BSI476 
 LH374 
 
^6« qBooR of 6ccfe0ta0fe0 
 
 HAUPT 
 
 COPYRIGHT 
 IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
 1905 
 
 BY 
 FALL HAUPr 
 
\ ^ V 
 

 THE BOOK 
 
 OF 
 
 (Bccfma^k^ 
 
 A NEW METRICAL TRANSLATION 
 
 With an Introduction and Explanatory Notes 
 
 PAUL HAUPT, LL D. 
 
 W. W. Spence Professor of the Semitic Languages 
 
 in the Johns Hopl<ins University 
 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
 THE JOHNS HOPKINS I'RESS 
 IQOS 
 
1905 
 
 BY 
 
 PAUL HAUPT 
 
 PRINTED BY 
 
 ^^e jfrte&enwafS Company 
 
 BALTIMORE, MD., L'. S. A. 
 
 [Reprinted from the American Journal of Philology, No. 102 
 
TO 
 
 Horace ^ovocitb jjfurn^ee 
 
 AS A SMALL TOKEN 
 OF GRATEFUL APPRECIATION AND REGARD 
 
&cdmciBttB 
 
 The Book of Ecclesiastes ' is unparalleled in the whole 
 range of Biblical Literature. Ernest Renan spoke of it as 
 the onh' charming book that was ever written by a Jew. 
 Heinrich Heine called it the Canticles of Skepticism, while 
 Franz Delitzsch thought it was entitled to the name of the 
 Canticles of the Fear of God. From the earliest times down 
 to the present age Ecclesiastes has attracted the attention of 
 thinkers. It was a favorite book of Frederick the Great, who 
 referred to it as a Mirror of Princes. But Biblical students 
 of all ages have experienced some difficulties about this 
 remarkable production. Some in the Jewish Church denied 
 the inspired character of the work, until the synod of Jabnch 
 (90 A. D.) decided in favor of the canonicity of the Book. 
 The genuine portions of Ecclesiastes are out of place in the 
 Canon. Their author is not a theologian, but a man of the 
 world, probably a physician, with keen observation, penetrating 
 insight, and vast experience.^ 
 
 I believe that the genuine portions of Ecclesiastes were 
 written by a prominent Sadducean physician in Jerusalem, 
 who was born at the beginning of the reign of Antiochus 
 b^pij^hanes (175-164) and died in the first decade of the 
 reign of Alexander Jann;eus ( 104-78 r,. c.).^ Pxclesiastes 
 ma\- have been a son of David, just as Jesus and Hillel ■♦ 
 
2 ^^^#^»s- 3«tro&ucfton -jj^fQ-i~!— 
 
 were sons of David; he may even have been a king in 
 Jerusalem, if we take king to mean head of a school.'' The 
 term ki)ig is used in this way in the Talmud (Gitt. 62'^; 
 Ber. .64^). The Book was probably published after the 
 death of the author, who may have worked on it for more 
 than forty years. Nietzsche would have called it eins dcr 
 erlcbtcstcn Buclicr. The three or four interpolations 5 suggesting 
 that this pessimistic poem was a work of the wise king of 
 Israel, Solomon ben-David (about 950 b. c.) may be due to 
 the friends of the author, who edited the book.^ On the 
 other hand, there are a great many Pharisaic interpolations 
 directly opposing the Epicurean ^ teaching set forth in the 
 poem. The genuine portions of Ecclesiastes are Sadducean 
 and Epicurean ; Stoic doctrines are found almost exclusively 
 in the Pharisaic interpolations.^ 
 
 Ecclesiastes must have been a Sadducee ; for he doubts 
 the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body 
 (3, 21). He must have been a physician; otherwise he could 
 not have given the enumeration of the symptoms of senile 
 decay in the beautiful allegorical description at the end oi 
 the Book. He must have been born under the reign of 
 Antiochus Epiphanes (175-164); for in 4, 13-16 he says 
 that he saw the general enthusiasm for the poor hut wise 
 youth (/. r., Alexander Balas) who succeeded (150 B.C.) to 
 the throne of the old and foolish king (/. c\, Antiochus 
 Epiphane.s).9 Ecclesiastes also states, at the end of c. 9, that 
 he saw the successful defense of the small place (Bethsura) 
 against the great king (Antiochus Eupator, 163 b. c.).'° 
 
 Schopenhauer" says that no one can fully appreciate 
 Ecclesiastes until he is seventy, and we may safely assume 
 that Pxclesiastes had reached the age of three score years 
 and ten when he finished his work. If we suppose that 
 he was born in the first year of the reign of Antiochus 
 P^piphancs, he would have been eight years old at the 
 beginning of the Maccabean rising in 167 b. c, and twelve 
 at the time of the siege of Bethsura in 163 b. c.'° If he was 
 in Bethsura with his family during the siege, it would not 
 
-^s-^-e^mff^ ']nivoi)\iciion -j^^fE^^x— 3 
 
 be surprising that this cx'cnt made a strong impression on 
 him. At the time of the nuptials of Alexander Balas in 
 150/^ he would have been 25, or 22 at the beginning (153) 
 and 30 at the end (145) of Alexander's meteoric career. 
 
 He may have completed his Book at the age of 75, in 
 100 B. c, but he may not have published it during his 
 lifetime, and his friends and disciples, who desired to makx 
 known this remarkable legacy, may have deemed it imprudent 
 to publish it under the name of its author; therefore they 
 tried to make it appear to be a work of King Solomon,^ 
 especially as several passages might have been referred to 
 the king then reigning, Z7,:r., Alexander Jannaeus (104-78 
 B. c.).'- The pessimistic poem may have caused such a 
 sensation that it was impossible to suppress it. The Pharisaic 
 authorities therefore decided to save the attractive book for 
 the Congregation but to pour some water into the author's 
 strong wine. ^3 This official recension, which was not castrated 
 but figleaved, ma}' have been prompted by the apocryphal 
 book known as the Wisdom of Solomon, '^ which was composed 
 at Alexandria about 50 b. c. The Wisdom of Solomon (r/. 
 especially c. 2) is directed against Ecclesiastes, and the 
 Pharisaic authorities may have deemed it necessary to clear 
 Jerusalem of the suspicion of P^picureanism.^ They may 
 have been afraid that the Egyptian Jews might eventually 
 abandon their annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem, preferring 
 to worship at the Temple founded at Leontopolis by Onias 
 lY. about 160 B. c.'5 This Jewish Temple in Egypt existed 
 until 73 A. D., when it was closed by the Romans after the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 The confusion of the traditional text of Ecclesiastes may 
 be partly accidental, partly intentional.'^ The original manu- 
 script may have been left by the author without a final 
 revision ; he may have left a number of parallels and variants '^ 
 without indicating his final preference. This confusion was 
 increased by the editorial changes introduced by the friends 
 of the author, who i)ublished the work after his death. ^ 
 It was further increased b}- the iK)lemical interpolations of 
 
4 — »4^^B«- 3ntrobuctton ^s^^^f"*— 
 
 the orthodox Pharisaic editors, who finally admitted the 
 Book into the Canon of the Sacred Scriptures in 90 A. D. 
 Several of the most objectionable statements are less offensive 
 if preceded'^ or followed '^ by orthodox glosses and scattered 
 through less questionable sections; but combined in their 
 proper order they would have been intolerable.^" For the 
 same reason some of the love-songs in the so-called Song 
 of Solomon seem to have been cut up and dislocated, because 
 in their original order certain erotic allusions would have 
 been too plain and would not have lent themselves to any 
 allegorical interpretation for the purpose of edification.^' 
 A dislocated and bandaged arm has no force." 
 
 We have, of course, no mathematical evidence, and I do 
 not claim to have been present when the editorial changes 
 were made, but my theory explains all the features of this 
 remarkable Book. I came to my conclusions fourteen years 
 ago, after having interpreted the Book in the Old Testament 
 Seminary of the Johns Hopkins University for three years 
 (1888- 1 891), and when I examined my notes again last 
 winter ^"3 I found hardly anything requiring modification; 
 in fact, I rediscovered several things which I had found 
 in 1890. My views concerning the Old Testament have 
 undergone considerable modifications during the past fifteen 
 years, ever since I took up the idea of publishing a new 
 edition of the Bible ; but with regard to Ecclesiastes my 
 first impression has remained the same in all essential points, 
 although my notes of 1890 had become so unfamiliar to 
 me that I regarded them just as objectively as though they 
 had been compiled by somebody else. Certainly, nothing 
 that has appeared during the past fourteen years, neither 
 the commentary of Wildeboer^'* nor the translations of 
 Riietschi^s and Siegfried, ^^ have induced me to deviate from 
 my original opinion. The arrangement of the text is practi- 
 cally the same which I made in 1890, a specimen of which 
 was published in the Johns Hopkins University Circulars 
 for June, 1891,^7 and reprinted in the Oriental Studies'^ (Boston, 
 i894).^« 
 
I have often stated that I adhere to the maxim that the 
 probably right is preferable to the undoubtedly wrong.^^ 
 Instead of prolonging my theoretical discussion of the origin 
 of the Book of Ecclesiastes it will be better to let the great 
 Old Testament pessimist speak for himself The rhythm of 
 my new English translation has been much improved by the 
 kind assistance of the distinguished co-editor of the Poly- 
 chrome Bible, Horace Howard Furness. The metrical ques- 
 tions 3° will be discussed in an article on the form of the Book 
 of Ecclesiastes, which will be published in the fifth volume of 
 the Johns Hopkins Contributions to Assyriology and Com- 
 parative Semitic Grammar {Bcitrdgc ziir Assyriologic und scmi- 
 tischcii SpraclnvisscnscJiaft) edited by Friedrich Delitzsch and 
 Paul Haupt. This will include my critical edition of the 
 Hebrew text which has been in type since July, 1904. 
 
 (i) See below, note i on section I (p. 34). 
 
 ( 2 ) See my lecture on the Book of Ecclesiastes in Oriental Studies 
 (Boston, Ginn & Co., 1894) pp. 242-278; cf. Siegfried's review in the 
 Theoloi^ischc Literatiir-Zeitung, Sept. 28, 1895. Winckler, in his review 
 of Siegfried's commentary on Ecclesiastes, in the OrtC7ttalistische 
 Literatur-Zeitims: , \, 313-316 (Oct., 1898) and in his paper Zeit und 
 Verfasser des Koheleth in his Altorientalische Forschungen, part 10 
 (Leipzig, 1898) does not seem to have been aware of the fact that 
 Siegfried's view of the composite character of Ecclesiastes was based 
 on my lecture published in 1894. Cf. below, nn. 26. 28. 
 
 (3) According to Winckler, op. cit., part 10, p. 153, the author of 
 Ecclesiastes was the Hellenizing high-priest Alcimus (i Mace. 7, 9) who 
 died in 160 B.C. (i Mace. 9, 56). But this hypothesis {cf. Cheyne- 
 Black's EB 1164 and Matthes' paper cited below) is just as untenable 
 as Winckler's conjectures and interpretations, op. cit., part 4 (Leipzig, 
 1896) pp. 351-355, or his remarks on the Book of Ruth, op. cit., part 
 16 (Leipzig, 1901) pp. 65-78, and his remarks on Canticles, op. cit,, 
 part 18, pp. 236-242. Contrast my metrical version of the Book of 
 Canticles (Chicago, 1902) reprinted from Hebraica, 18, 193-245; 19, 
 1-32. J. C. Matthes, of Amsterdam, in his paper Die Abfassungszeit 
 des Predigers in the Vienna Biblische Vierteljahrsschrift (1904) believes 
 that the genuine portions of Ecclesiastes were written about 150 b. c, 
 and that the glosses were added before the end of the second century b. c. 
 
 (4) The Davidic descent of Hillel is not certain; see E. Schiirer, 
 Geschichte des judischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi, vol. 2 (Leipzig, 
 1898) p. 360, n. 29. 
 
6 ^-»^^l^»s- Qlotce on 3wtrobuctt^n • mi^t"' 
 
 (5) Eccl. I, I. 12. i6b; c/. 2, 12b (=1, «; VI, n. f ; VII, p). 
 
 (6) They may have transposed sections VI and VII to the beginning 
 of the Book in order to emphasize the passages which might be referred 
 to Solomon. 
 
 (7) Like Epicurus (341-270 B.C.) Ecclesiastes commends com- 
 panionship (4, 9) and cheerfulness (9, 7) but also contentment (6, 9) 
 and moderation in sensual pleasures, to avoid painful consequences 
 (11, 10). He warns against wrongdoing, since it entails punishment 
 (7i 17; 5> 6). He does not deny (5, 2) the existence of God but he 
 disbelieves a moral order of the universe ; divine influence on this world, 
 where there is so much imperfection and evil, seems to him impossible 
 (see especially section II). In the same way he doubts the immortality 
 of the soul (3, 21); death ends all consciousness (9, 10). He by no 
 means commends nothing but eating, and drinking, and pleasure (8, 15 ; 
 2, 24; 5, iS; rf. 3j 12); he also preaches the gospel of work (3, 22; 
 g, 10). Cy. below, n. 4 on III ; n. 9 on VIII. 
 
 Ecclesiastes' Epicurean Cctcruni censeo that nought is good for man 
 but eating, and drinking, and pleasure (8, 15; 2, 24; 5, 18; cf. 3, 12) is 
 condemned by Jesus (Luke 12, 20) in a section which contains several 
 allusions to the Book of Ecclesiastes {cf. Luke 12, 18 and Eccl. 2, 4; 
 Luke 12, 20^ and Eccl. 2, i8b, and above all, Luke 12, 27 = Matt. 6, 29 
 {Solomon in all his glory). Note also vv. 29. 30. Mf/ /lETsupiZec^e (Luke 
 12, 29) means: Do not be at sea {cf. Thuc. 8, 16) i. e., in a state of 
 uncertainty, do not go astray [rf. Pol. 5, 70, 10). The Peshita renders: 
 Let not your mind stray in these thino-s {we-ld nifhc ri'ydnkhoft be-hdlhi). 
 
 In the Talmud, Epikiiros means ' freethinker ; ' it is there a synonym 
 of the earlier term Sadducee ' righteous,' which seems to be a euphemism 
 for 'unrighteous; ' cf. nn. 31-34 to my paper on Ps. i, in Hcbraica, 19, 
 139 and below, n. i on II. 
 
 (8) Cf. e. g. below, n. 23 on VI. 
 
 (9) See below, n. 9 on III. Winckler {cf. above, n. 2) is right in 
 identifying the old and foolish king with Antiochus Epiphanes, but the 
 poor and ivise youth is according to Winckler not Alexander Balas, but 
 Demetrius I. Contrast below, n. 13 on III. 
 
