| To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. | For everything there is a season, and a time for every activity under heaven. |
| He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. | He has made everything suitable for its time, and he has given men a sense of past and future, but they never have the slightest comprehension of what God has wrought from beginning to end. |
|
| I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. | I understand that man’s greatest happiness is to be glad and do well throughout his life. And when we eat and drink and find satisfaction in all our labors, this is a gift of God. |
| Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. | Then I came to realize that all toil and skill in work derive from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chase after the wind. |
| Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. | Two are better than one: they earn a far greater reward for their toil. |
| For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. | And if one should fall, his companion will help him up. How pathetic is the man who is alone and falls and has no one to assist him to his feet. |
| And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. | And where a single man can be overcome, two together will be able to resist. A cord with three strands is not easily broken. |
| When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. | When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for God has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill the vow you have made. |
| He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. | One who is covetous will never be satisfied with money, nor will the lover of wealth be content with gain. This too is vanity. |
| When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? | When riches increase, so do those who are eager to accumulate them, and those who have accumulated them must remain content simply to feast their eyes on them. |
| As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. | Just as he came forth naked from his mother’s womb, so shall he depart, naked as he came, with nothing remaining from his labor that he can carry away in his hands. |
| Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. | This is the conclusion I have reached: it is fitting for a man to eat and drink and find satisfaction in the results of his labors under the sun during the brief span of life that God has allotted him. |
| Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. | Moreover, the one to whom God grants wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them and to find contentment in his toil receives a gift from God. |
| Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this. | Do not assert that the past was better than the present, for such a statement is not a sign of wisdom. |
| In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. | When things are going well, be grateful for your blessings, and in times of adversity consider this: God has made both of them, so that we cannot predict with confidence what the future holds. |
| 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. | Because the sentence for committing an evil act is not carried out quickly, people’s hearts are prone to act wickedly. |
| Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. | Go forth, then. Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God long ago approved what you do. |
| The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. | The words of a wise man win favor, but a fool’s tongue is his undoing. |
| As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. | Just as you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a woman’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, the Creator of all. |
| Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. | Banish grief from your heart and ignore the sufferings of your body, for youth and the prime of life are fleeting. |
| Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. | Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the bad times come and the years draw near when you will say, “I take no pleasure in them”. |
| Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. | This is the end of my teaching. All has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for that is the responsibility of everyone. |
| For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. | For much wisdom can result in much sorrow, and those who increase their knowledge also increase their grief. |
