ecclesiastes quotes

Ecclesiastes 6:3-6
3. A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long
he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial,
I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
4. It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is
shrouded.
5. Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that
man--
6. even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his
prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

Ecclesiastes 9:13-18
13. I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:
14. There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful
king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it.
15. Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by
his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.
16. So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is
despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
17. The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler
of fools.
18. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

Ecclesiastes 7:10
Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask
such questions.

Ecclesiastes 9:3-6
3. This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny
overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is
madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.
4. Anyone who is among the living has hope --even a live dog is better off than
a dead lion!
5. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have
no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.
6. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never
again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 6:1-2
1. I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men:
2. God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his
heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys
them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
9. Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
10. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
11. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep
warm alone?
12. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three
strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-7
4. When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure
in fools; fulfill your vow.
5. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.
6. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the [temple]
messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and
destroy the work of your hands?
7. Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:18-19
18. I also thought, "As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they
are like the animals.
19. Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As
one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over
the animal. Everything is meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11
10. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My
heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
11. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to
achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was
gained under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 9:7-10
7. Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for
it is now that God favors what you do.
8. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.
9. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless
life that God has given you under the sun-- all your meaningless days. For this
is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.
10. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave,
where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor
wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 2:15-16
15. Then I thought in my heart, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?" I said in my heart, "This too is
meaningless."
16. For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to
come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!

Ecclesiastes 4:7-8
7. Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
8. There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end
to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I
toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is
meaningless-- a miserable business!

Ecclesiastes 10:1-4
1. As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom
and honor.
2. The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the
left.
3. Even as he walks along the road, the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how
stupid he is.
4. If a ruler's anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can
lay great errors to rest.

Ecclesiastes 8:7-8
7. Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?
8. No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the
day of his death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not
release those who practice it.

Ecclesiastes 1:15
What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

Ecclesiastes 10:11
If a snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.

Ecclesiastes 12:8-12
8. "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless!"
9. Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people.
He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.
10. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was
upright and true.
11. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly
embedded nails--given by one Shepherd.
12. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books
there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

Ecclesiastes 11:7-8
7. Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
8. However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him
remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is
meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 5:2-3
2. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter
anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be
few.
3. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when
there are many words.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2
1. The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2. "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."

Ecclesiastes 6:10-12
10. Whatever exists has already been named, and what man is has been known; no
man can contend with one who is stronger than he.
11. The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?
12. For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless
days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under
the sun after he is gone?

Ecclesiastes 10:15
A fool's work wearies him; he does not know the way to town.

Ecclesiastes 10:16-17
16. Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the
morning.
17. Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat
at a proper time-- for strength and not for drunkenness.

Ecclesiastes 11:6
Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you
do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do
equally well.

Ecclesiastes 8:16-17
16. When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labor on earth--
his eyes not seeing sleep day or night--
17. then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under
the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its
meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.

Ecclesiastes 9:1-2
1. So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and
what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits
him.
2. All share a common destiny--the righteous and the wicked, the good and the
bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take
oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.

Ecclesiastes 8:14-15
14. There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who
get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve.
This too, I say, is meaningless.
15. So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man
under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in
his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:11-13
11. When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the
people are filled with schemes to do wrong.
12. Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time,
I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.
13. Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and
their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

Ecclesiastes 10:18
If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.

Ecclesiastes 10:19
A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer
for everything.