 (10) See below, n. 6 on VI. (11) See below, n. 43 on VIII. 
 (12) For instance, 4, 14; 10, 16; 3, 16. Bcth-hasslirini, the house of 
 
 outcasts (4, 14) is generally considered to be equivalent to bCih-hd'dsi'trhn, 
 the house of prisoners, and this interpretation may have been common 
 soon after the publication of the Book. Alexander Jannaeus had been 
 shut up in prison by his elder brother and predecessor Aristobulus 
 (104/3 B.C.), the first Hasmonean King of the Jews, whose coronation 
 is glorified in Ps. 2 ; see n. 22 to my paper in ZDMG 58, 629, cited 
 below, at the end of n. 27. Neither Baumann (ZDMG 58, 587-595) nor 
 Sievers (ZDMG 58, 864-866) have paid any attention to my remarks on 
 Ps. 2 in Hebraica, 19, 134 — 146 and Johns Hopkins University Circulars, 
 No. 163, p. 56, n. 17 {cf ibid., p. 90). Aristobulus' widow, Queen 
 Salma Alexandra, was 37 years old when she married his step-brother 
 Alexander Jannaeus, and he was 24. Alexander Jannseus was also said 
 
•»° 3<ojt@ Si- (Tlofce on 3M<ifobuctton -sj^^fa-f-*— 7 
 
 to be the son of a captive woman and therefore unfit for assuming 
 priestly functions; cf. Joseph., Ant.^, iii, 12, 2 ; xiii, 10, 5; 13, 5. 
 
 (13) Cf. Georg Hoffmann, Hiob (Kiel, 1891) p. 25. 
 
 (14) Some of the orthodox glosses are derived from the Book of 
 Ecclesiasticus ; contrast Noldeke, ZAT 20, 91. 
 
 (15) Cf. Schiirer's work, cited above, n. 4, vol. 3, pp. 97-100. 
 
 (16) Bickell, Der Prediger iiber den Werth des Daseins (Innsbruck, 
 18S4) endeavored to show that the confusion was due to the mistake 
 of a binder who misplaced the quires of the manuscript ; but this view 
 is untenable. 
 
 (17) Cf. I, rf. n- (iS) Cf II, t*; IV, f ; VIII, v. 
 
 (19) Cf. II, z^; V, <t; VII, w. ^^\ VIII, T. X. o>cj (v. 13). 
 
 (20) For instance, 10, ii> (II, vii); 11, 8^ (VIII, xvi). 
 
 (21) See my Book of Canticles (cited above, n. 3) p. 19. 
 
 (22) Explanatory scribal expansions, so common in other Books of 
 the Old Testament, are comparatively rare in Ecclesiastes ; cf. e.g. II, 
 7-C; III, f- C- '*- o. "■; IV, «-;•. o-~. aa-yy- V, C- v. f. o. tt • VI, C. k. it. 
 ee. rjr]. '/.A. fifi. 00 ; VII, a. rf-'/. /«• 0. ^f. 00 -^ VIII, /3-C. i^-f. /«. v. o. tt. iif3~i)('). 
 ■&^. Nor are there many illustrative quotations (see my remarks, ZDMG 
 58, 626); cf. Ill, i3. K. TT- IV, '; V, }'. p. vv; VI, 4>; VIII, o>o) (v. 11). 
 
 (23) I interpreted the Book again during the session 1903/4, also 
 during the session 1894/5. 
 
 (24) In Marti's Hand- Conunentar, part 17 (Freiburg i. B., 1898). 
 
 (25) In Kautzsch, Die Heilige Schrift des Altcn Testaments (Freiburg 
 i. B., 1894). 
 
 (26) In '^0'w^c\C?> Handkonimentar zuni Alten Testament {QtbVixn^&w, 
 1898); cf. above, n. 2. Siegfried asked me (March 30, 1897) to place 
 my reconstruction of the text at his disposal, but I declined his request. 
 His commentary showed that he had misunderstood the oral explanations 
 which I had given him on various occasions. 
 
 (27) The translation is there printed in lines^ just as Samuel Cox 
 printed his translation of Ecclesiastes in lines, in the Expositor's Bible 
 (London, 1890) pp. 69-110 ; but Cox's stichic arrangement is as un- 
 satisfactory as Sievers' metrical analysis of the first two chapters in his 
 Studien zur hebrdischen Metrik, part 2 (Leipzig, 1901) pp. 563-567. 
 According to Zapletal, Die Metrik des Buches Kohelet ( Freiburg, Switzer- 
 land, 1904) the entire Book of Ecclesiastes, which was written in the 
 third century B.C., is metrical, even the Epilogue; but there is no 
 strophic division; see op. cit., pp. 6. 10. 13. Zapletal's pamphlet ap- 
 peared after the publication of my metrical reconstruction of Ecclesiastes 
 in Koheleth oder Weltschnierz in der Bibel (Leipzig, 1905; I finished 
 the final revision of the proofs on Sept. 15, 1904, and received the first 
 copies of the book in Baltimore on Oct. 24, 1904) but Zapletal's prefatory- 
 note informs us that the discovery that the Book of Ecclesiastes is 
 metrical was made by him during the session 1903/4. He was therefore 
 in no way influenced by my metrical version of Ecclesiastes which I 
 read at the general meeting of the Second International Congress on 
 the History of Religions at Basle, on Sept. i, 1904, nor by my metrical 
 
8 ^-»<*e|^sS5- Qtotee on 3«<rc>bucfton -m^^i^^-^^ 
 
 reconstruction of the Hebrew text which I exhibited in the Semitic 
 Section of that Congress, although Zapletal attended the Congress and 
 read a paper on Ecclesiastes' belief in the immortality of the soul at 
 one of the meetings of the Semitic Section. This coincidence is evidently 
 an interesting case of sympathy, unless Zapletal exercised some telepathic 
 influence on me, so that I was able to anticipate his discoveries before 
 he published them. I have alluded to some similar psychic phenomena 
 in n. 36 to my paper The Prototype of the Magnificat in the Journal of 
 the German Oriental Society (ZDMG 58, 630). 
 
 (28) I stated e. g. in n. 5 to my lecture on Ecclesiastes, published in 
 1894, that the passages 2, 24^-26 (misprinted 24b. 26); 3, 13. 14b. 17; 
 5, 6b. 8. 18; 6, 6; 7, 13. 14. [i8b]. 20. 26^-29 (misprinted 26b. 29); 8, 11- 
 13; 9. 3. &c. consisted of subsequent additions. Ibid., n. 15 I pointed 
 out that 4, 6 must be combined with 4, 4 (misprinted 7); 5, 9-1 1; 6, 7-9; 
 and that 4, 5 as well as 10, 18 (misprinted 8). 15 are glosses to 4, 6 (see 
 now section V). At the end of that note I called attention to the fact 
 that Eccl. 7, II. 12 must be combined with 7, 19; 8, i; 9, 173; 10, 2. 3. 12. 
 13, and that 10, 19b (misprinted 20b) is a gloss to 7, 12 (see now VI, o). 
 I added: " lO, ib belongs to 7, 16 (</. 8, 14. 10 ; 7, 15-18; 9, 11. 12; 
 8, 11-13 is a theological gloss to 8, 14, &c. ) while 10, i^ must be com- 
 bined with 9, i8b" (see now II and VI, ^). In n. 45 I stated that 2, 11- 
 23 should be arranged in the following order: 11. 12b. 19. 18. 20-23. 
 12a. 13-17. 24-26, and that the last five words of v. 12 and vv. i6b. i8b were 
 glosses (see now VI and VII). 
 
 (29) See my paper on David's Dirge in the Johns Hopkins University 
 Circulars, June, 1903, p. 55a. 
 
 (30) The genuine portions of Ecclesiastes, which may be arranged 
 in eight sections, comprise 195 pairs of hemistichs with 3 + 3 beats, 
 grouped either in couplets (Sections I, V, VIII) or in triplets (Sections 
 II, III, IV, VI, VII). Pairs of hemistichs with 2 + 2 beats occur only in 
 the interpolations {cf. IV, f, 8, 2 ff. and VI, a. 7. v), and in one illu.strative 
 quotation [cf. above, n. 22) VI, <," we find 3 + 2 beats. The final section 
 of the Book must be divided into two halves, just as I did in my lecture 
 on Ecclesiastes published in 1894 (see above, n. 2). Each of these two 
 halves consists of 3 and 5 couplets, respectively. Also section III must be 
 divided into two halves, and each half consists of two stanzas, each stanza 
 comprising two triplets. The opening section, on the other hand, consists 
 of three stanzas, each stanza comprising four couplets. Cf. my strophic 
 reconstruction of Moses' Song of Triumph {Hcbraica, 20, 155) and the 
 Songof Hannah (ZDMG 58, 620). In the older poetical books of the Old 
 Testament the end of a line generally coincides with the end of a clause, 
 but in Ecclesiastes we find a number of cases in which the end of a clause 
 forms the beginning of the following line or hemistich. In modern 
 poetry, as well as in Greek and Roman poems, this is, of course, quite 
 common ; but in Hebrew poetry it is comparatively rare. In the opening 
 pair of hemistichs for instance (i, 2) we find 3x2 (or 4 + 2) beats instead 
 of the regular 3 + 3 beats; in the same way we have in the second double- 
 hemistich of section II (9, 2) 3X 2 beats instead of 3 + 3 beats, unless we 
 
prefer to call this a transposition of the cesura; </. 3, i; 8, 15; 5, i; 
 2, 3, 4; 9, 10. 13. 14b; 12, 5 (and the glosses 11, 7; 7, 14. 24; i, 13; 8, i); 
 also Ps. 45, 4 (see note 9 on section III j. d/. n. 6 to my paper The Poetic 
 P'orm of Psalm 23 in Hebraica (April, 1905). 
 
 To Chapters and Verses ok the Authorized Version 
 
 WITH CoRRESI'ONDING SECTIONS, StANZAS, AND GlOSSES 
 
 IN THE Present Translation. 
 
 The numerals in the first column of the subjoined table indicate chapters 
 and verses of the traditional text of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the 
 Authorized Version (AV). The last verse of c. 4 in the Hebrew text 
 (LXX, Vulgate, and Luther's Bible) appears in AV as the first verse 
 of c. 5. The last verse of c. 6 is counted in LXX, Vulgate, and Luther's 
 Bible as the first verse of c. 7. Full-faced numerals (i, 2, &c. ) refer to 
 the chapters, ordinary numerals (i, 2, &c. ) indicate verses ; a and b denote 
 first or second halves of a verse ; an additional « or ^ means first part or 
 second part of a half-verse; ^. ^. 9, iba = first part of second half (/. e., 
 third quarter) of the first verse of chapter 9. 
 
 The larger Roman numerals (I-VIII ) in the second column refer to 
 the eight sections of the present version, while the smaller Roman 
 numerals (i-xvi) indicate the numbers of the stanzas. An additional 
 Arabic numeral (i, 2, 3) after the number of the stanzas refers to the 
 hemistichal pairs of a stanza; e. g. VL vii, 2^ = Section VI, stanza vii, 
 first hemistich of the second hemistichal pair. The second hemistichs 
 of hemistichal pairs are printed in separate lines, indented, (except 
 lines with 2 + 2 or 3 4-2 beats; see above, n. 30). The Greek letters after 
 the larger Roman numerals, a, /'?. &c. refer to the glosses in the several 
 sections. All smaller Roman numerals (i-xvi) indicate genuine portions 
 of Ecclesiastes, while the Greek letters indicate secondary additions and 
 interpolations. Apart from the ten glosses VII, aa — kk and the gloss 
 VIII, WW, doubled Greek letters refer to tertiary glosses. 
 
3niic;c 
 
 I, I 
 
 : I, a 
 
 6, 1.2 
 
 V, viii. ix 
 
 9. i^" 
 
 VIII, aa 
 
 2-8 
 
 i-v 
 
 3 
 
 IV, vii 
 
 P : 
 
 A 
 
 9 
 
 '/ 
 
 4 
 
 V 
 
 2 : 
 
 II, i 
 
 lO. II 
 
 vii. viii 
 
 5 
 
 vii 
 
 3 
 
 ,i 
 
 12. 13 
 
 VI, a 
 
 6 
 
 X 
 
 4-6 
 
 VIII, >/ 
 
 14-18 
 
 i. ii 
 
 7 
 
 V, •? 
 
 7-10 : 
 
 i-iii 
 
 
 
 Sa 
 
 VI, >■ 
 
 II. 12 
 
 II, ii. iii 
 
 2, I-II 
 
 VII, i-vi 
 
 8b 
 
 V, f 
 
 13- 14 
 
 VI, vi 
 
 123 
 
 VI, iii 
 
 9 
 
 ii 
 
 15a : 
 
 vii, I 
 
 12b 
 
 VII, vii 
 
 10 
 
 I, vi 
 
 15^ 
 
 3 
 
 13-17 
 
 VI, iii-v 
 
 II 
 
 III, iv 
 
 1 6a 
 
 2a 
 
 18 
 
 VII, vi 
 
 12a 
 
 VII, y 
 
 l6b. 17 
 
 r 
 
 19-243 
 
 vii-ix 
 
 12b 
 
 a 
 
 1 8a 
 
 vii, 2b 
 
 24^-26 
 
 vn 
 
 7, I. 2a 
 
 : III, V 
 
 l8b 
 
 <t>, 2 
 
 
 I, ix-xii 
 
 2b-4 
 
 : I 
 
 10, 13 
 
 I 
 
 3, 1-8 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,v 
 
 5 
 
 V 
 
 lb 
 
 II, vii, 3 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 
 VI, « 
 
 6 
 
 K 
 
 2.3 
 
 : VI, 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 IV, f 
 
 4 
 
 : IV, ^- 
 
 II 
 
 '/ 
 
 
 
 
 
 12. 13 
 
 VII, ^^ 
 
 8-10 
 
 III, vi 
 
 5-7 
 
 : i 
 
 
 II. 12 
 
 VI, " 
 
 8-Ioa 
 
 Vlll.vi. vii 
 
 14 
 
 15" 
 16 
 
 VI, y 
 
 I, V 
 IV, f 
 
 13- 14 
 15-18^ 
 
 II, vi. vii 
 
 lob 
 II 
 
 : VI, Kii 
 : VIII, vii 
 
 ii 
 
 l8b 
 
 VIII, Cs' 
 
 12. 13 
 
 : VI," 
 
 17 
 
 
 19 
 
 VI, /> 
 
 14a 
 
 III,W 
 
 
 20 
 
 II, '/ 
 
 14b 
 
 : IV, ft 
 
 18-22 
 
 ii-iv 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21. 22 
 
 IV, s^ 
 
 15 
 
 : V,7 
 
 
 
 23- 24 
 
 VI, v 
 
 16. 17 
 
 : III, f 
 
 4- 1-3 
 
 V. vi 
 
 25 
 
 1? 
 
 18 
 
 : V, }' 
 
 4 
 
 V, i 
 
 26-28 
 
 VIII, V 
 
 19a 
 
 : III, 7r 
 
 5 
 
 } 
 
 29 
 
 VI, }- 
 
 19b 
 
 : VI, KK 
 
 6 
 
 ii 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 ■■ IV, f 
 
 7.8 
 
 vi. vii 
 
 8, I 
 
 1) 
 
 
 
 9-12 
 
 1^ 
 
 2-6 
 
 IV, f 
 
 II, 1-3 
 
 VIII, iv. v 
 
 13-16 
 
 III, vii. viii 
 
 7 
 
 VIII, A 
 
 4 
 
 viii 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 *" 
 
 5 
 
 ■^' 
 
 5. 1-2 
 
 i. ii 
 
 9a 
 
 VI, « 
 
 6 
 
 : viii 
 
 3 
 
 /^ 
 
 9b 
 
 IV, i 
 
 7.8ba 
 
 IV. 1 
 
 4-6 
 
 iii. iv 
 
 10 
 
 II, V 
 
 8bi3 
 
 VIII, xvi, 2b 
 
 7^ 
 
 /:! 
 
 11-13 
 
 .? 
 
 9. loa 
 
 ix 
 
 yb 
 
 (i 
 
 14 
 
 iv 
 
 lob 
 
 xi 
 
 8.9 
 
 IV. ^- 
 
 15 
 
 VII, X 
 
 
 
 10-12 
 
 V, iii-v 
 
 1 6a 
 
 VI, // 
 
 12, 1-53 
 
 .\-xiv 
 
 13- 14 
 
 X 
 
 1 6b 
 
 VII, M 
 
 5" 
 
 xvi 
 
 15. 16 
 
 P 
 
 17 
 
 VI, V 
 
 6 
 
 XV 
 
 17 
 
 VII, 77 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 X 
 
 i8a : 
 
 V, xi 
 
 9. I"" 
 
 ft 
 
 8 
 
 xvi 
 
 i8b-2o: 
 
 ff 
 
 P 
 
 II, /v^ 
 
 9-14 
 
 WO) 
 
— »°t«#SB:«^ <Eccfc0ta0tc0 ^i^Jie*** — 
 
 I, 2 " O vanity of vanities I*^ vanity i 
 
 of vanities !- All is vanity ! 
 
 3 What profit has man of 'his toil 
 
 wherewith he toils under the sun ?* 
 
 4 Generations are going and coming, ii 
 
 while the earth is abiding for ever. 
 
 5 The sun is rising and' setting, 
 
 rushing3 (back) to his place 'to rise there. 
 
 6 The wind, it blows to the south, iii 
 
 and the wind, it veers to the north, 
 For ever veering, veering, 
 
 again to resume its veerings. 
 
 7 The streams all run to the sea, iv 
 
 and yet is the sea never full, 
 Although to their destination 
 
 the streams are running alway.'* 
 
 8 All things are ceaselessly active; s v 
 
 no man can enumerate all, 
 Nor can all be seen by the eye, 
 nor all be heard by the ear.^ 
 
 6, lo^ But nothing can ever contend vi 
 
 witli what is stronger than it.^ 
 
 («) I, I The sayings of Ecclesiastes ' (who was) a son of David (and) 
 
 King "in Jerusalem 
 {3) 2 said Ecclesiastes (; ) 3 all 
 
 ('') 3> 9 What profit has he who works (<) i, 5 the sun is 
 
 of that whereon he toils? /~\ \■^Q 
 
6, lo^ What has happened existed ^ aforetime; 
 what a man will be, is (fore)known. 
 
 I, lo Is there aught whereof we may say, 
 lo, this is a thing that is new, 
 It was (known) in those ages aforetime 
 that passed before we were born.'^ 
 
 II Whatever is past is forgotten, '° 
 
 and so will it be in the future; 
 It will not be remembered by those 
 who happen to live in the future. 
 
 Vll 
 
 viu 
 
 3, I All lasts but a while," and transient" 
 is everything under the sky : 
 
 2 Transient are births and deaths, '^ 
 
 transient are planting, uprooting/ 
 
 3 Transient are slaying and healing, 
 
 transient are razing and building, 
 7"* Transient are rending and sewing, 
 5^ transient are scattering' and gathering.' 
 
 6^ Transient are keeping and scattering,'-' 
 6=^ transient are seeking '^ and leaving,'^ 
 
 5*' Transient are affection, '^ aversion,' 
 8^ transient are love and hatred. 
 
 8^ Transient are warfare and peace, 
 4"" transient are weeping and laughter, 
 
 4*^ Transient are wailing and triumph,'^ 
 y^ transient are silence and speaking! 
 
 IX 
 
 XI 
 
 xu 
 
 (v) I, 9 What has happened,^" will happen (again); 
 
 what was done," (again) will be done.^^ 
 3, 15a What has happened,'*'* will happen (again); 
 what is to hap, happened aforetime.'' 
 
 (i?) 2 what is planted (<) 5^ stones (v) 5b from affection 
 
 (AA) i^ g Nought new is there under the sun. 
 
 ('*'*) 3, 15 aforetime 
 
II. 
 
 9, 2 Precisely as all things are [transient], i 
 
 so the same fate happens to all : 
 The righteous, the wicked ; ' the good, 
 [the sinful] ;" the pure, the impure ; 
 Who offers, and who offers not; 
 
 who swears, and who fears (all) swearing.'* 
 
 11 Off" under the sun have I seen ii 
 
 that the race is not to the swift. 
 Nor (does) the battle (bechance) to the strong, 
 
 Nor (does) bread (befall) to the wise; 
 Nor to the intelligent, riches; 
 
 nor favor to men of knowledge. 
 
 On time and chance hang all things, iii 
 
 12 '' yet his own time no man knows : 
 Like fishes enmeshed in a ''net, 
 
 or birds ensnared in a springe. 
 So the sons of men are entrapped 
 
 at the time when evil 'befalls them. 
 
 8, 14 A vanity 3 '^done on this earth is iv 
 
 that righteous'' are found whose estate 
 Is the same* as though they were wicked;" 
 and wicked^ there are whose estate 
 
 (rt) 9, 2 good as well as sinful 
 
 (,5) 3 This is an evil, that, no matter what is done under the sun, the 
 same fate happens to all; yet the mind of the sons of men 
 is full of evil,K« and afterward [they go down] to the dead. 
 
 (}) 12 for ((5) evil (e) suddenly (C) 8, 14 which is 
 
 ('/) 7, 20 There is no one righteous on earth, 
 who practices good and sins not. 
 
 ('^'0 9. 3 'i"<' madness is in their minds cluriiig their lives 
 
14 — •4-^^B^ (gccf«0taef«« 
 
 8, Is the same as though they were righteous; 
 this also, methought, is vanity/ 
 
 lo And thus have I noticed the wicked' v 
 
 interred and entering [into peace], ^ 
 Excluding from sanctified ground^ 
 
 those who had (always) done right;' 
 In the city^ they were forgotten; 
 
 this also, [methought,] is vanity. ^ 
 
 7, 15 'A good man may perish, though righteous ;7 vi 
 a bad one may live long, though wicked.^ 
 
 16 Be therefore not over-righteous, 
 
 neither show thyself over- wise j ' 
 
 17 Be thou not over-wicked, 
 
 neither be thou a fool.' 
 
 Why wilt thou ruin thyself vii 
 
 and die before thy time? 
 18^ Well is it to hold on to this, 
 
 and not to withdraw from that. 
 10, 1^ More precious than wisdom' and honor^ 
 [at times] '° is somewhat of folly.' 
 
 (<?) 8, II Since judgment does not (always) follow 
 with speed, on deeds that are evil, 
 The mind of the sons of men 
 
 is full " in their hearts '^ to do evil. 
 
 12 But -^'^ if a sinner sin hundreds of times, 
 
 and lengthen the days of his life, 
 Yet am I (fully) assured, 
 
 it is well with those who fear God.'^/^** 
 
 13 And it will not be well with the wicked, 
 
 and he will not lengthen his days,'''' 
 Who bears no fear in his heart, 
 
 of God, (nor keeps His commandments). 
 
 (t) 7, 15 All this have I seen in the days of my vanity '•• 
 
 (X/l) 8, 12 since 
 
 (////) who fear Hitn 9, ia/3 because the rigliteous and lliewise' and their 
 
 works are iii the hand of God 
 (vf) 13 like a shadow '^ 
 
III. 
 5, I Take heed to thy feet ' whenever i 
 
 thou goest to the house of God ; 
 To draw nigh to listen [to homiHes]- 
 
 is better than fools giving sacrifices; 3 
 For they never know [what they do, 
 and never cease] to do evil. 
 
 2 Be not rash with thy mouth, ii 
 
 and in thy mind be not hasty 
 To utter a word before God ; 
 
 " let the words (of) thy (mouth) be few ! ** 
 For God, He is in Heaven, •» 
 
 and thou art (here) upon earth. 
 
 4 Whenever thou makest a vow,'' iii 
 
 put thou not off its fulfilment;' 
 For no one takes pleasure in fools. 
 Whatever thou vowest, fulfil ! 
 
 5 Far better it is not to vow 
 
 than vow and not to fulfil. 
 
 6 Let not thy mouth bring on' guilt iv 
 
 and then say,*^ It is but an error; 
 Lest "anger b: roused at thy statement, 
 
 and the work of thy hands be distrained. ^ 
 6, II "Too much talking multiplies vanities, — 
 thereof what profit has man ? 
 
 (n) 5, 2 therefore 
 
 (/?) 3 For as dreams come from much occupation, 
 
 so statements of fools from much talking. pp 
 ya In many a dream there are vanities, 
 
 and (to) vanities (leads) much talking, 
 (y) 4 to God (f5) jb for fear God (f ) 6 thy person 
 
 (C) 6 before the messenger (of the Temple) ('/) God's (i'^)6, iifor 
 
 {l>l>) 10, 143 a fool talks mucli 
 
t6 — t'^el^s:*- ^cctteiABtitf -sjs^Jte**-* — 
 
 7, I Far better than flavor is favor,^ v 
 
 and the day of death than of birth, 
 
 2^ And to enter a house of mourning' 
 than enter a house of feasting, 
 
 5 To hear the rebuke of a wiseman 
 than Hst to the song of fools.' 
 
 8 Better is ending than starting, vi 
 
 than haughtiness better is patience. ^ 
 
 9 Be not hasty in spirit to worry; 
 
 this ^ abides in the bosom of fools. 
 
 10 'How comes it,' ask not, 'that the pasf^ 
 
 was better far than the present ? ' " 
 
 4, 13 A youth, poor and wise, is better^ vii 
 
 than a king who is old and foolish, 
 And never knows how to take warning, 
 
 [but through pride of his heart is exalted;]^ 
 
 (') 7 2^ Since to all men this is the ending, 
 let the living lay it to heart. 
 
 3 Far better is worry than laughter, 
 
 a sad-faced man is in tune." 
 
 4 The mind of the wise is with mourners, 
 
 the mind of a fool is with mirth. 
 
 («) 6 Like the crackling of nettles''^ under kettles, 
 so is the laughter of fools. <^o' 
 
 (^) 9 worry (//) 10 times (v) thou enquires! not wisely about this 
 
 [^) 10,16 Woe, thou land whose king is a boy !" 
 
 whose princes eat'* in the morning.TT 
 17 Hail, thou land whose king is highborn, 
 whose princes eat'* at due seasons I**" 
 
 (aa) 7i 6 this, too, is vanity 
 
 (tt) 10, 19'^ With laughter they are feasting, 
 and wine gladdens life. 
 
 (vv) 17 for strength, and not for drinking" 
 
— ^°^«3|«@> BccttexAciee -se^l^i"*^ 17 
 
 4, 14 Though (t)he (youth)" be the issue of outcasts ^s 
 and born from the poor of his kingdom. 9 
 
 15 Tlie Hving who walk under the sun, viii 
 
 I noted, were all for the youth ; "^ 
 
 16 No end there was of the people 
 
 before whom he stood (as a leader). 
 But anon they cease to admire him ; 
 
 this, too, is vanity and a striving for wind.'" 
 
 IV. 
 
 10, 5 One evil I saw under the sun i 
 
 is a blunder 'on the part of the ruler: 
 
 6 The fools' are lifted on high, 
 
 while worthies '^ remain in low station.' 
 
 7 I have noted servants on horseback, 
 
 • and princes going on foot." 
 
 3, 16 'In the place of justice is wickedness; ii 
 
 in the place of righteousness, outrage. 
 18 'I said to myself in my heart, 
 
 for men's sake this is (permitted) 
 That they may*^ see and perceive 
 
 that their very selves are beasts. 
 
 (o) 4, 14 who ascended the throne'^ 
 
 (~) 15 the second'" who stepped in his place" 
 
 («) 10, 5 proceeding (/?) 6 rich men (7) 7 like servants 
 
 ('5) 3, 16 I saw repeatedly under the sun 
 
 (e) 17 I said (to myself) in my heart: 
 
 the righteous as well as the wicked 
 By God will [surely] be judged; 
 
 for a term" to every thing 
 And to every deed has He set ; 
 15'' God looks after '^ him who is pursued.'' 
 
 (C) iS may be caused by God to 
 
i8 --^'%<^§mff ^cdteiaetee -ss^^^-* — 
 
 3, 19 "One fate is to man and to beast: iii 
 
 as one dies, so dies the other; 
 And all possess the same soul,^ 
 
 there is no pre-eminence in man ; " 
 
 20 'From dust arose (one and) all, 
 
 and to dust shall all a<^ain turn. 3' 
 
 21 Who knows if the soul ^ of man iv 
 
 ascends on high (to heaven)? 
 (Who can tell) if the soul^ of beasts 
 descends below to Hades?'* — 
 
 22 I have noted that nothing is better 
 
 than the pleasure one^ takes in his work.s** 
 
 4, I When I saw again (and again) v 
 
 all oppressions" under the sun,^ 
 And the tears of (all) the oppressed, 
 
 with no one to right their wrong's ;^ 
 The oppressors with power supreme, ^ 
 
 with no one to right their wrongs j ^ 
 
 ('/) 19 For the fate of the sons of men 
 
 and the fate of beasts is the same. 
 
 (>9) over the beasts (<) 20 to the same place all are wending'* 
 
 («) 19 for all is vanity (/I) 22 man 
 
 (/") 22 for this is his portion; 
 
 For who can bring him to see 
 
 what is to happen hereafter?'^ 
 
 10, Ht'Man cannot know aught of tlie future; 
 
 who can tell liini wliat will happen hereafter? 
 
 (v) 4, I that are practiced 
 
 i^) 7' 7 Though oppression may madden a wiseman, 
 a gift'*^ may corrupt the mind. 
 
 8, 9b Sometimes a man acts the tyrant 
 
 over others to his (own) disadvantage." 
 
— !~**3|{=ess- (Bccf«0ta6(e0 -m^^si-^^ — 
 
 19 
 
 4, 2 Then I praised the (lot of the) dead" vi 
 
 more than that of the hving who still are,'' 
 3 And happier than both [I consider] 
 
 him who is not yet come into being, 
 Who never has seen (all) the /^doings 
 
 that are done (here) under the sun.' 
 
 5, 8 Whenever oppression of the needy, 
 deprivation of justice and right 
 In any province thou notest, 
 
 be not alarmed at the matter. 
 
 A higher one watches the high one, 
 and over all is the Most High. 
 9 After all " a country will profit — 
 a civilized'" land — by a king.'** 
 
 8, 2 I [say], Observe the king's command 
 
 If only for the oath of God.'^" 
 
 3 Do not be rash 
 Nor take a stand 
 
 For he can do 
 
 4 Who can ask him : 
 
 5 Who lives the law 
 A wise mind knows 
 
 6 Though one's distress 
 
 10, 4 Should the ruler's wrath ^^ 
 Leave not thy place. 
 Composure abates ^^ 
 
 20 Not even in bed 
 Nor in thy chamber 
 For birds of air 
 And things with wings 
 
 7, 21 But pay no heed 
 Or thou wilt hear 
 22 At *s times (indeed) 
 That thou thyself 
 
 (')) 4, 2 who were already dead 
 
 and run from him, 
 in bad affairs;^' 
 
 just as he likes, "^fi 
 What doest thou?" 
 
 will find no hanri;^'' 
 due time and way,^*^^ 
 lie heavy on him. 
 
 be stirred against thee, 
 nor run from him; 
 the greatest wrongs. 
 
 curse thou the king, 
 curse one in power; " 
 may carry words, 
 may tell the tale!^* 
 
 to every word.vy 
 thy servant curse thee, 
 thine own heart knows 
 hast cursed thy fellows. 
 
 (:r) living 
 
 (/') 3 evil 
 
 (an) 8, 4 since the word of the king is supreme'''* 
 [fip) 6 tliere is due time and way for all things 
 (/'}) 7) 21 which they say 
 
 ((5(5) 22 many 
 
— *<*^i?**5>- (Eccfc6taefc0 -ss^gO'i'* — 
 
 6, 3 If of children a man have a hundred, 
 
 ''and the days of his years be many,'° 
 And he have not plenty of happiness/ 
 an abortion is luckier than he is;" 
 
 5 ThouLjh it never has seen the sun,* 
 
 it is far better off than that man.^ 
 
 V. 
 
 4, 4 I have seen" that (the end of) all toiling, 
 and whatever in work is efficient, 
 Is (mere) competition with neighbors ■'^ 
 
 this, too, is vanity and a striving for wind, 
 
 6 ''A handful' with quiet is better 
 
 than double handfuls^ with toilingr. 
 
 (o) 6, 3 and he live a great many years 
 
 (") and also if he have no burial'''' 
 
 (i) 4 Though in vain it comes and goes,'"' 
 
 and its name is covered with darkness. 
 
 (?») 5 and felt (anything) 
 
 (r) 6 And if he should live a thousand years twice, and "enjoy 
 happiness, are not all going to the same place? 
 
 II, 7 Sweet is the light, and it is fair 
 for the eyes to enjoy the sun. 
 
 8 But^^ live one for many a year, 
 
 and be glad from beginning to end,^^ 
 Let him bear ever in mind 
 
 that many a dark ^^ day will come. 
 
 (n) 4, 4 I 
 
 (/3) 6, 7 All the toil of a man is to eat,'' 
 
 yet his appetite never is filled. 
 
 (?) 4, 5 With folded arms stands the fool, 
 
 and his own flesh he consumes." 
 
 10, i8 Through sloth the rafters fall in, 
 
 the house through idleness" leaks. 
 
 (fe) 6, 6 not {ii) II, 8 in case 
 
 (tt) 10, i8 of the lumds 
 
6, 9 Better that which is seen with the eyes 3 
 
 than day-dreams 4 ''and a striving for wind.' 
 
 5, lo Never sated ^ is he who loves money; iii 
 
 and he who dehghts in abundance, 
 His income will never suffice him;5 
 
 this, too, is vanity and a striving for wind. 
 
 11 Whenever possessions increase, iv 
 
 Those also increase who consume them; 
 What profit then has the possessor 
 
 save the looking thereon with his eyes?* 
 
 12 The sleep of the plowman is sweet, v 
 
 whether scanty or ample his fare; 
 But the rich man's superabundance 
 will not allow him to slumber. 
 
 4, 7 Again (and again) have I noted vi 
 
 a vanity 7 under the sun: 
 8 A man without a companion, 
 
 with never a son or a brother. 
 
 And yet he toils on without ceasing, vii 
 
 his eyes are never sated with riches ; 
 [He thinks not,] for whom am I toiling, 
 denying myself (every) pleasure?"^ 
 
 10, 15 Fools' toil '^ may keep a man busy,^* 
 
 who knows not the way to the town.'^ 
 
 (f^) 6, 9 this, too, is vanity 
 
 (f) SbWhat (drawback) is there to a poorman 
 
 who tactfully deals with the world?'" 
 
 (C) 5, 10 with money ('/) 4, 8 this, too, is vanity and hard work 
 
 (i^) 4, 9 Two are better than one; 
 
 for well their toil is rewarded." 
 10 If [both] should happen to fall, 
 
 the one can raise up the other; 
 
6, I Tliere is an evil' I have seen under the sun, viii 
 and it Hes very heavy on men : 
 2 A man to whom has been given' 
 
 (great) wealth, and treasures, and honor; 
 
 Whereby in nought is he lacking ix 
 
 of all the desires of his heart; 
 But he is not allowed* to enjoy it — 
 
 a stranger (comes and) enjoys it.*^ 
 
 5, 13 An(other) sore evil I noted:" x 
 
 (it is) wealth guarded (close) by its owner,^ 
 14 But° lost in spite of hard labor, 
 
 so that nothine" is left 9 for his son.** 
 
 18^ Lo, this is what I have noted, xi 
 
 which is (truly) good and befitting :^° 
 
 4, But woe unto him who falls 
 
 with no one (near) to upraise him! 
 
 11 Again, when two sleep together, 
 
 they are warm ; but how is it, when single?'* 
 
 12 And if one man make an attack, 
 
 two surely will withstand him.^'" 
 
 [sore evil 
 
 (') 6, I which (/.) 2 by God (/) by God (//) this is vanity and a 
 ('') 5. 13 under the sun {^) to (the time of) his misfortune 
 
 {o) 14 this wealth (tt) at all 
 
 (p) 15 As he came forth from his mother's womb, 
 Again all naked, as he came, he goes." 
 
 Nought at all can he take aloiig, 
 in spite of toil, not a handful^" 
 16 This evil, too, is grievous: 
 
 precisely as he came, he goes. 
 
 What profit has he who toils for wind ? 
 
 (im) 4, 12 And a threefold cord is not quickly broken 
 
5, To eat, and drink, and be merry 
 in spite of all our toiling.'' 
 
 VI. 
 
 I, 14 "I have taken (due) note of all doings^ i 
 
 that are done (here) under the sun;^ 
 And lo, each one is a vanity,^ 
 
 and [all] is a striving for wind. 
 15 The crooked cannot be straightened, 
 
 what is lacking can not be made good.'' 
 
 {") 5. I Sb Wherewith he toils under the sun 
 the numbered ^' days of his life, 
 Which have been allotted by God ; 
 for this is (all of) his portion. 
 
 19 But every man to whom are given "l"^ 
 Wealth and treasures, with leave to taste xxthem. 
 And carry off his portion, and enjoy his toiling, 
 
 (Must always hold it) a gift of God.-'^ 
 
 20 He will not think '^>A of his days of life, 
 When God absorbs ^^ his mind with pleasure. 
 
 (a) I, 12 I, Ecclesiastes,* who (once) was King'-* 
 
 Over Israel in Jerusalem, 
 
 13 Set my heart to seek and sift,'" 
 By wisdom, all done' under heaven. 
 It is a sore task which God has given 
 To sons of men, whereon to fret. 
 
 3, 10 The task I have seen, which God has given 
 To sons of men, whereon to fret. 
 
 8, 93 All this have I seen, and set my heart 
 
 On all the doings done ' under the sun. 
 
 (/3) 9, lai All this I laid to heart, 
 
 and all this saw my heart. 
 
 (}) 7, 13 Consider the work of God: 
 
 who straightens «<i what He has made crooked? 
 
 14 In days that are happy, be happy; 
 
 in unhappy, consider that God 
 
 {<"?) 5, 19 by God (xx) something of (<^</') 20 much 
 
 (an) 7, 13 that 
 
24 ^-»-4-«§^3> Bcckeiaetee -sa*?!^*'*— 
 
 I, i6 'I was greater and acquired more wisdom 
 than any of my predecessors ; ' 
 
 17 But when I set my heart to learn wisdom/ 
 
 I learned, it was a striving for wind/ 
 
 18 More wisdom is (merely) more worry ; 
 
 and increase of knowledge, more grief. 
 
 7, I\Iade both the one and the other, 
 
 but in such a way that no man 
 Can find out what will be hereafter; '^ 
 
 [this, too, is vanity and a striving for wind]. 
 
 29 Consider but this : I have found 
 
 That God has made all men upright; 
 But they have sought many inventions. '' 
 
 3, 14^^ Whatever God does, will be for ever; 
 
 Nought can be added, and nought subtracted." 
 God has so done to make men fear Him. 
 
 (6) I, 16 I said to myself as follows: Lo, I 
 
 (f ) over ^* Jerusalem, and my mind has seen '^ much wisdom ^^ and 
 
 ^^ learning 
 {C) 17 and to learn madness and folly 
 
 ()?) 8, i6a When I set my heart to learn wisdom and to consider the task 
 
 17 which is performed on the earth, I saw that man cannot find out 
 
 VYthe doings which are done' under the sun; however much a 
 
 man may toil to seek, he cannot find it; and even if a wise man 
 
 thinks he knows (it) he cannot find it.'® 
 
 3, II All things He*^ has made befitting their season;'^ 
 
 Yet He has veiled their mental vision,'^ 
 
 So that no man can ever find out 
 
 What He has done from first to last. 
 
 7, 23 All this with wisdom I tested, «« 
 
 but it was beyond my reach; " 
 
 24 Beyond me " is what has been, 
 
 and deep ii— who can find it ? 
 
 {jSp) 3, 14 I know that all 
 
 {7}) 8, 17 all the doings of God 
 
 (66) 3, II God («) 7, 23 I thought I would be wise {ii) 24 deep' 
 
— *>i«3|Mfis- €ccfe0ta0tee ^s^|»i<>«^ 25 
 
 a, i2^*When I turned to make a comparison iii 
 
 between wisdom, and madness, and folly, 
 
 13 I saw' that there lay some advantage 
 
 in wisdom when placed beside folly:' 
 
 14 The wise man has eyes in his head, 
 
 but fools walk (ever) in darkness. 
 
 And yet I also perceived iv 
 
 one fate befalling them all ; 
 
 15 And then in my mind I remarked: 
 
 Since the flite of the fool wilT be mine, 
 What gain'^ has my great wisdom brought me? 3" 
 this also, methought^ is a vanity."^ 
 
 ( "^ ) 7. 25 I turned my attention to learn ^^ and to explore and investigate 
 with wisdom^' and ^'^ reasoning,')') 
 
 (0 2, 13 I (k) like the advantage of light over darkness 
 
 {^) 15 also (fi) then for me (f) in my mind 
 
 ( I') 6, Safer what advantage has the wise man over the fool ? 
 
 (") 8, I Who is as the wiseman ?^'' and who 
 
 can interpret the (meaning of) things? 
 A man's wisdom illumines,'*'* 
 
 and the coarseness of his face is changed 
 
 7, II As good as a heritage is wisdom,^* 
 nay, better it is for the living;" 
 12 For wisdom protects, just as money ; 
 
 but wisdom" gives life to its master.** 
 
 10, 2 At the right ^^ is the hearf^^ of the wiseman, 
 at the left hand'* the heart-' of a fool ; 
 3 In a business^' -^^a fool undertakes, 
 '^Mhe reveals to all, he is a fool. 
 
 12 The words of™ the wise are grace(ful), 
 
 but the lips of a fool embroil ^' him. 
 
 13 The first words of his mouth are folly, 
 
 and the last of his mouth is ^''madness. 
 
 (w) 7- ^5 that is, to learn that wickedness is foolishness,^^ and folly madness 
 (i*i9)8, I his face (") 7, 12 the advantage of knowledge is : 
 
 ('>^) 10, lobthe advantage of wisdom"' is efficiency 
 
 igbyet money grants every thing 
 (A/) 3 as soon as (Mfi)!iis mind fails liim {'■>') 13 evil 
 
26 — **^^HS> <Bccfc0ta0t«0 ^J2**f»?°<— 
 
 2, 1 6 The wiseman is not remembered 
 
 no more than the fool, for ever.'' 
 17 So hfe became to me hateful, 
 
 disgust overcame me at"^ the doings 
 That are done (here) under the sun j 
 
 all is vanity and a striving for wind. 
 
 9, 13 I once saw (an instance of) wisdoms vi 
 
 under the sun, which deeply impressed me : 
 14 A small town there was, with few in it, 
 and a powerful king came against it. 
 And to it laid siege, and erected 
 against it powerful bulwarks.^ 
 
 15^ Now there was in the town a poor wiseman vii 
 
 who delivered the place by his wisdom j'' 
 16"^ And I thought,"^ above valor is wisdom/ 
 18^ "above weapons of war is wisdom ;'^ 
 15^ But the people bore not in remembrance 
 that man so poor (and so wise).^ 
 
 (tt) 2, 16^ inasmuch as in future days everything will have been forgotten; 
 and how does the wiseman die? — just as the fool ! 
 
