& 17. 24. See Acts 6. 15.

27 Behold, this have I found, saith Y the Preacher, || counting one by one, to find out the account;

28 Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but bthey have sought out many inventions.

CHAPTER VIII.

1 Kings are greatly to be respected. 6 The divine providence is to be observed. 12 It is better with the godly in adversity, than with the wicked in prosperity. 16 The work of God is unsearchable.

WHO is as the wise man? and

who knoweth the interpretaa Prov. 4.8.9. tion of a thing? aa man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. 2 I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.

+ Heb, the

strength.

b Deut. 28 50.

el Chr. 29.21.

Ez. 17. 18

Rom. 13.5.

dch. 10.4.

e Job 34. 18.

† Heb.

shall know.

feh. 3. 1.

& Prov. 24.22. ch. 6. 12. & 9. 12. & 10.

14.

Or, how it

shall be.

h Ps. 49. 6. 7.

i Job 14. 5.

Or, casting

of weapons.

k Ps. 10. 6. & 50.21.

Is. 26.10.

1 Is. 65. 20.

Rom, 2, 5.

m Ps. 37. 11,

18, 19.

Prov. 1.32,33,
Is. 3, 10, 11.

All things come alike to all.

about 977.

wicked, neither shall he prolong his Before days, which are as a shadow; be- CHRIST cause he feareth not before God. 14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

15° Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

16 When I applied mine heart to
know wisdom, and to see the busi-
ness that is done upon the earth:
(for also there is that neither day nor
night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
17 Then I beheld all the work of
God, that Pa man cannot find out
the work that is done under the sun :
because though a man labour to seek
it out, yet he shall not find it; yea
further; though a wise man think to
know it, yet shall he not be able to
find it.

CHAPTER IX.

4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

5 Whoso keepeth the commandment † shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

6. Because f to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.

78 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him || when it shall be?

8 h There is no man that hath power iover the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no || discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.

10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.

11 k Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

12 Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that mit shall be well with them that fear

Matt. 25. 34, God, which fear before him:

41.

13 But it shall not be well with the

that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

2b All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

n Is. 73. 14. eh. 2. 14. & 7. 15. & 9. 1, 2, 3.

och 2.24. & 3. 12, 22. & 5. 18. & 9. 7.

p Job 5. 9. ch. 3. 11. Rom. 11. 33.

q Ps. 73. 16.

+ Heb. I gave, or, set to my heart. ach. 8. 14.

Job21.7,&c. Ps. 73. 3, 12, 13. Mal. 3. 15.

c Job 14. 21. Is. 63. 16.

d Job 7. 8, 9, 10,

Is. 26. 14.

7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with ech. 8. 15. joy, and drink thy wine with a merry

Wisdom is better than strength.

Of wisdom and folly.

+ Hob. See, or. Enjoy life.

8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. 9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy fch. 2. 10. 21. vanity: ffor that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

& 3. 13,22, & 5. 18.

g Jer. 9. 23. Amos 2. 14,

15,

h ch. 8. 7.

i Prov. 29. 6.

Luke 12. 29,

39. & 17.26, &c.

I Thess. 5. 3.

k See 2 Sam. 20、16-22.

1 Prov. 21. 22.

& 21.5.

ch. 7. 19.

ver. 18.

10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

11 I returned, & and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men i snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:

14 k There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.

15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. 16 1 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless

the

poor man's wisdom is despised, and

mMarx 6.2.3. his words are not heard.

n ver. 16.

17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.

18 Wisdom is is better than weapons o Josh.7.1.11. of war: but one sinner destroyeth

12.

† Heb. Flies of death.

+ Hob. his

heart.

a Prov. 13. 16,

& 13. 2.

much good.

CHAPTER X.

II Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and fa bab- 3Ps. 58. 4, 5. bler is no better.

12 h The words of a wise man's
mouth are f gracious; but ithe lips
of a fool will swallow up himself.
13 The beginning of the words of
his mouth is foolishness: and the
end of this talk is mischievous mad-
ness.

14 kA fool also fis full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and I what shall be after him, who can tell him?

15 The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. 16 Π mWoe to thee, 0 land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and "thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.

19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine † maketh merry: but money answereth all things.

20 TP Curse not the king, no not in thy || thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

CHAPTER XI.

D

doth

EAD flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.

2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.

3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, this wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.

4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, bleave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences. 5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth † from the ruler:

2 Give a portion d to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. 3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

5 As fthou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones

Jer, 8, 17.

† Heb, the

master of the tongue.

h Prov. 10. 32. & 12. 13.

† Heb. grace. i Prov. 10. 14.

& 18. 7.

† Heb. his mouth.

k Prov. 15. 2.

† Heb. multiplieih words.

Ich. 3, 22, &

6. 12. & 8. 7.

m Is, 3, 4, 5, 12. & 5. 11.

n Prov. 31. 4.

o Ps. 101. 15.

T Heb maketh

g'ad the life.

P Ex. 22. 28.

Acts 23. 5.

Or, con

science, figure like, Luke 19. 40.

a See Is.C2. 20, + Heh. upon the face of the waters.

Deut. 15.10. Prov. 19. 17. Matt, 10. 42, 2 Cor. 9. 8. Gal. 6 9, 10. Heb. C. 10.

c Ps. 112. 9. Luke 6, 30. 1 Tim. 6. 18, 19.

d Mic. 5. 5.

o Eph. 5. 16.

fJohn 3.8. g Ps. 139. 14, 15.

Before

about 977.

† Meb. shall

be right.

hch. 7. 11.

6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether † shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes hto behold the sun:

8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee i Num. 15. 39. in the days of thy youth, iand walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things k God will bring thee into judgment.

kch. 12. 14. Rom. 2.611.

| Or, anger.

