In the day of His fierce anger. 13 From on high hath He sent fire Into my bones, and it prevaileth against them; He hath turned me back; He hath made me desolate And faint all the day. 14 The yoke of my transgressions is impressed by His hand; They are knit together, They are come up upon my neck; He hath made my strength to fail; The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, Against whom I am not able to stand. 15 The Lord hath set at nought All my mighty men in the midst of me; me To crush my young men; The Lord hath trodden as in a winepress 16 'For these things I weep; Mine eye, mine eye runneth down with Because the comforter is far from me, Even he that should refresh my soul; Because the enemy hath prevailed.' 17 Zion spreadeth forth her hands; The LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, Jerusalem is among them As one unclean. 18 "The LORD is righteous; For I have rebelled against His word; And behold my pain: My virgins and my young men 19 I called for my lovers, But they deceived me; My priests and mine elders While they sought them food To refresh their souls. 20 Behold, O LORD, for I am in distress, My heart is turned within me, At home there is the like of death. 21 They have heard that I sigh, There is none to comfort me; All mine enemies have heard of my trouble, and are glad, For Thou hast done it; Thou wilt bring the day that Thou hast proclaimed, And they shall be like unto me. 22 Let all their wickedness come before Thee; 5 And do unto them, As Thou hast done unto me For all my transgressions: For my sighs are many, And my heart is faint.' 20 Wherefore dost Thou forget us for ever, And forsake us so long time? 21 Turn Thou us unto Thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; Renew our days as of old. 22 Thou canst not have utterly rejected us, And be exceeding wroth against us! 1 ECCLESIASTES Man Never Knows THE words of Koheleth, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth; Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 13 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven; it is a sore task that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. 3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to seek, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time for peace. 9 What profit hath he that worketh in that he laboureth? 10 I have seen the task which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith. 11 He hath made every thing beautiful in its time; also He hath set the world in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to get pleasure so long as they live. 13 But also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy pleasure for all his labour, is the gift of God. 8 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, 2 I [counsel thee]: keep the king's command, and that in regard of the oath of God. 3 Be not hasty to go out of his presence; stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. 4 Forasmuch as the king's word hath power; and who may say unto him: 'What doest thou?' 5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; And a wise man's heart discerneth time and judgment. 6 For to every matter there is a time and judg. ment; for the evil of man is great upon him. 7 For he knoweth not that which shall be; for even when it cometh to pass, who shall declare it unto him? 8 There is no man that hath power over the wind to retain the wind; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it. 9 All this have I seen, even applied my heart thereto, whatever the work that is done under the sun; what time one man had power over another to his hurt. 10 And so I saw the wicked buried, and they entered into their rest; but they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city; this also is vanity. 11 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 because a sinner doeth evil a hundred times, and prolongeth his days-though yet I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before Him; 13 but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he feareth not before God. 14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth: that there are righteous men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous-I said that this also is vanity. 15 So I commended mirth, that a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry, and that this should accompany him in his labour all the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun. 16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the |