Friday, November 13, 2009


1 The words of the Teacher, [a] son of David, king in Jerusalem:
 2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
       says the Teacher.
       "Utterly meaningless!
       Everything is meaningless."
 3 What does man gain from all his labor
       at which he toils under the sun?
 4 Generations come and generations go,
       but the earth remains forever.
 5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
       and hurries back to where it rises.
 6 The wind blows to the south
       and turns to the north;
       round and round it goes,
       ever returning on its course.
 7 All streams flow into the sea,
       yet the sea is never full.
       To the place the streams come from,
       there they return again.
 8 All things are wearisome,
       more than one can say.
       The eye never has enough of seeing,
       nor the ear its fill of hearing.
 9 What has been will be again,
       what has been done will be done again;
       there is nothing new under the sun.
 10 Is there anything of which one can say,
       "Look! This is something new"?
       It was here already, long ago;
       it was here before our time.
 11 There is no remembrance of men of old,
       and even those who are yet to come
       will not be remembered
       by those who follow.
.......
.......
1 Remember your Creator
       in the days of your youth,
       before the days of trouble come
       and the years approach when you will say,
       "I find no pleasure in them"-
 2 before the sun and the light
       and the moon and the stars grow dark,
       and the clouds return after the rain;
 3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
       and the strong men stoop,
       when the grinders cease because they are few,
       and those looking through the windows grow dim;
 4 when the doors to the street are closed
       and the sound of grinding fades;
       when men rise up at the sound of birds,
       but all their songs grow faint;
 5 when men are afraid of heights
       and of dangers in the streets;
       when the almond tree blossoms
       and the grasshopper drags himself along
       and desire no longer is stirred.
       Then man goes to his eternal home
       and mourners go about the streets.
 6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
       or the golden bowl is broken;
       before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
       or the wheel broken at the well,
 7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
       and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
 8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. [a]
(Ecclesiastes)

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