 {p) 7> ^9 ^ Wiseman's wisdom is stronger 
 
 than ten rulers who areff in the city. 
 
 (rr) 9, i6al, far 33 {v) 18 far ='^ 
 
 (r) i6bBut the wisdom of the poor is despised, 
 and no one takes heed to his words ; 
 
 17 Though the tranquil words of the wiseman o° 
 top the shout of the king of fools. ■'' 
 
 {<P) 10, i^A fly that is dead may make rancid"'' the spicer's balm;** 
 9, 1 8b One man who is a traitor^ may ruin much that is good. 
 
 (f^) 7' 19 "'ere (00) 9, 17 are heard (above) (^■^) 10, la fetid 
 
-^°»«&eas- ^cdteiaeUe •iSm%a-^'^^~ 27 
 
 VII. 
 
 a, I I said to myself in my heart : i 
 
 Come on, I will try thee with pleasure : 
 [Take pleasure] and have a good time ! 
 but lo, even this, too, was vanity. 
 
 2 Of laughter I thought, it is mad ; 
 
 and of pleasure, what does it avail?' 
 
 3 I revolved in my mind how to quicken^" ii 
 
 my flesh, ^ and to lay hold on folly, 
 Until I might (clearly) discover 
 
 what is good for the sons of men. 
 Which they may enjoy 3 under the sky 
 
 the numbered 4 days of their life.'' 
 
 4 I engaged in great works, and I built me iii 
 
 (large) mansions, and planted me vineyards ; 
 
 5 I laid out gardens and parks, 
 
 and planted 5 all sorts of fruit trees. 
 
 6 Pools* also I made me to water' 
 
 a nursery full of young trees.^ 
 
 7^ Both bondmen and bondmaids I purchased, iv 
 
 and slaves were born in my house ; ^ 
 
 8 I amassed both silver and gold, 
 
 and the products of realms and of regions. 
 I got singers, both male and female, 
 
 and the delig-hts of the sons of men." 
 
 («) 2, 3 with wine (/?) but my mind was guiding with wisdom" 
 
 (} ) 6, 12a For who knows what is good for man^'^ 
 
 the numbered* days of his MMvanity ?^'>' 
 
 ('5) 2, 6 of water (f ) from them 
 
 (0 7^1 also had plenty of cattle, If 
 
 more than any of my predecessors. o" 
 
 (v) 8 a mistress and mistresses'^ 
 
 {?.?.) 6, I2ain life (a^m) life of ('''') that is, he spends them like a shadow" 
 (fi) 2, 7b herds and flocks (00) in Jerusalem 
 
28 — »«s<«#^j:^ 6ccfc0ta0tc0 ^iC@*ia>i-<— 
 
 a, 9 I was great, more eminent than any 
 ever before in Jerusalem/ 
 lo Whatever my eyes desired, 
 
 that, I withheld not from them ; 
 Nor did I deny my heart 'pleasure;' 
 
 and this was my portion in '^my toil. 
 
 II For when I turned to '^the toil(s)7 vi 
 
 which I had toiled to create, 
 Behold, it was vanity all," 
 
 there is no profit under the sun. 
 i8 So I hated^ all my toil(s)7 
 
 wherein I toiled under the sun.° 
 
 la'' For what^ will he" be who succeeds me?p vii 
 
 19 ''and who knows if wise he will be'' 
 Yet will he rule over all my toil(s)7 
 
 which have cost me such toil and such wisdom.^" 
 
 20 So at last I began* to despair'^" 
 
 concerning all toils ^ of my toiling. ■< 
 
 21 For is there" a man who has toiled viii 
 
 with wisdom, and knowledge, and skill. 
 To him who has not toiled for it 
 
 he must leave '^ it.''' This, too, is vanity!'" 
 
 (i9) 2, 9 but my \visdom(always) remained with me 
 
 (t) 10 any («) for my mind had pleasure of all my toil (^) all 
 
 (/v) II all the works which my hands had created and 
 
 (v) and a striving for wind {0 18 I 
 
 (o) 18 because I must leave it to my successor 
 
 (tt) i2bthe man (/)) the king whom they have already appointed 
 
 (ff) 6, 12b For who can tell any man, 
 
 what will be after him under the sun?'" 
 
 (r) 2, 19 or foolish (v) this, too, is vanity {<p) 20 I 
 
 (x) 20 under the sun (1/') 21 his portion (w) and a great evil 
 
-^^-i-^mi^ 6ccfe0ta0f«6 ^^^*<^ 29 
 
 2, 22 What then accrues '3 to a man 
 
 from ""his toil and the striving of his mind?'''' 
 
 23 Though all his days be grievous/'* ix 
 
 and his task be full of worry, 's^ 
 And his mind find no rest at night/* 
 
 this, too, is (all) but vanity. 
 24^ Nought is good " but to eat, and drink, 
 
 and (try)" to have a good time.'^"" 
 
 8, 15 So pleasure I commend, x 
 
 since nought is good** for man" 
 But eating, and drinking, and pleasure, 
 
 which to him will cling in his toil 
 Throughout his allotment of days" 
 
 under the sun ; [his portion it is.] 
 
 {na) 2, 22 all (/3/3) whereon he toils under the sun 
 
 (yy) 5, 17 Even if his days are all gloomy,*' 
 and full of sorrow and worry. ""• 
 
 (tS'S) 8, i6b Even if by day and by night 
 
 he does not get any sleep. pp 
 
 (ee) 2, 24 for man (CC) in spite of his toil 
 
 (w) Again have I also seen 
 
 that this depends^' upon God ; 
 
 25 For who can find pleasure in eating 
 
 and in any sensation '^'' without Him ? 
 
 26 To the man whom He deems good,'^ 
 
 He gives wisdom, and knowledge, and pleasure ; 
 But on the sinner He imposes the task 
 
 of gathering, amassing, and yielding it 
 To him whom God deems good;"" 
 
 this, too, is vanity and a striving for wind. 
 
 i"^^) 3i 12 I know, there is nothing good''* 
 
 but pleasure and enjoyment'"' of life. 
 13 But every man ( on the earth ) 
 
 who eats, and drinks, and enjoys 
 Any happiness in all of his toiling, 
 (must hold it as) a gift of God.''^ 
 
 («) 8, 15 under the sun (««) (allotted to him) by God 
 
 (ttt) 5, 17 and illness and vexation {pp) 8. i6b in his eyes 
 
30 -^"t^^gs- BccUeiaetie ^s^|q>&>«— ^ 
 
 VIII. 
 9, 7 Go, eat thy bread with pleasure, i 
 
 and drink thy wine with cheer ; " 
 
 8 And white be (all) thy garments,^ 
 
 and oil for the head unfailing.' 
 
 9 Be happy ^ with a woman'' thou lovest, ii 
 
 through all the days of thy vanity; 3'' 
 For this is thy portion in life, 
 
 in thy toiling' under the sun. 
 
 lo Whatever thy hand may find iii 
 
 to do with thy strength — do it ! * 
 For work there is none, nor planning, 
 
 nor knowledge^ nor wisdom in Sheol.^" 
 
 II, I Send thy breadcorn across the* water, iv 
 
 though it take many days, — thou wilt regain it ; 
 2 But apportion it 'twixt seven or' eight (ships) ;5 
 for what' may happen, thou knowest not.^ 
 
 («) 9, 7 when God has sanctioned thy doings 
 
 {(3) 8 throughout all time (} ) 9 whom 
 
 ('') 9 Allotted to thee under the sun 
 
 (through) all the days of thy vanity.^ 
 
 (f) wherewith thou art toiling (C) 10 whither thou art going 
 
 {fl) 4 because for him who is associated with all the living, there is 
 
 some hope ; for indeed ' ' a living dog is better than a dead lion. ' ' 
 
 5 Though the living know that they must die, the dead do not 
 know anything, and they have no reward any more ; for their 
 
 6 memory is forgotten — their love as well as their hate,i« and 
 their passions are all over, and nevermore have they any 
 share in anything that is done under the sun 
 
 (1?) II, I face of the (0 2 even to (/c) evil on the earth 
 
 (/*) 8, 7 As he knows not what will happen; 
 
 who can tell him when it will happen? 
 
 9, lb ^ Man knows not all that is in store for^^ him 
 
 (aa) 9, I ba love as well as hatred 
 
VIII — »'4^^s- (Bccfceiaefce •ss^^f^'i-^ 31 
 
 II, 3 If clouds be full [of water], v 
 
 they pour down rain on the earth ; 
 If southward'^ a tree should fall,^ 
 wherever it" fall, there it lies.^ 
 
 10, 8 Whoso digs a pit may fall in it,^ vi 
 
 who pulls down," — a snake may bite ;^ 
 9 Who quarries stones may be hurt therewith ; 
 who cleaves wood, may be injured. 
 
 10^ If the [edge of the] iron be blunt,'' vii 
 
 it needs more strength [in the using]. ^ 
 
 II If the snake, before charming, should bite, 
 his charms avail not the charmer. '° 
 
 11, 4 Who watches the wind will not sow, viii 
 
 who looks to the clouds will not reap;" 
 6 So scatter thy seed in the morning, 
 
 withhold not thy hand at evening."'' 
 
 (/z) II, 3 ornorthvvard (v) the tree 
 
 (i) 8, 8 No man has control of the wind,^^ 
 
 nor is any control of the death-day, 
 Just as no release is in war ; '^^ 
 
 nor will wickedness save its adherents. 
 
 II, 5 Inasmuch as thou dost not know 
 
 the (future) course of the wind, 
 Or the bones in the womb of the pregnant,*" 
 
 even so canst thou never know 
 [Every] work (and action) of God 
 who does (and ordains) all this. 
 
 (") 10, 8 a wall^i (tt) 10 that is, if he has not ground the (ax-)head 
 
 [p) II, 6 For thou knowest not which will thrive, vy 
 Or whether both will be good alike. 
 
 (/?/?) 8, 8 to check the wind (vv) 1 1 , 6 the one or the other 
 
32 — »4«#^!5- &cdt0x&0ke ^ia^^»i<>«^ 
 
 11, 9 Take pleasure, O youth, in thy boyhood, '3 ix 
 
 in the days of thy youth be*^ joyous!'' 
 lo^ Cast worrying out of thy mind, 
 
 but keep away ills from thy body!'"*" 
 
 12, I Remember thy well'^ in"^ thy youth, x 
 
 ere the days of evil approach, 
 And the years draw nigh wherein, 
 
 thou wilt say, I have no pleasure. 
 
 2 Ere the sun become obscured, xi 
 
 and the light, and the moon, and the stars; 
 The clouds return after rain, 
 II, lo^ for boyhood and black hair are vanities.'^ 
 
 12, 3 When the keepers of the house '^ are trembling, xii 
 and the men of strength '^ are bending -, 
 
 (a) II, 9 thy mind 
 
 (r) Just walk in the ways of thy heart 
 
 and in the sight of thine eyes ; " 
 But know that for all these things 
 to judgment God will bring thee ! 
 
 (f) 7, 26 I find more bitter than death 
 
 a woman *'^ who is ( all ) snares ; 55 
 He who is good^^ will escape her ;^i 
 but he who is sinful, be caught. 
 
 27 Lo, this I have found out,')') (counting) 
 
 one by one,** to reach the result:** 
 
 28 One man in a thousand I found ; *® 
 
 but a woman, ever sought 
 By my soul, but never found," 
 among them all I found not. 
 
 (0) 12, I in the days of 
 
 (fW) 7, 26 and her heart a great net, and her arms fetters (ee) before God 
 
 (CC) iSbFor he who fears God will escape them all" 
 (w) 27 said Ecclesiastes*-' 
 
in — »<4-e|^Se- &cdeeiaett0 -ss^jfa^-*^ 33 
 
 12, The grinders '9 quit work, though they are few; 
 Those who look through the windows'^" are 
 
 [darkened. 
 4 And barred are the doors of egress,^' xiii 
 
 since low is the sound of the mill;^^ 
 And we rise at the birds' first cheep, ^^ 
 
 though all daughters of music be muffled. ^+ 
 
 5^ Whatever is high, we fear;" xiv 
 
 and every walk is a terror.''^ 
 The almond tree blossoms ;^7 and inert ^^ 
 
 lies the chrysalis, ""^ till the soul 3° emerges. 3' 
 
 6 Ere the cord of silver 3^ be snapped, xv 
 
 and the golden bowl 33 be shivered. 
 The pitcher at the fountain be shattered, 3'* 
 
 and the wheel 35 at the well breaks down.^ 
 
 5^ For he* goes to his home everlasting, 3^ xvi 
 
 and the mourners 37 go about m the street. 
 8 O vanity!"* all is vanity! 
 II, S^ and all that is coming is vanity!"" 
 
 (a) 12, 7 the dust shall return to the earth (to become) what it was ; but 
 the soul *^ shall return to God who gave it 
 
 (V*) s^man (w) 8 said Ecclesiastes*' 
 
 ((J6j) 9 In addition to the fact that Ecclesiastes *^ was a wise man, he 
 continually taught the people knowledge,** thinking out, and 
 
 10 composing, and arrangmg many lines.^ Ecclesiastes tried to 
 find pleasing^' words, but what is written is correct. ^'^ <*<* 
 
 11 Words of the wise are like points of goads, 
 But (firm) as nails" are the verses of a poem.^^*" 
 
 12 Besides, my son, be on your guard against these (sayings);^* 
 endless is the making of books ^* in great numbers; but too 
 much reading wearies the flesh. ^' 
 
 13 Let us hear the end of all this talk: Fear God and keep His 
 
 14 commandments; that is (what) every man (ought to do).*' God 
 will bring all doings into the judgment upon all that is hidden,^* 
 be it good or evil. 
 
 [leader.* 
 (i?i?)l2,io words of truth (") 11 driven in (««) they were given by one 
 
34 ^*4«|^B5- Qlofc0 on (gccfcetaefce -5«^f^>i««— 
 
 (Uo^ee on (Bccfeeiae^ee* 
 
 I. 
 
 (i) The Greek word Ecclesiastes (Heb. Koheleih) does not denote 
 an ecclesiastic or preacher, but one who addresses an ecclesia, or as- 
 sembly, a public speaker (Lat. contionator) or lecturer (French conferen- 
 cier) especially a public teacher of philosophy; cf. 12, 9 (VIII, ww). 
 
