I perceived that the same fate overtaketh them all. 15. Then I said in mine heart: As it happeneth to the fool, so shall it happen also unto me; and why then have I been so very wise? Whereupon I said in my heart that this too is vanity. 16. For there is no more remembrance of the wise man than of the fool for ever; because in the days to come all shall have been long since forgotten, and how the wise man perisheth like the fool!
17. Then I loathed life; because the turmoil under the sun weighed upon me as a calamity, for all is vanity and a grasping of wind. III. 1. To everything there is a season and each thing under heaven hath its hour.[269] 2. There is a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 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 away stones and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; 6. a time to seek and a time to throw away; a time to keep and a time to destroy; 7. a time to rend and a time to repair; a time to be silent and a time to speak; 8. a time to love and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace. VIII. 6. For every thing hath its season and its destiny,[270] for the bane of man presses heavily upon him. 7. Because he knoweth not what shall be; for who can tell him how it will come to pass?
8. No man swayeth the storm-wind,None controlleth the day of his death;There is no discharge in war,Nor can riches rescue their possessor.
(b) Because the Just are very often Treated worse than the Wicked
VIII. 9. All this have I seen, and I have applied my heart unto every event that happens under the sun, at the time when one man ruleth over another to his undoing. 10. And so I beheld the evil-doer honoured, even in the holy place, while they who had done uprightly must go away and were forgotten in the city. This also is vanity.
11. Because sentence against misdeeds is not executed forthwith, therefore the heart of the sons of man is fully set to work evil. 12. For I know that many a miscreant hath committed bad deeds for a protracted time past, and yet lives long, 13. while the God-fearing prolongeth not his shadow-like days.
14. There is a vanity which is done upon earth: to righteous men that happeneth which should befall wrong-doers; and that betideth criminals which should fall to the lot of the upright. I said: This too is vain.
16a. When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to consider the goings on upon earth, 17a. then I perceived that no man can find out the whole work of God that is carried on beneath the sun.[271] How much soever he may labour in seeking, he will not discover it; 16_b_. even though by day and by night he should keep his eyes from seeing sleep; 17_b_. yea, though a wise man set himself to fathom it, yet shall he not find it out.[272]
IX. 1. For all this I laid to heart, and my heart beheld it all; that the righteous and the wise and their doings are in the hand of God; neither love nor hatred doth a man know in advance;[273] everything lies before him.
2. All things come alike to all indiscriminately;[274] the one fate overtaketh the upright man and the miscreant, the clean and the unclean, him who sacrifices and him who sacrifices not, the just and the sinner, him who swears as him who dreads an oath. 3. This is an evil amongst all things that are done under the sun, that one chance betideth all; therefore the sons of men pluck up courage for evil, and madness abideth in their heart.
VIII. 15. Then I commended mirth, because for man there is no good under the sun save only to eat, drink, and make merry, and that abideth with him in his toil during the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.
(a) Because Success is Contingent upon Circumstances beyond the Control of Man
IX. 11. Again I 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 men of understanding, nor favour to men of skill; but time and chance overtake them all. 12. For man knoweth not even his own time; like the fishes that are taken in the evil net, and like the birds that are caught in the snare, so are the sons of men entrapped in the season of misfortune, when it breaks in upon them unawares.[275]
(b) Because of the Difficulty of obtaining recognition for it, and of the Ease with which it may be Thwarted by Folly
IX. 13. This also have I seen under the sun, as wisdom, and it appeared great unto me. 14. There was a little city and few soldiers therein, and there came a mighty king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. 15. Now he found in it a poor wise man who, by his wisdom, delivered the city; but no one remembered this poor man afterwards. 16. Thereupon I said:
Wisdom is better than strength;Yet the poor man's wisdom is despised.
17. The words of the wise are gently uttered;But the clamour of fools is deafening.[276]18. Wisdom is better than war weapons;Yet a single oversight bringeth ruin.X. 1. A dead fly causes balsam to putrefy;So a little folly destroys much happiness.
VI. 8. For what hath the wise more than the fool? What, the poor who knoweth how to walk before the living? 10. That which is happening was long ago named, and it is known beforehand what a man shall be; neither can he join issue with him who is mightier than he. 11. For there is much prattle that only augmenteth vanity. Of what avail is it to man? 12. For who knoweth what is helpful to man in life during the brief vain days of his existence which he spendeth as a shadow? For who can tell a man what shall come to pass after him under the sun?
(a) Of Claims to Happiness
VII.1_a_. Better is a good name than choice unguents,
X.1. But better wisdom than glory;[Better not being than existence,][277]
VII.1_b_. And the death-day than the birthday.
2. Better to enter the house of mourningThan to go into the tavern;Because there is the end of every man,And he who survives will lay it to heart.
3. Better is sorrow than laughter;For a cheerless face makes a blithesome heart.4. The heart of the wise is in the mourning-house;The heart of fools in the house of mirth.
5. Better to hearken to the rebuke of the wise,Than to listen to the song of the foolish.6. As the crackling of thorns under a pot,[278]Is the inane laughter of the fool.