12 Cor. 7. 1.

10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and Iput away evil from

about 977.

streets, when the sound of the grind- CHRIST ing is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

c 2 Sam. 19. 35.

5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to d his long home, and the mourners go about . Jer.9.17.

the streets:

6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

d Job 17, 13.

Job 24. 15. Ps. 90. 3.

7f Then shall the dust return to the fGen. 3. 19. earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God h who gave it. 8 Ti Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.

9 And || moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave

m Ps. 39. 5.

a Prov. 22. 6.

Lam. 3. 27.

b See 2 Sam.

19. 35,

|| Or, the grinders fail, because they grind little.

are vanity.

CHAPTER XII.

1 The Creator is to be remembered in due time. 8 The Preacher's care to edify. 13 The fear of God is the chief antidote of vanity.

R

EMEMBER ar anow thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, b when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

g ch. 3. 21. hNum.16.22.

& 27. 16.
Job 34. 14,
Is. 57. 16.
Zech. 12. 1.

i Ps. C2. 9.
ch. 1. 2.
[Or, the

more wise the Preacher was, fe.

kl Kin. 4.32.

+ Heb. words of delight.

I ch. 1. 18. Or,ading. Or, The end

of thematier,

even all that hath been heard, is.

m Deut. 6. 2. & 10.12.

13 T Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: mFear God, and keep his commandments: for this is nch. 11. 9. the whole duty of man.

14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Matt. 12, 36. Acts 17. 30, 31.

Rom. 2. 16.

& 14. 10, 12.

1 Cor. 4. 5. 2 Cor. 5. 10.

Before CHRIST written

about 1014.

a l Kin. 4, 32.

bch. 4. 10.

+ Heb.

about 1014.

c Hos. 11. 4. John 6.44. & 12. 32.

d Phil. 3. 12, 13, 14.

e Ps. 45, 14,15. John 14. 2. Eph. 2. 6.

Or, they love thee uprightly.

The mutual love of

Before

CHRIST

Or, as one that is vailed.

fch. 5. 9. & 6.

1.

| Or, cypress,

ch. 4. 13.

keh. 4. 1. &

5. 12.

| Or, my

companion.

Or, galleries.

ples.

bch. 8. 3.

own vineyard have I not kept.

7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be fas one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?

8 If thou know not, fO thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. 9 I have compared thee, & my love, hto a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.

10 i Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.

II We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.

121 While the King sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.

13 A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.

15 Take us hthe foxes, the little h. Ps. 80. 13. foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

16 Ti My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

17 k Until the day break, and the

En-gedi.

loved, and be thou I like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains || of

CHAPTER II.

1 The mutual love of Christ and his church. 8 The hope, 10 and calling of the church. 14 Christ's care of the church. 16 The profession of the church, her faith and hope.

AM the rose of Sharon, and the

I lily of the valleys.

2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, aand his fruit was sweet to my f taste.

4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

CHAPTER III.

1 The church's fight and victory in temptation. 6 The church glorieth in Christ.

Y

B

ich. 6. 3. & 7.

10.

keh. 4. 6.

Iver. 9. ch. 8. 14.

|| Or, of diviείon.

a night on my bed I sought him a Is. 26. 9. whom my soul loveth: I sought

him, but I found him not.

2 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

3b The watchmen that go about the bch. 5.7. city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?

4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

C

5 I charge you, O ye daughters of ech.2.7.& 8.4. Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. 6d Who is this that cometh out of dch. 8. 5. the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

9 King Solomon made himself || a || Or, a bed. chariot of the wood of Lebanon. 10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the

The graces of the church.

Before

a ch. 1. 15. &

5. 12.

bch. 6. 5.

Or, that eat

of, &c.

cch. 6.6.

dch. 6.7.

ech. 7. 4.

f Noh. 3. 19.

g See Prov. 5. 19.

ch. 7. 3.

h ch. 2. 17.

+ Heb. breathe.

i Eph. 5. 27.

k Deut. 3. 9.

| Or, taken

away my heart.

1 ch. 1. 2.

behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a b flock of goats, || that appear from mount Gilead.

2 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.

3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: dthy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

4 Thy neck is like the tower of David builded ffor an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. 5 & Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

6 b Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

7 i Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir kand Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

9 Thou hast || ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! I how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!

11 Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as m Prov.24.13, the honeycomb: mhoney and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

14.
ch. 5. 1.

n Gen. 27. 27.

Hos. 14.6. 7.

+ Heb.barreal.

|| Or, cypress, ch. 1. 14.

12 A garden finclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; || camphire, with spikenard,

14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:

15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, || yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. 21 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved d that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.

3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?

4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved || for him.

5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with t sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. 6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

Luke 15. 7, 10. John 3: 29. & 15. 14.

| Or, and be

drunken with loves.

d Rev. 3. 20.

Or, (as some read) in me.

+ Heb. pass

ing, or, running about.

ech. 3. 1.

† Heb, what.

7 f The watchmen that went about fch. 3.3. the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my vail from me. 8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, † that ye tell him, that I am sick of love. 97 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest geh. 1. 8. among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?

10 My beloved is white and ruddy, † the chiefest among ten thousand. 11 His head is as the most fine gold; his locks are || bushy, and black as a raven:

+ Heb. a standardbearer.

|| Or, curled.

4. 1.

12h His eyes are as the eyes of doves heh. 1. 15. &
by the rivers of waters, washed with
milk, and & fitly set:

13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices,
as || sweet flowers: his lips like lilies,
dropping sweet smelling myrrh:
14 His hands are as gold rings set
with the beryl: his belly is as bright
ivory overlaid with sapphires:

15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars: