CS
Ecclesiastes · read by Chuck Smith
129 verses, in order. Only the verses Chuck read aloud are shown.
Ecclesiastes 1
1
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:Read from ESV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
4
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.Read from NKJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
7
All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
9
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
13
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
14
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.Read from KJV · Life Under the Sun
15
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
17
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
18
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
Ecclesiastes 2
9
So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
10
Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
11
Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
17
So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.Read from KJV · Life Under the Sun
20
So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
22
For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
26
To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
Ecclesiastes 3
2
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,Read from KJV · A Time for Everything Part 1
3
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build,Read from ESV · A Time for Everything Part 1
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,Read from ESV · A Time for Everything Part 1
10
I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
12
I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,Read from KJV · A Time for Everything Part 2
13
and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.Read from NKJV · A Time for Everything Part 2
16
Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
17
I said in my heart, "God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed."Read from NKJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
18
I said to myself, "As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts."Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
22
I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
Ecclesiastes 4
1
Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.Read from KJV · A Time for Everything Part 2
2
So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.Read from KJV · A Time for Everything Part 2
5
The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.Read from ESV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
9
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.Read from NKJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
11
Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
14
For the youth has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom.Read from KJV · Our Attitude Toward God
15
I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed this second one, the youth who succeeded the king.Read from KJV · A Time for Everything Part 2
16
There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.Read from KJV · Our Attitude Toward God
Ecclesiastes 5
3
As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.Read from KJV · Our Attitude Toward God
5
It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.Read from ESV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
8
If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.Read from KJV · Our Attitude Toward God
9
The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
10
He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
13
There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
14
or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.Read from KJV · Our Attitude Toward God
15
As a man came from his mother's womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.Read from KJV · Our Attitude Toward God
18
Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
19
Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
20
For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
Ecclesiastes 6
3
A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
4
For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity.Read from KJV · God Knows Best
5
The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man,Read from KJV · God Knows Best
7
All a man's labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.Read from KJV · God Knows Best
8
What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 1-6
10
Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.Read from KJV · God Knows Best
Ecclesiastes 7
2
It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.Read from KJV · A Series of Proverbs Part 2
3
Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.Read from KJV · A Series of Proverbs Part 2
4
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.Read from ESV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
5
It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.Read from NKJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
7
Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.Read from KJV · A Series of Proverbs Part 2
8
The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
9
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
10
Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is unwise of you to ask about this.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
11
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.Read from KJV · A Series of Proverbs Part 2
12
For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.Read from KJV · A Series of Proverbs Part 2
13
Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?Read from KJV · A Series of Proverbs Part 2
14
In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
15
In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
18
It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
19
Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.Read from KJV · A Series of Proverbs Part 2
20
Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
24
What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
25
I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.Read from NKJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
29
Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes."Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
Ecclesiastes 8
2
Keep the king's command, I say, because of your oath before God.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
3
Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
4
For the king's word is supreme, and who can say to him, "What are you doing?"Read from NKJV · A Series of Proverbs Part 1
5
Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.Read from KJV · A Series of Proverbs Part 1
6
For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
7
Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
8
As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
9
All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
10
Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
11
When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.Read from KJV · A Series of Proverbs Part 1
12
Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
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.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
14
There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
15
So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.Read from KJV · Obeying the Authority
16
When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
17
I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
Ecclesiastes 9
1
So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God's hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.Read from KJV · Obeying the Authority
2
It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
3
This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
4
There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
11
I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.Read from NKJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
12
For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.Read from KJV · Death Comes to All
13
I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:Read from KJV · Death Comes to All
14
There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
15
Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
16
And I said, "Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded."Read from NKJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
17
The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.Read from KJV · Death Comes to All
18
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.Read from ESV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
Ecclesiastes 10
1
As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer's oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
2
A wise man's heart inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left.Read from NKJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
3
Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he shows everyone that he is a fool.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
4
If the ruler's temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.Read from KJV · A Little Folly
5
There is an evil I have seen under the sun— an error that proceeds from the ruler:Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
6
Folly is appointed to great heights, but the rich sit in lowly positions.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
7
I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
9
The one who quarries stones may be injured by them, and he who splits logs endangers himself.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
10
If the axe is dull and the blade unsharpened, more strength must be exerted, but skill produces success.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
11
If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.Read from KJV · A Little Folly
12
The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
13
The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
14
Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him?Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
15
The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
16
Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
17
Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
19
A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
Ecclesiastes 11
1
Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
3
If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.Read from KJV · Casting Bread on the Water Part 2
8
So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
9
Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.Read from ESV · Divine Justice
Ecclesiastes 12
1
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, "I find no pleasure in them,"Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
2
before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain,Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
4
when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint,Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
6
Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well,Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
7
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
9
Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
10
The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
11
The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd.Read from KJV · Casting Bread on the Water Part 2
12
And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.Read from KJV · (Through the Bible) Ecclesiastes 7-12
14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.Read from KJV · Casting Bread on the Water Part 2