The Koine Bible

I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with gladness, and see in good, and behold, this too is vanity.

Of laughter I said, Madness, and of gladness, What are you doing?

I examined in my heart to draw my flesh with wine, and my heart guided in wisdom, and to hold fast to folly until I might see what is the good for the sons of men, what they will do under the sun, the number of the days of their life.

I made my works great; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards.

I made for myself gardens and parks, and I planted in them every fruit tree.

I made for myself pools of water, to water from them a grove sprouting trees

I acquired male slaves and female slaves, and household-born slaves there became for me, and also possession of cattle and flock became for me in abundance, beyond all those who had been before me in Jerusalem

I gathered for myself also silver and gold and the wealth of kings and of the districts; I made for myself male singers and female singers, and the delights of the sons of man: a cupbearer and cupbearers

And I was magnified and I added beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem, and indeed my wisdom remained with me

And everything that my eyes desired I did not keep back from them; I did not restrain my heart from any gladness, because my heart rejoiced in all my toil, and this became my portion from all my toil.

And I looked upon all my works that my hands had made, and upon the labor with which I had labored to do, and behold, the all is vanity and striving after wind, and there is no abundance under the sun

And I looked to see wisdom and turning and folly, because what man is the one who will come after the counsel, the things which he has made it?

And I saw that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, as the advantage of light over darkness.

The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and I also knew that one event will happen to them all.

And I said in my heart, As the fate of the foolish, so also it will happen to me; and why then have I become wise? I spoke abundantly in my heart, because the foolish speaks from abundance, because also this is vanity.

For there is no remembrance of the wise man together with the foolish forever, just as already the coming days have forgotten all things, and how will the wise man die together with the foolish?

And I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun is evil upon me, because all is vanity and a striving of spirit.

And I hated all my toil with which I toil under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? And he will rule over all my toil in which I labored and in which I became wise under the sun. And indeed this also is vanity.

And I turned to make my heart despair over all the toil with which I had toiled under the sun

For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom and in knowledge and in courage, and a man who has not labored in it will give him his portion; even this is vanity and a great evil

For what comes to the man in all his toil and in the choice of his heart, with which he himself toils under the sun?

For all his days are sorrows, and his occupation is grief, and even in the night his heart does not sleep; and even this is vanity.

There is nothing good in a man except that he should eat and drink and show his soul good in his toil. And this also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.

For who will eat and who will spare except him?

For to the man who is good before him he has given wisdom and knowledge and gladness, and to the one sinning he has given distraction, to add and to gather, to give to the one who is good before the face of God; for even this is vanity and choosing of spirit.