 (2) Lit., breath of breaths, i. e., How utterly transitory is every- 
 thing. The Heb. term heb I mesins primarily breath, then anythingasun- 
 substantial as a breath, anything that is in vain, i. e., vanishes as easily 
 as a breath ; hence a vain pursuit, a fruitless effort {cf. n. 10 on III). All 
 is vain, without any real value, unsubstantial and idle, fruitless, ineffec- 
 tual, useless, futile, unavailing. Ecclesiastes uses the term vanity also 
 in the sense of a fact illustrating the vanity of everything, e. g. 8, 14 
 (II, iv): A vanity done on this earth is, and 4, 7 (V, vi): I have noted a 
 vanity under the sun. Cf.n.^ on VI. 
 
 (3) Lit., snorting. This refers to the horses {Phoebi anheli equi, 
 Ovid, Metamorph. 15, 418) of the chariot of the sun (2 K 23, 11). The 
 Heb. verb does not mean ' to pant from fatigue. ' 
 
 (4) Lit., to the place whither the streams are going, there they 
 return to go. 
 
 (5) Lit., wearying themselves; cf. n. 14 on V. 
 
 (6) Lit., the eye is not satisfied with seeing, and the ear is not filled 
 with hearing. 
 
 (7) Overruling necessity, destiny. 
 
 (8) Lit., his name was called, an old Babylonian phrase for fo exist 
 The cuneiform account of Creation begins : At the time when the 
 heavens above were not called, nor the earth below had a name. A 
 name is the e.xpression of the impression ; cf. Gen. 2, 19. 
 
 (9) Lit., it was already in the ages that were before us. 
 
 (10) Lit., there is no remembrance of former things. 
 
 (11) Lit., to all there is. a while, /. e., a (short) space of time ; cf. 
 n. II on IV. 
 
 (12) Prop., temporary; lit., to everything there is a time. Nothing 
 is timeless, termless, interminable. 
 
 (13) Just as the sea is never full, owing to the constant evaporation 
 (Job 36, 27 ; JAOS 17, 162) of the water, although all streams run into 
 it, so deaths counterbalance births. If the number of births increases, 
 the mortality among the infants increases ; if a great many people die, 
 owing to epidemics, wars, famines, &c., this loss is offset by a marked 
 increase in the number of marriages and births ; so births and deaths are 
 transient just as all other human actions. The power of conception and 
 
II — *4^^«K«> Qlofee on (Bcdceiaetie •5a^#a>i<-s— 35 
 
 the capability of parturition last but a certain time (about thirty years), 
 and mortality is greater in certain periods of life : it is high among in- 
 fants ; then it decreases up to the thirteenth year, when it begins to in- 
 crease again. Even the greatest mortality in the most deadly epidemics 
 lasts but a limited period. The Black Death in the xivth century raged 
 for three years, 1348-1351, but was followed by a period of great bles- 
 sings with a marked increase in the birth-rate. In the times of the Mac- 
 cabees a philosopher in Palestine might have observed the same phe- 
 nomena which we find in Germany after the Thirty Years' War (1618- 
 164S). The first three decades (170-143) of the Maccabean period 
 ( 167-63 B. c. ) might be called, in some respects, the Thirty Years' War 
 of Palestine. 
 
 (14) Dropping, casting off. 
 
 (15) For instance, a lost sheep (Ps. 119, 176); cf. n. 12 on IV. 
 
 (16) To perish in the wilderness, &c. Abandoning, forsaking. 
 
 (17) Lit., embracing and being distant. 
 
 (18) Lit., exulting, leaping for joy. 
 
 (19) This may mean 'head of a school.' 
 
 (20) In nature. (21) By men ; r/. i, 14; 8, 19* (VI, i and a). 
 (22) Holderlin's Empedokles says, 
 
 Gt'/! ! Fi'irchte nichts, Es kehret alles zvieder, 
 Und was geschehen soil, ist schon geschehen. 
 
 II. 
 
 (i) Righteous=orthodox, wise = godfearing ; wicked = unorthodox, 
 freethinker, Hellenizer ; fool = agnostic, atheist; cf. Pss. 14, i; iii, 10 
 (see also n. 15 on V and n. 36 on VI). In Dan. 12, 3 the faithful (ortho- 
 dox) Jews are called they that are wise (or of understandiftg) ; cf. v. 10. 
 The Book of Daniel was written about 164 b. c. when Ecclesiastes was 
 perhaps ten years old. 
 
 (2) Lit., I returned and saw, /. e., I saw again (and again) ; I saw re- 
 peatedly ; cf. IV, V ; V, vi. 
 
 (3) Cf. note 2 on section I and n. 3 on VI. 
 
 (4) Lit., to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. 
 
 (5) Cf. Isaiah 57, 2 ; Wisdom of Solomon 3, 3. 
 
 (6) That is, the holy city of Jerusalem. The Arabic name of Jeru- 
 salem is el-Kuds, Holiness. 
 
 (7) For instance, Judas Maccabaeus ( i Mace. 9, iS) and his elder bro- 
 ther Simon (i Mace. 16, 16). 
 
 (8) Cf. Job 21, 7-15 ; 12, 6 ; Jer. 12, i. (9) Dignity. 
 (10) Cf e.g., I Mace. 2, 41 ; I\Iatt. 12, i AT.; Luke 14, 5. 
 
 (xi) Big, prone. (12) Lit., in tliem. 
 
 ( 13 ) Socrates was convinced that no one could harm a righteous man, 
 since God would not forsake him ; cf. 3, 15b (IV, «) and nn. 12. 23 on IV. 
 
 (14) In spite of the short duration of my life ; r/^ n. 3 on VIII. 
 
 (15) Cf 6, 12^ (VII, vv). 
 
36 -^-^e^^Ss. (Jlotce on BcciitfiaeUs ^^f»«<>«— iii 
 
 III. 
 
 (i) Do not keep running to the Temple heedlessly, merely out of 
 habit, or out of regard for other people. Consider when thou goest to 
 the Temple, whither, why, and wherefore thou art going. 
 
 (2) Expounding the Scriptures. 
 
 (3) Cy. I S IS, 22 ; Is. I, II. 16; Mic. 6, 6-8. 
 
 (4) Ecclesiastes believed that God was not only distinct from the 
 world, but also separated from it. According to Epicurus {cf. above, 
 n. 7 to the Introduction) the gods resided in the interminidia, the spaces 
 between the worlds. The Heb. word for heaven means also ether, upper 
 air; cf. the birds of heaven, /. e. the air, e. g. in 10, 20 (IV, f). 
 
 (5) If a man made a vow which he afterwards repudiated, on the 
 plea that he had made a mistake, he was liable to attachment ; his prop- 
 erty might be seized as security for the payment of the vow and held as 
 a pledge until satisfaction be made. 
 
 (6) That is, high favor with the people ; a good reputation is better 
 than the finest flavor [cf. our the odor of his good name and a name of 
 ez'iJ savor, a malodorous reputation) sweeter than the most precious 
 perfume; cf. Cant, i, 3: thy name is (thrice-) clarified perfume; see 
 my Book of Canticles {cf n. 21 on the Introduction) n. 21 on No. 7. 
 There is a paronomasia in the Hebrew : Tov-sem missemn tdv ; cf. be- 
 low, n. 12. 
 
 (7) Quiet submission to the will of fate {cf I, vi), unresisting acquies- 
 cence, resignation. 
 
 (8) Cf. 2 Mace. 5, 17. 
 
 (9) This poor and wise youth is the 5-oung king Alexander Balas of 
 Syria (150-145 b. c. ) who was a great friend of the Jews ( i Mace. 10, 47). 
 The old and foolish king, on the other hand, is the arch-enemy of the 
 Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes (175-164). Old = patrician, aristocratic ; cf 
 elder = prince, chief and our old man. For zuise = religious, friend of 
 the Jewish religion, and foolish = irreligious, see n. i on II. Alexander 
 Balas was a boy of very humble origin (Justin says, sortis extrcmae 
 juvcnis), but pretended to be a son of Antiochus Epiphanes, and his 
 claims were supported (Justin, says, to/ius fcrme orientis viribtis sub- 
 cinctus) not only by Attains II. Philadelphus (159-138) of Pergamum, 
 Ariarathes V. Philopator (162-130) of Cappadocia, and Ptolemy VI. 
 Philometor (181-145) of Egypt, but also by the Jews under the Maccabee 
 Jonathan (161-145) and even by the Roman Senate. 
 
 Ps. 45 seems to be the Heb. version of the Greek carmen nnptiale 
 which Jonathan presented at the wedding of Alexander Balas and the 
 Egyptian princess Cleopatra, which was celebrated at Ptolemais in 150 
 B. c. (i Mace. 10, 58). It is important to note that this poem does not 
 allude to the ancestry of the groom, only his personal virtues are extol- 
 led, while the bride is advised to forget her father's house (the famous 
 dynasty of the Ptolemies) and to submit to the King, should he desire 
 her beauty. This marriage was not a love-match but a political union : 
 three years after the wedding Cleopatra left her young husband and mar- 
 
Ill — »"i^^S' (Jlotee on Bccheiaeiie ^^i^^-* — 37 
 
 ried his antagonist, Demetrius II. Nicator, the son of Demetrius I. Soter 
 who is alluded to in Ps. 45 (v. 7) as the rival of the groom. 
 Ps. 45 is to be rendered as follows : 
 
 A love-song with skill I indite, i 
 
 it> reciting a poem on the King ; 
 la My mind overflows with good thoughts, 
 i<: a ready scribe's pen is my tongue. 
 
 2 Thy beauty is fairer than human, ii 
 
 thy lips with grace are bedewed ; 
 Therefore men* bless thee for ever, 
 3^ and give to thee honor and praise. 
 
 3a Gird thou thy sword on thy hip, iii 
 
 4 -j (- O hero ! hail to thee ! ride 
 
 For truth's sake and humble rightness,* 
 
 and wonders thy right hand will show thee. 
 
 5a Thine arrows so sharp \ do thou notch, [ iv 
 5<: and under thee nations will fall ; 
 
 5b The foes of the King will perish, 
 
 [and, like a snake, lick the dust.]** 
 
 6 Thy throne^ is for ever and ever, v 
 
 a sceptre of right is vthy kingdom ; f 
 
 7 Thou lovest right, and wrong thou hatest, 
 
 hast therefore vanquished^ thy rival, f 
 
 i2()With tribute gladden thy face vi 
 
 the richest, -| with gold of Ophir ; [- ^ 
 9 But thy brightest gem« is the princess 
 
 who stands at thy right as thy consort. -{ }■ 
 
 8 (With) myrrh, with cassia, and aloes vii 
 
 are (fragrant) all of her garments ; 
 From the ivory palace (resound) 
 
 [the harps and lutes] (to) salute her. 
 
 i3(^)The princess I }- in brocaded garments viii 
 with gold most richly embroidered ; 
 
 14 The noble virgin is brought to the King, -| 1 j- 
 escorted by her own playmates."^ 
 
 * That is, for the Jewish cause. •■'* Cy. Mic. 7, 17- t Balas was an impostor. 
 
 JThat is, Demetrius I. (see below, n. 16). The literal translation of this 
 line is: therefore God, thy God, has anointed Xheetcith the oil of gladness 
 above thy fellow. 
 
 \ That is, Rhodesia; see Johns Hopkins University Circulars, No. "163, p. 53. 
 n. 21. 
 
38 ^*4<^^Ss- Qtotce on (Bccfmaefee -^^m^^^ — 
 
 10 Oh hearken' and indine thine ear, ix 
 
 forget thy race and thy father's house ! 
 
 11 Should the King desire thy beauty, 
 
 submit ; for he is thy lord. 
 
 i6 In place of thy fathers, thy sons, — x 
 
 the princes of earth thou wilt make them ; 
 17 Thy name will they make ever" famous, 
 ■^extolled wilt thou beM forever.* 
 
 (o) 2 God (^) 6 O God (y) the sceptre of 
 
 ((5) 7 through God, thy God, with the oil of triumph 
 
 (e) 13 in all the treasure (C) 12 that is, the Tyrian (i) 13 within 
 
 (1?) 15 They are brought with joy and rejoicing ; 
 they enter the palace of the king. 
 
 (/) 10 O maiden and see («) 17 and ever 
 
 {'/.) 17 therefore {h-) by the peoples 
 
 The general enthusiasm for Alexander Balas did not last long : his 
 own father-in-law, Ptolemy VI. of Egypt turned against him, and he was 
 defeated by Demetrius II. in 145 b. c. He fled to Arabia, and five days 
 after the battle his head was brought to Ptolemy — an illustration of Ec- 
 clesiastes' saying : 'tis all vanity and a striving for wind. 
 
 Transient are seeking and leaving, 
 
 transient are affection, aversion. 
 Transient are love and hatred, 
 
 transient are wailing and triumph ! 
 
 (10) That is, a vain pursuit, a fruitless eflfort (not vexation of spirit) ; 
 cf. Hos. 12, I : Ephraim strives for wind and pursues the eastwind, i. c, 
 they strive for what is unattainable, beyond reach. Q". above, n. 2 on I. 
 
 (11) That is, in the right mood, in the proper frame of mind, lit., in 
 the badness {i.e., sadness) of the face the heart (/. e., the mind) is 
 good. Contrast VIII, i. 
 
 (12) Lit., thorns. There is a word-play {cf. above, n. 6, and n. 8 
 on IV) between sir 'pot' and sirhn 'thorns' in the Hebrew {Ki-qol 
 hassirhn taht-hassir). The term si rim may denote the thorny burnet 
 {poterium spitiosum) which is a most combustible fuel. Thorny and 
 prickly plants abound in Palestine. 
 
 (13) This gloss appears to refer to Alexander Balas, who gave him- 
 self to self-indulgence, just as his antagonist Demetrius I. and Demetrius 
 I.'s uncle, Antiochus Epiphanes were drunkards. Justin says: A/exan- 
 driiiii iiisperatae opes et alienae felicitatis ornaincnta velut captuin inter 
 scortoruni greges desidern in regia tenebant. \Vith the Jews, however. 
 
 * Cf. mj' notes on the Hebrew text in Hebraica, 19, 136. 
 
Ill ^-»4<^^Ss- (Uofee on <Bccf«6ta6tcff ^S^fo-f^-^ 39 
 
 Balas was popular (i Mace. lO, 47) in spite of his doubtful origin and 
 his failings. The present gloss expresses a different opinion. 
 
 (14) Feast. 
 
 (15) Lit., from a house of outcasts (Ewald, Vcrzvorfene) he came 
 forth to reign. The Hebrew term siiriin suggests the name of the 
 Syrians and the idea of apostasy or heathenism. 
 