VI.9. Better look with the eyes than wander with desire;This too is vanity and a grasping of wind.VII.7. For extortion maketh the wise man foolish,And bribery robs understanding.
8. Better the end of a thing than the beginning thereof;Better is patience than haughtiness.9. Let not thy spirit be hurried into anger,For anger lurketh in the bosom of fools.
10. Say not: Why were old times better than these? For it is not from wisdom that thou askest thus.
13. Contemplate the work of God! Who can straighten what he hath made crooked? 14. In the day of prosperity be of good cheer, and in the evil day bethink thee: the latter God hath made even as the former, to the end that man at his death shall have left nothing unaccomplished.
(b) As Renunciation of Reputation for Perfect Justice and Wisdom
VII. 15. All things have I witnessed in my vain days; there are just men who perish through their righteousness, and there are wicked men who prolong their lives by means of their iniquity.[279] 16. Be not righteous overmuch, neither make thyself overwise; why wouldst thou ruin thyself? 17. Do not allow thyself too much liberty, and be not a fool: why wouldst thou die before thy time? 18. It is well that thou shouldst hold fast to the one and also not withdraw thy hand from the other, for he who feareth God compasseth all this.
19. Wisdom is a stronger guard for the wise man than ten mighty men who are in the city.
11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance,Yea, better yet, to them that see the sun;[280]12. For wisdom and wealth afford shade,And wisdom, besides, keeps its possessors alive.
(c) As Renunciation of One's Claims to the Respect and Consideration of Others
VII. 21. Likewise, take not all the gossip of people to heart, lest thou hear that thy friend hath reviled thee! 22. For thy heart is conscious that thou thyself hast often-times made little of others. 20. For:
There is no just man upon the earthWho worketh good and never faileth.
(d) Of One's Claims to Act Independently of their Counsel and Aid
IV. 9. Two are better off than one; 10. for should one of them fall, the other lifts him up again. Woe to him that is alone, if he fall, and there be not another to raise him up. 11. Likewise, if two lie down together, they become warm; but how can one grow warm alone? 12. Moreover, if a man would overpower the single one, two can keep him at bay, and a threefold cord will not easily give way.
13. Better is the youth, needy and wise, than the king old and foolish, who can no longer take a warning to heart. 14. For the former went forth from prison to govern, though born poor in the realm of the king. 15. I saw all the living who walk under the sun, in attendance on the youth who was to take his place. 16. There was no end to the multitude….[281] who were before them; nor did those who lived afterwards glory in him. For this likewise is vanity and a grasping of wind.
A Warning: (a) Against Outward and Sacrificial Worship
V. 1. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God! And to draw near him, in order to obey, is better than the offering of sacrifices by fools: for they know not….[283] to work evil.
(b) Against Mechanical Prayer
V. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, nor let thy heart be hasty to utter words before God! For God is in heaven, and thou art upon earth; therefore let thy words be few! 3. For
Dreams proceed from much brooding,And the prattle of fools from a multitude of words.
(c) Against Rash Vows
V. 4. If thou makest a vow unto God, fail not to fulfil it, for fools are displeasing. Carry out that which thou hast promised. 5. It is better thou shouldst not vow at all than vow and not perform. 6. Suffer not thy mouth to render thy body punishable, neither utter thou the plea before the messenger:[284] "it was rashness." Why cause God to be wroth at thy voice and destroy the work of thy hands?
(d) Against Arbitrary Religious Speculations
V. 7….[285] For in the multitude of fancies and prattle there likewise lurketh much vanity. Rather fear thou God!
(a) In Public Life
V. 8. When thou witnessest oppression of the poor and the swerving from right and equity in the land, marvel not thereat. For a higher one watcheth over the high, and still higher ones over both.[286] 9. But a gain to the country is only a king—for tilled land.
X.16. Wo, land, to thee whose king is a child,And whose princes feast in the early morning!17. Hail to thee, land, whose king is noble,And whose princes eat in due season!
18. Through sloth the rafters give way;Through idleness the roof lets in the rain.19. They misuse food and drink for feasting:And gold putteth all things in their grasp.
20. Even in thy privacy curse not the king,Nor in thy bed-chamber the wealthy;The birds of heaven might divulge it,And the feathered ones might report the word.
(b) In Private Life
XI. 1. Send forth thy bread over the surface of the waters, for after many days thou shall find it again. 2. Divide thy possessions into seven, yea, into eight portions! For thou knowest not what evil may befall the land. 3. If the clouds fill themselves with rain, they discharge it upon the earth; and whether the tree falleth towards the south or towards the north, in the place where it falleth, there shall it abide.
6. In the morning sow thy seed,And until evening let not thy hand repose.[287]
For thou knowest not which one shall thrive, this or that, or whether they shall both prosper alike.
4. He that observeth the wind shall not sow;He that watcheth the clouds shall not reap.
5. As thou knowest not the way of the wind, nor the growth of the bones in the womb of the mother, even so, thou canst not fathom the work of God who compasseth everything.