SECOND SECTION.
THE QUEST OF THE CHIEF GOOD IN DEVOTION TO THE AFFAIRS OF BUSINESS.
Chap. III., v. 1, to Chap. V., v. 20.
The Quest obstructed by Divine Ordinances; Ch. iii., vv. 1-15.
1 There is a time for all things,
And a season for every undertaking under heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up plants;
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 stones, and a time to gather up stones;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to be silent, 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 He who laboureth hath therefore no profit from his labours.
10 I have considered the task which God hath given to the sons of men,
To exercise themselves withal:
11 He hath made everything beautiful in its season;
He hath also put eternity into their heart;
Only they understand not the work of God from beginning to end.
12 I found that there was no good for them but to rejoice,
And to do themselves good all their life;
13 But also that, if a man eat and drink,
And take pleasure in all his labour,
It is a gift of God.
14 I found too that whatever God hath ordained continueth for ever;
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it:
And God hath so ordered it that men may fear before Him.
15 That which is hath been,
And that which is to be was long ago;
For God recalleth the past.
And by Human Injustice and Perversity. Ch. iii., v. 16. Ch. iv., v. 3.
16 Moreover, I saw under the sun That there was iniquity in the place of justice, And in the place of equity there was iniquity. 17 I said to mine heart: "God will judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time for everything and for every deed with Him." 18 Yet I said to my heart of the children of men: "God hath sifted them, To show that they, even they, are but as beasts. 19 For a mere chance is man, and the beast a mere chance, And they are both subject to the same chance; As is the death of the one, so is the death of the other; And both have the same spirit: And the man hath no advantage over the beast, For both are vanity: 20 Both go to the same place; Both sprang from dust, and both turn into dust: 21 And who knoweth whether the spirit of man goeth upward, Or the spirit of the beast goeth downward to the earth?"
Ver. 21. The question is here, as so often in Hebrew, the strongest form of negative. As in ver. 19 the Preacher affirms of man and beast that "both have the same spirit," and, in ver. 20, that "both go to the same place," so, in this verse, he emphatically denies that there is any difference in their destination at death.
22 Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better for man Than to rejoice in his labours; For this is his portion: And who shall give him to see what will be after him?
iv.
1 Then I turned to consider once more
All the oppressions that are done under the sun:
I beheld the tears of the oppressed,
And they had no comforter;
And their oppressors were violent,
Yet had they no comforter:
2 And I accounted the dead who died long ago
Happier than the living who are still alive;
3 While happier than either is he who hath not been born,
Who hath not seen the evil which is done under the sun.
It is rendered hopeless by the base Origin of Human Industries. Ch. iv., vv. 4-8.
4 Then too I saw that all this toil,
And all this dexterity in toil,
Spring from man's rivalry with his neighbour:
This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
5 The sluggard foldeth his hands,
Yet he eateth his meat:
6 Better a handful of quiet
Than two handsful of labour with vexation of spirit.
7 And again I turned, and saw a vanity under the sun:
8 Here is a man who hath no one with him,
Not even a son or a brother;
And yet there is no end of all his labour,
Neither are his eyes satisfied with riches:
For whom, then, doth he labour and deny his soul any of his wealth?
This too is vanity and an evil work.
Yet these are capable of a nobler Motive and Mode. Ch. iv., vv. 9-16.
9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labour: 10 For if one fall, the other will lift up his fellow; But woe to the lonely one who falleth And hath no fellow to lift him up! 11 Moreover, if two sleep together, they are warm; But he that is alone, how can he be warm? 12 And if an enemy assail the one, two will withstand him. And a threefold cord is not easily broken. 13 Happier is a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king Who even yet has not learned to take warning; 14 For he goeth forth from the prison to the throne, Although he was born a poor man in the kingdom. 15 I see all the living who walk under the sun Flocking to the youth who stood up in his stead; 16 There is no end to the multitude of the people over whom he ruleth: Nevertheless those who live after him will not rejoice in him; For even this is vanity and vexation of spirit.