 (16) The first was Demetrius I. (162-150 b. c). Balas reigned 150- 
 145. The glossator has evidently overlooked the brief reign of the 
 young son and successor of Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus V. Eupa- 
 tor, who reigned 164-162. Similarly Strabo XVI, 2, 40 (p. 762) disre- 
 gards the brief reign of Aristobulus I. (104/3) and states that Alexan- 
 der Jannaeus was the first Hasmonean ruler who assumed the regal title, 
 although Aristobulus styled himself King of the Jews. Cf. n. 12 on the 
 Introduction. 
 
 (17) Cf. Dan. II, 20. 21. (18) Carousing. 
 
 IV. 
 
 (i) At the time of the Syrian dominion under Antiochus Epiphanes 
 and his successors many unworthy persons, who betrayed the Jewish 
 cause and sympathized with the Greeks, attained great prominence, 
 while the noblest of the faithful Jews were humiliated. Cf. e. g. i Mace. 
 7, 9 ; 9, 25 ; 2 Mace. 4, S. 13. 19. 25. For fools see n. i on II. 
 
 (2) Lit., spirit; cf. n. 48 on VIII. 
 
 (3) Contrast 12, 7=:V11I, x ; also 2 Mace. 7, 9. 14. 36 ; 12, 44 ; 14, 46. 
 
 (4) Lit., earth, /. «?., the netherworld; cf. my note on Exod. 15, 12 
 {Hebraica, 20, 161). 
 
 (5) Constant occupation is a blessing in this world; cf. nn. 4 and 12 
 on VIII. 
 
 (6) That is, the wrongs inflicted upoti them. 
 
 (7) Lit., and in the hands of their oppressors power. 
 
 (8) That is, the wrongs inflicted by them. The Heb. has in both 
 cases : and there was no menahheni for them ; but menahhein means in 
 the first case comforter, in the second case avenger. The German 
 
 Troster means not only comforter, but also a club or rod for inflicting 
 punishment. Cf. n. 12 on III. 
 
 (9) Similar pessimistic ideas are repeatedly expressed by Greek 
 writers; cf. Theognis, 425-428; Soph., Oed. Col., 1225-1228. In Cicero, 
 
 Ttisc, I, 48 we read : Nan nasci homini longe optimum esse, pro.vimuni 
 autem quant prhnum mori. Even Socrates regarded death as a recovery 
 from a disease. 
 
 ( 10) Numerous progeny and longevity was the ancient Hebrew ideal 
 of happiness. Cf. Pss. 127, 5; 128, 3 [Hebraica, 11, 143, 150)— Exod. 
 20, 12 ; Deut. 5, 16; Ephes. 6, 2 ; Deut. 4, 40 ; 6, 2 ; 22, 7 ; i K 3, 14. 
 
 (11) ex. n. II on I. 
 
 (12) Lit., seeks, /. e., takes care ; He does not leave them in the lurch ; 
 cf. n. 15 on I. 
 
 (13) Persecuted; cf. n. i. 
 
40 — »4«#^«5- (llofee on (Eccfcetaetce •^x^j^r**^— ' iv 
 
 (14) This addition may be based on the Horatian Onmes eodevi cogi- 
 imir (published about 23 b. c. ). 
 
 (15) Lit., look at that which be will be after him ; cf. VI, } ; VII, i ; 
 VIII, /. Socrates declared that he did not know what was in store for us 
 after death, but he cherished the hope of a life beyond. 
 
 (16) Or bribe (</! e. g. i Mace. 2, 18). Oppression, persecution, 
 adversity often develop the sterling qualities of men, while favor (especi- 
 ally bribes) leads to corruption. 
 
 (17) Schiller says, Allzustraffgespannt,zerspringtderBogen. Well- 
 hausen quotes this phrase at the beginning of c. 17 of his Israelitischc 
 und Jt'idische Geschichtc (Berlin, 1904) p. 25S, to characterize the condi- 
 tions preceding the Maccabean rising in 167 b. c. 
 
 (18) Lit., tilled, cultivated. 
 
 (19) In spite of all drawbacks a monarchy is best suited to an agri- 
 cultural country with a settled population. Cf. e. g. Joseph., Ant., xvi, 
 9, I ; xvii, 2, I. Even Herod was a good ruler up to a certain point. 
 
 (20) The oath of allegiance ; cf. Joseph., Ant., xv, 10, 4; xvii, 2. 4; 
 see also Matt. 22, 21 ; Rom. 13, i. Socrates strongly emphasized the 
 necessity of obedience to the state and its laws. 
 
 (21) Conspiracy, &c. Cf. e. g. Joseph., Ant., xv, 8, 3. 
 
 (22) Who can criticize his actions? Even kings under Roman sover- 
 eignty {reges socii) had absolute power of life and death over their sub- 
 jects. 
 
 (23) Lit., who observes the law will experience no evil. A law-abid- 
 ing citizen will be unmolested, cf n. 13 on II. 
 
 (24) There will be a day of reckoning; but premature rebellion is 
 unwise. 
 
 (25) Lit., if the ruler's spirit should rise against thee. 
 
 (26) Lit, causes to rest, stop. 
 
 (27) Lit., a rich man; cf. gloss [i. Rich {cf Lat. re:x: and German 
 Reich = empire) meant originally powerful, mighty, noble, ruling. 
 
 (28) Herod the Great employed a great many spies; often he went 
 out himself at night, in disguise, in order to ascertain the feelings of the 
 Jews toward his government ; cf. Joseph., Ant., xv, 10, 4; 8, 4. 
 
 ( 29) Not to have a burial was considered one of the greatest of calami- 
 ties. At the end of the Babylonian Nimrod Epic we read : He whose 
 dead body is left in the field, his spirit finds no rest in the earth ; he 
 whose spirit has no one to take care of him, must eat the dregs of the pot, 
 the remnants of food that lie in the street. Cf. i Mace. 7, 17; 2 Mace. 5, 
 10; 13, 7. 
 
 (30) Lit, it comes in(to) vanity and goes in(to) darkness. 
 
 (31) Lit, rejoice in them all. (32) Cf. n. 20 on VII. 
 (33) The present German Emperor is said to have written in the 
 
 Golden Book of Munich : Suprema lex regis voluntas, an autocratic 
 modification of the Ciceronian Saliis piiblica suprema lex ; (/.Juvenal's 
 Hoc voto, sicjubeo ; sit pro ratione voluntas. 
 
V -^x*e#^Ks- (Jlofce on (Eccfeetaefee -^s^sta-i-s— 41 
 
 V. 
 
 ( 1 ) More accurately, pabn, flat of the hand. 
 
 (2) More exactly, hollows of the hand. 
 
 (3) Lit., the sight of the eyes, i. e., what is within our reach. 
 
 (4) Lit., wandering of the soul, /. e., extravagant wishes, castles in 
 the air. We must strive for what is within reach, not for that which is 
 beyond it. 
 
 (5) Lit., will have no income. 
 
 (6) There is no permanent gain, it vanishes under his eyes ; he can 
 not enjoy it all, he can feast his eyes thereon only as long as it lasts. 
 
 {■J ) Cf. n. 2 on I. (8) Lit., there is no end to all his toil. 
 
 (9) Lit., and if he has begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand. 
 
 (10) This can hardly be a Heb. imitation of the Greek phrase i<a'/Mv 
 myni'^uv. The meaning of the Greek term is different ; /co/'.of mya-do^ is a 
 gentleman, and ku'/mv m-jai^ov means a noble act. (T/". n. 57 on VIIL 
 
 (11) Lit., for his mouth. 
 
 (12) Inactivity and indifference are foolish and suicidal. 
 
 (13) An absurd enterprise, a fool's or gawk's errand. 
 
 (14) Lit., may weary him, c/. n. 5 on I. 
 
 (15) That is, one who is so stupid that he does not know how to go 
 to town. Is. 35, 8 affords no parallel ; there /00/s is equivalent to ?/«- 
 /rodfy, cf. n. I on II. The phrase seems to be proverbial like our w/io 
 does Jiot know e?iough to come in when it rains, or the French // ne troii- 
 verait pas de Veati h la riviere, or the German (a blockhead) mit dent 
 man IVdnde einrennen k'dnnte. 
 
 (16) Lit., who knows how to walk before the living, i. e., possesses 
 savoir-faire and savoir-vivre. 
 
 (17) Nietzsche would have said: Ziveisiedler sind besser daran als 
 Einsiedter. If a man stands alone, he cannot enjoy the result of his 
 work so well as the man who can share his pleasure with someone near 
 him. If a man is successful in his toil, and can use his gain to make his 
 fiiniily or his friends happy, he will have a better reward than the solitary 
 man. Even honors and recognition afford less satisfaction if we have 
 no one near us to share our pleasure. 
 
 (18) Lit., but the one, how can he be warm? 
 
 (19) Cf. Job I, 21 ; Ps. 49, 17 ; I Tim. 6, 7. 
 
 (20) Lit., which he may take away in his hand. 
 
 (21) Seen. 4 on VII. (22) <7: 3, 13 (VII, i?-?). 
 (23) Engrosses, occupies; see the last paragraph of n. 47 to my 
 
 paper Babylonian Elements in the Levitic Ritual {Journal of Biblical 
 Literature, 19, 71). LXX, 6 ^thg ■KEptnuq avrov ■, Vulgate, Dens occnpet 
 deliciis cor ejus. 
 
 VL 
 
 (i) <7: n. 21 on I. (2) Seen. 2 on I. 
 
 (3) Lit., wherefore have I been so very wise? 
 
 (4) Lit., evil upon me were. 
 
42 -~*'^'^m;i^ (Jlotce on (Bccfceiaefee -3i5?5|»i~^— vi 
 
 (5) Lit., also this I saw as wisdom under the sun, and it was great 
 to me. Wisdom means also a wise act, just as vanity is used for a vain 
 pursuit ; c/. n. 2 on I, and n. i on II. 
 
 (6) This refers to the unsuccessful siege of Bethsura, a small but 
 strongly fortified place on the boundary between Judea and Idumea, 
 commanding the road from Jerusalem to Hebron ; c/. i Mace. 6, 31 ; 2 
 Mace. 13, 19. The son of Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus V. Eupator, 
 who was but ten years old, marched against Bethsura in 163 b. c, but 
 his efforts were fruitless. 
 
 (7) The name of the wise defender of Bethsura has been forgotten, 
 but the name of the traitor Rhodocus is recorded ; r/. 2 Mace. 13, 21. 
 Wellhausen, op. cit. (see n. 17 on IV) p. 261, n. i says, the Jews would 
 have forgotten Judas Maccabseus, if the Books of the Maccabees had not 
 been preserved by the Church. 
 
 (8) See n. i on I. (9) See n. 19 on I. 
 (10) Study and explore. (11) Cf.w. 15 on IV. 
 
 (12) Devices, theories, speculations. 
 
 (13) Cf. Deut. 4, 2 ; 12, 32; Prov. 30, 6; Rev. 22, 18. 19. 
 
 (14) Eccl. I, I says: z';/ Jerusalem ; cf. n. 9 and II, v. 00. 
 
 (15) Imbibed. 
 
 (16) Socrates' conception of wisdom was the knowledge that he knew 
 nothing ; and Dubois-Reymond said at the conclusion of his address on 
 the Grenzen des Naturerkennens (delivered at Leipzig in 1872) : Ignora- 
 bimus. 
 
 (17) Lit, beautiful in its time. Socrates was convinced that what- 
 ever the deity decrees must be good. 
 
 (18) Lit., He has put obscurity (dimness) in their heart (mind). We 
 must read ha'^lan ; cf. Talm. bc-ha'^lem (or be'^athn=be-ht"^atem) 
 'unconsciously' and Kd/^vfiua ekI ttjv Kapdlav avruv keItm, 2 Cor. 3, 15. 
 
 (19) Lit., far from me. (20) Theoretically. 
 (21) Practical experience. (22) Theoretical. 
 
 (23) This polemical interpolation extolling wisdom reflects the Stoic 
 philosophy, which regarded the wise man as the impersonation of per- 
 fection. 
 
 (24) Lit., wisdom is good with an inheritance, i. e., just as good as an 
 inheritance (so AV, margin). 
 
 (25) Lit., those who see the sun. The meaning of the passage is : If 
 a man acquires wisdom, he is as well equipped as a man who has in- 
 herited a fortune. Wisdom is even preferable to money: it ennobles 
 life and makes it worth living. A poor wise man may be happier than a 
 rich fool. Money may be lost, but wisdom is a treasure which moths 
 and rust cannot consume (Matt. 6, 19; Luke 12, 33). For Schopen- 
 hauer's misapplication of this passage see n. 15 to my lecture cited in 
 n. 2 to the Introduction ; cf n. 43 on VIII. 
 
 (26) That is, in the right (proper) place. It does not mean that the 
 heart of the wise man beats on the right side of the body. Cf. the Ger- 
 man phrase das Herz aiif detn rechten Fleck habejt and our right- 
 hearted. 
 
VI — »4<^MBs- (Tlotce on ^cdeeiaeke •^(m^^'^' — 43 
 
 (27) According to the beliefs of the ancient Hebrews the heart is the 
 seat of the intellect. His heart is at the right means therefore : his mind 
 is sound (sane, rational, sensible). 
 
 (28) That is, in the wrong place. Left-hand = inauspicious ; left-hand- 
 ed=avvkward, unskilful; left-witted=dull, stupid. 
 
 (29) Lit., in the way (errand) which the fool goes. In i K 18, 22 
 he has a rvay {AM, he is in a journey) means he has some business ; cf. 
 also Is. 58, 13: tioi doing thy own zfc'rtyj-=pursuing thy business ; Jud. 18, 
 5 our way which we go=\.hQ errand on which we are going, /. e., our 
 undertaking. 
 
 (30) Heb. + the mouth of Contrast the last line of II, ii. 
 
 (31) Confuse, entangle, involve in trouble. (32) Lit., better (than). 
 
 (33) Lit., are above the shout of the ruler among the fools. 
 
 (34) The fragrant ointment of the dealer in aromatic spices and per- 
 fumes ; see my Book of Canticles {cf. n. 21 on the Introduction) nn. 7-10 
 on No. I. 
 
 (35) That is, unfathomable. 
 
 (36) Cf. n. I on II. Socrates identified virtue with knowledge; he 
 believed that no one consciously did wrong, but only through imperfect 
 cognition. Nietzsche says, many actions are called bad which are merely 
 stupid. 
 
 VIL 
 
 ( 1 ) Lit., what is it doing ? 
 
 (2) That is, to stimulate, lit., draw, attract (lure). 
 
 (3) Lit., do; cf. Greek ev nparTuv and below, n. 25, and n. 57 on VIII. 
 
