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Ecclesiastes

Reflections of a Royal Philosopher

1The words of the Teacher,^* the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
² Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,^*
   vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
³ What do people gain from all the toil
   at which they toil under the sun?
⁴ A generation goes, and a generation comes,
   but the earth remains for ever.
⁵ The sun rises and the sun goes down,
   and hurries to the place where it rises.
⁶ The wind blows to the south,
   and goes round to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
   and on its circuits the wind returns.
⁷ All streams run to the sea,
   but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
   there they continue to flow.
⁸ All things^* are wearisome;
   more than one can express;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
   or the ear filled with hearing.
⁹ What has been is what will be,
   and what has been done is what will be done;
   there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰ Is there a thing of which it is said,
   ‘See, this is new’?
It has already been,
   in the ages before us.
¹¹ The people of long ago are not remembered,
   nor will there be any remembrance
of people yet to come
   by those who come after them.

The Futility of Seeking Wisdom

12 I, the Teacher,^* when king over Israel in Jerusalem, ¹³applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. ¹⁴I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.^*
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
   and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I said to myself, ‘I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.’ ¹⁷And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a chasing after wind.^*
18 For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow.

1 MACCABEES

Alexander the Great

1After Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came from the land of Kittim, had defeated^* King Darius of the Persians and the Medes, he succeeded him as king. (He had previously become king of Greece.) ²He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth. ³He advanced to the ends of the earth, and plundered many nations. When the earth became quiet before him, he was exalted, and his heart was lifted up. ⁴He gathered a very strong army and ruled over countries, nations, and princes, and they became tributary to him.

5 After this he fell sick and perceived that he was dying. ⁶So he summoned his most honoured officers, who had been brought up with him from youth, and divided his kingdom among them while he was still alive. ⁷And after Alexander had reigned for twelve years, he died.

8 Then his officers began to rule, each in his own place. ⁹They all put on crowns after his death, and so did their descendants after them for many years; and they caused many evils on the earth.

Antiochus Epiphanes and Renegade Jews

10 From them came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus; he had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.^*

11 In those days certain renegades came out from Israel and misled many, saying, ‘Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us.’ ¹²This proposal pleased them, ¹³and some of the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. ¹⁴So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom, ¹⁵and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.

Antiochus in Egypt

16 When Antiochus saw that his kingdom was established, he determined to become king of the land of Egypt, in order that he might reign over both kingdoms. ¹⁷So he invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and cavalry and with a large fleet. ¹⁸He engaged King Ptolemy of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many were wounded and fell. ¹⁹They captured the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and he plundered the land of Egypt.