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sun. I and my heart went about to know and to examine and to seek wisdom, and to know the foolishness of the wicked, and trouble, and distraction. And I find her, and I will say, more bitter than death, with the woman, who is a snare. After this, he calls "woman" either foolishness, or, if not this, the foolish woman, because she is a grievous snare. And her heart is a net, her hands are bonds: the good before the face of God will be delivered from her, but the sinner will be caught in her. Behold, this I found, said the Preacher, one by one, to find the reason, which my soul still sought, and I did not find: and one man among a thousand I have found, but a woman among all these I have not found. But behold, this I have found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out wicked reasonings. What is equal to this wisdom? What is more correct than these doctrines? He made man upright *** 8 *** and that there is no one who knows what will be. Knowing so many things, he says he is ignorant of this, but one must believe; for there will be a judgment. For there is a time for every matter, so that this was well established from conjecture. That there will be a judgment is clear, but when is not clear. And not only from this is this itself shown, but also <from> being unable to prevent death, nor is it possible for him to send away someone about to be in danger from war; but he has the power to do evil; and yet, after doing it, they are again punished and chastised.

I gave my heart to every work that is done under the sun, as much as man has power over man to do him harm. And then I saw the wicked brought to their graves, and from the holy place, and they went and were praised in the city, because they had done so. And this too is vanity. Because there is no contradiction from those who do evil. That is, they do not condemn them, they do not oppose them; for would they have ceased? And it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days in a shadow. In rest, he says. Who does not fear from the face of God. There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men, to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked, and there are wicked men, to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous [spirit]; and this too is vanity. That is, often a righteous man has received a wicked reputation and a wicked man a good one, but this too is in vain, as though it were done, he says, when it was not done. Man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it.

9 For all this I gave to my heart, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God. That is, because he knows that he gains nothing but the providence of God and the economy under the sun. And yet man knows not love or hatred; all things before them are vanity. He condemns those who for the time being know nothing; all of these things are false. One event happens to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him that sacrifices and to him that sacrifices not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that swears, as he that fears an oath. This I saw as an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all; and indeed the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. For who is he that has fellowship with all the living? He magnifies death and says it is burdensome and that all are subject to the matter. And since he saw the punishment despised, he also magnifies it with his word; for not even he who before this called the dead blessed would now call the living blessed, saying: There is hope that a living dog is better than a dead lion.

This is evil, this is wicked, this is a great punishment, this is a grievous chastisement, that we all die, whether wise, or whoever it may be. Do not be high-minded about

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ἥλιος. Ἐκύκλωσα ἐγὼ καὶ ἡ καρδία μου τοῦ γνῶναι καὶ τοῦ κατασκέψασθαι καὶ ζητῆσαι σοφίαν καὶ τοῦ γνῶναι ἀσεβοῦς ἀφροσύνην καὶ ὀχληρίαν καὶ περιφοράν. Καὶ εὑρίσκω ἐγὼ αὐτὴν καὶ ἐρῶ πικρότερον ὑπὲρ θάνατον, σὺν τὴν γυναῖκα, ἥτις ἐστὶν θήρευμα. Γυναῖκα μετὰ ταῦτα ἤτοι τὴν ἀφροσύνην φησίν, ἤ, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο, τὴν ἀνόητον γυναῖκα, ὅτι θήρευμά ἐστιν χαλεπόν. Καὶ αἱ σαγῆναι καρδία αὐτῆς, δεσμὸς εἰς χεῖρας αὐτῆς· ἀγαθὸς πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξαιρεθήσεται ἀπ' αὐτῆς, καὶ ἁμαρτάνων συλλημφθήσεται ἐν αὐτῇ. Ἴδε τοῦτο εὗρον, εἶπεν ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστής, μία τῇ μιᾷ τοῦ εὑρεῖν λογισμόν, καὶ ἐπεζήτησεν ἡ ψυχή μου καὶ οὐχ εὗρον· καὶ ἄνθρωπον ἕνα ἀπὸ χιλίων εὗρον καὶ γυναῖκα ἐν πᾶσιν τούτοις οὐχ εὗρον. Πλὴν ἴδε τοῦτο εὗρον ὃ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς σὺν τὸν ἄνθρωπον εὐθῆ, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐζήτησαν λογισμοὺς πονηρούς. Τί ταύτης τῆς σοφίας ἴσον; Τί τῶν δογμάτων ὀρθότερον; Ἐποίησεν τὸν ἄνθρωπον εὐθῆ *** 8 *** καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν γινώσκων τί τὸ ἐσόμενον. Τοσαῦτα εἰδώς, τοῦτο ἀγνοεῖν φησιν, ἀλλὰ δεῖ πιστεύειν· ἔσται γὰρ κρίσις. Παντὶ γὰρ καιρός ἐστιν πράγματι, ὥστε ἀπὸ στοχασμοῦ τοῦτο καλῶς συνίστατο. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἔσται κρίσις δῆλον, πότε δὲ οὐ δῆλον. Οὐκ ἀπὸ τούτου δὲ μόνον τοῦτο αὐτὸ δείκνυται, ἀλλὰ καὶ <ἀπὸ> τοῦ μὴ δυνηθῆναι κωλῦσαι θάνατον, μηδὲ ἀποστεῖλαί τινα μέλλοντα κινδυνεύειν ἐκ πολέμου δυνατὸν αὐτῷ· ἀλλὰ κακῶς μὲν ποιῆσαι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει· καὶ ὅμως, μετὰ τὸ ποιῆσαι, πάλιν κολάζονται καὶ τιμωροῦνται.