 (4) That is, limited, few ; AV, margin, the number of the days, /. e., 
 the few days {cf AV, margin. Is. 10, 19). Shakespeare says: The 
 sands are numbered that make up my life. Cf the German Seine Tage 
 sind geziihlt, also 2 Mace. 6, 25 (for Swete's a/a'/m/ov. for MS. aKaipeov, 
 read, with Fritzsche, nKnptnlor). 
 
 (5) Heb. + in them. (6) Lit., a wood sprouting (out) trees. 
 (7) Works accomplished, achievements. (8) What sort of a man? 
 (9) Forethought. Heb. + under the sun. 
 
 (10) Lit., I turned to let my heart despair. (11) If there is a man. 
 
 (12) Lit., give it, surrender it. (13) Lit., falls. (14) Lit., griefs. 
 
 (15) Lit., and his labor much worry. 
 
 (16) Lit., to make his soul see good. (17) Cf. below, gloss «. 
 (18) Not only one, but plenty of them; not only one wife, but a 
 
 whole harem. 
 
 {19) Cf W,u; VI, 7. 
 
 (20) Lit., in darkness, even if his whole life is dreary and cheerless, 
 destitute of joy, gladness and comfort; if he experiences nothing but 
 unhappiness, grief, and worry. 
 
 (21) Lit., is from the hand of. 
 
 (22) Lit., who can eat, and who can feel ? 
 
 (23) Lit., who is good before Him. (24) Heb. + for them. 
 (25) Lit., to do well ; cf. above, n. 3. (26) Cf. 5, 19 (V, a). 
 (27) Cf 8, 13 (II, vv). 
 
44 -^■4<^'^i»- Qtofee on (Bccfeetaetee -sj^^^*-^— viii 
 
 VIII. 
 
 (i) As though you were continually feasting and rejoicing; cf. Ps. 
 23. 5; Prov. 27, 9; Is. 61, 3; Luke, 7, 46. Contrast 7, 3 (III, 0- 
 
 (2) Lit, see (/. e., enjoy) life. Cf. 2 Mace. 14, 25 {f-jafir/aev, evaTa- 
 ^//(JEV, £Kotv(l)vt/aev ^iov). 
 
 (3) Temporary existence, fleeting life; cf. II, /. 
 
 (4) Here Ecclesiastes preaches the gospel of work ; see also n. 5 
 on IV. 
 
 (5) Do not be too anxious about the future. You must run some 
 risk if you want to succeed in this world. Act like a merchant who 
 sends his grain to distant lands across the sea. Do not be timid, but 
 cautious. Do not put all your eggs into one basket, do not ship all your 
 goods in one bottom. Be prepared for all contingencies, for we cannot 
 control the future. 
 
 (6) Unforeseen occurrences out of the range of ordinary calculation 
 are liable to happen at any time ; but if you do not dare to run any risk, 
 you can accomplish nothing. 
 
 (7) Even the commonest occupations are attended with risk. 
 
 (8) Snakes abound in Palestine and are often found in dilapidated 
 buildings the stones of which are not unfrequently used for new houses. 
 Hillah on the Euphrates e. g. is built entirely with bricks from the ruins 
 of Babylon. 
 
 (9) Lit., its wielder must put forth more strength. The risk is not 
 so great, but then it requires a greater effort. 
 
 (10) Do not lock the stable door after the steed is stolen. All your 
 precautions help you nothing if you miss the proper moment. 
 
 (11) You must not be over-cautious, otherwise you will never ac- 
 complish anything. 
 
 (12) Work whenever you can ; cf. above, n. 4. 
 
 (13) These lines form the basis of the well-known German students' 
 song Gaudeamus igitiir, originally a penitential song of two stanzas. 
 Stanzas ii and iii are found in a manuscript of 1267; stanzas i-iii were 
 probably known about 1717. The tune, which is a saraband, can hardly 
 have originated prior to 1750. 
 
 (14) Amuse yourself while you are young. Pluck those flowers of 
 pleasure which grow alongside the path of life. Be no hermit or ascetic, 
 but do not ruin your health! Cf. the German (or rather, Swiss) song: 
 Freut euch des Lebetis, iveil noch das Lanipchen gli'iht ; pfliicket die 
 Rose, eh' sie verbluht! (by H. G. Nageli, of Zurich, 1793). 
 
 (15) That is, thy wife; cf. Prov. 5, 15-18. In modern Palestinian 
 love-songs a girl is often termed a fountain or a well ; cf. my Book of 
 Canticles (see n. 21 on the Introduction) n. 36 on No. 8. The meaning of 
 the passage is : Do not neglect your lawful wife ! Try to build up a 
 family while you are in the full possession of your manly vigor ! 
 
 (16) The sun is the sunshine of childhood when everything seems 
 bright and happy ; the moon is symbolical of the more tempered light of 
 boyhood and early manhood, while the stars indicate the sporadic mo- 
 
vni ~^-^^^m^ (Hofce on ^uheiaeUe -js^ia^^^- 
 
 45 
 
 ments of happiness in mature age. More and more the number of rainy 
 days increases, but seldom interrupted by bright moments ; and when 
 we are going down the hill, there is no sunshine after the rain, but the 
 clouds return, and everything seems painted gray on gray. 
 
 (17) The hands. (iS) The bones, especially the backbone. 
 
 (19) The teeth. 
 
 (20) The eyes begin to lose their luster, and sight becomes dim. 
 
 (21) Lit., the doors toward the street are closed, i. e., the exits are 
 barred : secretions are insufficient, or vitiated, or cease ; he begins to 
 suffer from retention ( ischuria ) and intestinal stenosis. 
 
 (22) His digestion is impaired. 
 
 (23) His sleep is short ; he awakens when the birds begin to chirp at 
 daybreak. 
 
 (24) He is unable to hear sounds distinctly, and becomes hard of 
 hearing. 
 
 (25) He hates to climb a hill, or to go upstairs, because he is short 
 of breath. 
 
 (26) Lit., fears are on the way, /. e., he dreads a walk even on level 
 ground. 
 
 (27) His hair turns hoary. Dr. Post, of Beirut, says of the blossoms 
 of the almond tree : Although the petals are pale pink toward the base, 
 they are usually whitish toward their tips, and the general effect of an 
 almond tree in blossom is white. Bodenstedt in his Tausend and ein 
 Tag i)n Orient (2, 237) speaks of the white blossoms of the almond 
 
 tree as falling down like snow-flakes. 
 
 (28) Lit., becomes a burden. 
 
 (29) The Heb. term is generally used for locusts in one of their stages 
 of development. It may have been loosely applied to many kinds of in- 
 sects, just as bug is sometimes used here in America. 
 
 (30) Lit., the poor one. In the same way we read in Ps. 22, 21 : 
 
 From the jaws of the lion save me, 
 
 my wretched (life) from the unicorns. 
 
 Cf. Wellhausen's translation in the Polychrome Bible. 
 
 (31) Lit., breaks through. The soul is freed from the body, as the 
 butterfly emerges from the chrysalis. The Greek word psyche means 
 not only soul but also butterfly. 
 
 (32) The spinal chord. {^tl) The brain. 
 
 (34) The heart loses its power to propel the blood through the body. 
 
 (35) The waterwheel, /. e., the whole machinery comes to a stop 
 {paralysis cordis) and this stoppage means dissolution. 
 
 (36) The grave. 
 
 (37) The hired mourners {qui cottducti plorantiii funere, Hon, Ars 
 poet. 431). 
 
 (38) Lit, before them. Cf. IV, //. 
 
 (39) In I INIacc. 3, 56 we read that when Judas Maccabaeus (165-161) 
 organized his army, he discharged all men who were building houses, or 
 were planting vineyards, or were fearful {cf. Deut. 24, 5 and the late 
 
46 — M-^'^Ss- (Uotce on Scctceiaette -;»*3f®4-<— viii 
 
 Deuteronomistic addition, Deut. 20, 5-8) but at the time of the author of 
 the present gloss there were no exemptions in time of war; John Hjr- 
 canus (135-104) and his successors had no national Jewish army, but 
 mercenaries (Joseph., AfiL, xiii, 8, 4). The soldiers of Alexander Jan- 
 naeus (see n. 12 on the Introduction) were Pisidians and Cilicians. In 
 the army of Herod the Great (37-4 b. c. ) there were numerous Thra- 
 cians, Germans, and Gauls (Joseph., Afi/., xv, 8, 4). 
 
 The meaning of the present passage is : Just as no one can avert the 
 wind, so no one can avert his death-day. There is no exemption, just as 
 there is no discharge from the ranks, no furlough in time of war. Even 
 the righteous must yield to the inexorable law of death, and wickedness 
 will certainly not exempt those who are given to it, for the wages of sin is 
 death (Rom. 6, 23). 
 
 (40) Cy. 2 Mace. 7, 22. 
 
 (41) According to Winckler this may be an allusion to Alcimus who 
 commanded that the inner court of the sanctuary should be pulled down 
 (i Mace. 9, 54) ; see, however, n. 3 on the Introduction. 
 
 (42) Do what you feel inclined to, and enjoy what pleases your eye. 
 This ironical addition is based on Num. 15, 39. 
 
 (43) This passage is an interpolation. Ecclesiastes was no miso- 
 gynist ; rf. stanzas ii and x of section VIII (9, 9 ; 12, i). Schopenhauer, 
 who quotes Ecclesiastes twelve times, remarks : Der genial e Kohelcth 
 sagt: " Unter Tatisend habe ich einen Menschen gefunden, aber kein 
 Weib unter alien die sen;'''' but three of the seven passages of Ecclesi- 
 astes, which Schopenhauer quotes, are interpolations, viz., 7, 4 (III, /) 
 quoted in Schopenhauer's works, vol. 3, p. 731 ; 5, 78; — 7, 12 (VI, «) 
 quoted 5, 352; 6, 462; — 7, 29 (VIII, v) quoted 4, 32. See Schopen- 
 hauer's Werke edited by J. Frauenstadt, and W. L. Hertslet's Schopen- 
 hauer-Register (Leipzig, 1890) p. 22 ; see also above, n. 25 on VI. 
 
 (44) Examining and counting one case after the other, making a 
 statistical investigation. 
 
 (45) Lit, calculation (ratio, proportion). 
 
 (46) Diogenes is reported to have gone to the market place, with a 
 lighted lantern in broad daylight, to find men. Napoleon I. said to 
 Goethe : Voiis etes tin honinie. 
 
 (47) That is, an ideal woman. (48) Lit., spirit ; </. n. 2 on IV. 
 
 (49) Cf. nn. I. 19 on I. 
 
 (50) More exactly, double-hemistichs, hemistichal pairs ; each line in 
 Heb. poetry consists of a pair of hemistichs (with 3 + 3, 2 + 2, or 3 + 2 
 beats). 
 
 (51) Graceful, elegant. (52) He never sacrificed substance to form. 
 (53) Lit., lords (members) of the assembly, i. e., parts of a collection, 
 
 lines forming parts of a coherent poem, not isolated apothegms or de- 
 tached aphorisms. An isolated maxim, a single proverb, as we find 
 them in the Book of Proverbs, which was commonly ascribed to Solo- 
 mon, is like the point of an ox-goad : it pricks one particular spot for a 
 moment, urging on and stimulating, but has no lasting effect. Sayings, 
 however, which are systematically arranged in a special collection form- 
 
viii ^*<*^^»5. cH66rcvtafton0 -^m^^-^-^— 47 
 
 ing a coherent didactic poem, are as impressive as nails firmly driven 
 into a board : they have a firm hold on us. This is said also with 
 reference to the relative difficulty of memorizing isolated sayings as con- 
 tained in the Book of Proverbs, on the one hand, and the coherent di- 
 dactic poem of Ecclesiastes, on the other. It is much harder to learn the 
 Book of Proverbs by heart (owing to the lack of connection between the 
 individual verses) than the Book of Ecclesiastes which is written by one 
 shepherd (or leader) on a definite plan and with a definite object in view. 
 
 (54) Of Epicurus and his followers. 
 
 (55) On Greek philosophy. The Greek philosophers were very pro- 
 lific writers. Cy. M. Friedlander, Griechische Philosophic im Alien 
 Testament (Berlin, 1904) and E. Sellin Die Spuren griechischer Philoso- 
 
 phieim Alien Teslajnent {heipz'ig, 1905). 
 
 (56) Schopenhauer says, Much reading deprives the mind of all elasti- 
 city; it is like keeping a spring perpetually under pressure (quoted by 
 Dr. James Moffat in his Literar>' Illustrations of Ecclesiastes in The Ex- 
 positor, Jan. 1905, p. 79) cf. J. Frauenstiidt's Schopenhauer-Lexicon 
 (Leipzig, 1871) p. 57 and W. L. Hertslet's Schopenhauer-Register 
 (Leipzig, 1890) p. 127. 
 
 (57) This is supposed to be a Grecism, = ™fi7o izavThq av^po)Trov (ianp 
 epyov) • cf. n. 10 on V ; n. 3 on VII. LXX, however, renders : on rovro -rzaq 
 6 avd^puTvo^. 
 
 (58) €/. 2 Mace. 12, 41. 
 
 (59) ^i^-, the snares, nets, and fetters, and other pitfalls. 
 
 (60) Lit., shepherd. 
 
 cSBfiretJta^tone. 
 
 AV = Authorized Version ; — c. = chapter, cc. = chapters ; — EB = 
 Cheyne-Black's Encyclopcedia Biblica (New York, 1S99-1903) ;— JAOS 
 = Journal of the American Oriental Society,- — K — The Books of 
 The Kings ; — 1. = line, 11. = lines ; — n. = note, nn. = notes ; — p. = page, pp. 
 = pages ; — V. = verse, vv. = verses ; — ZAT- Stade's Zeitschrift fur die 
 alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ; — ZDMG = Zeitschrift der Deutschen 
 Morg enliindischen Gesellschaft. 
 
 In the translations from the Hebrew, parentheses, ( ), indicate words 
 implied, but not expressed, in the Hebrew, or words supplied for the 
 sake of the rhythm. Brackets, [], on the other hand, indicate words or 
 clauses which must be restored in the Hebrew text. In the translation 
 of Ps. 45 (see n. 9 on III) braces, -j \ ■, indicate transpositions, the 
 traditional position of the words in the Received Text being marked by 
 \ \ , while the transposed words are enclosed in-| |-. Similarly {i) and 
 \f\ indicate transpositions of glosses. 
 
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 OLD TESTAMENT 
 
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BS1476.H374 
 
 The book of Ecclesiastes; 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00012 4224 
 
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