Ἔδωκα τὴν καρδίαν μου εἰς πᾶν τὸ ποίημα ὃ πεποίηται ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, τὰ ὅσα ἐξουσιάσατο ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ τοῦ κακῶσαι αὐτόν. Καὶ τότε εἶδον ἀσεβεῖς εἰς τάφους εἰσαχθέντας, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἁγίου, καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν καὶ ἐπῃνέθησαν ἐν τῇ πόλει, ὅτι οὕτως ἐποίησαν. Καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης. Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν γιγνομένη ἀντίρρησις ἀπὸ τῶν ποιούντων τὸ πονηρόν. Τουτέστιν, οὐ καταγιγνώσκουσιν αὐτῶν, οὐκ ἐναντιοῦνται αὐτοῖς· ἦ γὰρ ἀνεπαύσαντο; Καὶ ἀγαθὸν οὐκ ἔσται τῷ ἀσεβεῖ καὶ οὐ μακρυνεῖ ἡμέρας ἐν σκιᾷ. Ἐν ἀναπαύσει, φησίν. Ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν φοβούμενος ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ. Ἔστιν ματαιότης, ἣ πεποίηται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅτι εἰσὶν δίκαιοι, ὅτι φθάνει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὡς ποίημα τῶν ἀσεβῶν, καί εἰσιν ἀσεβεῖς, ὅτι φθάνει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὡς ποίημα τῶν δικαίων [πνεῦμα]· καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης. Τουτέστιν, πολλάκις δόξαν ἔλαβεν πονηρὰν δίκαιος καὶ ἀγαθὴν ἀσεβής, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο μάτην, ὡς πεποιημένου, φησίν, οὐ πεποιημένου. Οὐ δυνήσεται ἄνθρωπος εὑρεῖν τὸ ποίημα τὸ πεποιημένον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον· ὅσα ἂν μοχθήσῃ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ ζητῆσαι, καὶ οὐχ εὑρήσει.

9 Ὅτι σύμπαν τοῦτο ἔδωκα ἐν καρδίᾳ μου, ὡς οἱ δίκαιοι καὶ οἱ σοφοὶ καὶ αἱ ἐργασίαι αὐτῶν ἐν χειρὶ θεοῦ. Τουτέστιν, ὅτι οἶδεν ὅτι οὐδὲν κερδαίνει ἢ τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν πρόνοιαν καὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τὴν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον. Καί γε ἀγάπην καί γε μῖσος οὐκ ἔστιν εἰδὼς ἄνθρωπος· τὰ πάντα πρὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν ματαιότης. Καταγινώσκει τῶν τέως οὐδὲν εἰδότων· τούτων πάντα ψευδῆ. Συνάντημα ἓν τῷ δικαίῳ καὶ τῷ ἀσεβεῖ, τῷ ἀγαθῷ καὶ τῷ κακῷ, τῷ καθαρῷ καὶ τῷ ἀκαθάρτῳ, τῷ θυσιάζοντι καὶ τῷ μὴ θυσιάζοντι· ὡς ὁ ἀγαθός, ὣς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων· ὣς ὁ ὀμνύων, καθὼς ὁ τὸν ὅρκον φοβούμενος. Τοῦτο εἶδον πονηρὸν ἐν παντὶ τῷ πεποιημένῳ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ὅτι συνάντημα ἓν τοῖς πᾶσιν· καί γε καρδία υἱῶν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐπληρώθη πονηροῦ, καὶ περιφέρεια ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν ἐν ζωῇ αὐτῶν, καὶ ὀπίσω αὐτῶν πρὸς τοὺς νεκρούς. Ὅτι τίς ὃς κοινωνεῖ πρὸς πάντας τοὺς ζῶντας; Ἐπαίρει τὸν θάνατον καὶ φορτικὸν εἶναί φησιν καὶ πάντας ὑπευθύνους εἶναι τῷ πράγματι. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ εἶδεν καταπεφρονημένην τὴν τιμωρίαν, ἐπαίρει καὶ αὐτὴν τῷ λόγῳ· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν ὁ μακαρίζων πρὸ τούτου τοὺς τεθνηκότας νῦν τοὺς ζῶντας ἐμακάριζεν λέγων· Ἔστιν ἐλπὶς ὅτι ὁ κύων ὁ ζῶν ἀγαθὸς ὑπὲρ τὸν λέοντα τὸν τεθνηκότα.

Τοῦτο πονηρόν, τοῦτό ἐστιν μοχθηρόν, τοῦτο κόλασις μεγάλη, τοῦτο τιμωρία χαλεπή, ὅτι πάντες ἀποθνῄσκομεν, κἂν σοφός, κἂν ὁστισδήποτε. Μὴ μέγα φρόνει ἐπ'