1 Σοφία ἀνθρώπου φωτιεῖ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀναιδὴς προσώπῳ αὐτοῦ μισηθήσεται. 2 Στόμα βασιλέως φύλαξον, καὶ περὶ λόγου ὅρκου Θεοῦ. 3 Μὴ σπουδάσῃς, ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πορεύσῃ· μὴ στῇς ἐν λόγῳ πονηρῷ, ὅτι πᾶν ὃ ἐὰν θελήσῃ ποιήσει, 4 καθὼς βασιλεὺς ἐξουσιάζων. καὶ τίς ἐρεῖ αὐτῷ, τί ποιεῖς; 5 Ὁ φυλάσσων ἐντολὴν, οὐ γνώσεται ῥῆμα πονηρὸν, καὶ καιρὸν κρίσεως γινώσκει καρδία σοφοῦ. 6 Ὅτι παντὶ πράγματί ἐστι καιρὸς καὶ κρίσις, ὅτι γνῶσις τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πολλὴ ἐπʼ αὐτόν. 7 Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι γινώσκων τί τὸ ἐσόμενον, ὅτι καθὼς ἔσται, τίς ἀναγγελεῖ αὐτῷ; 8 Οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνθρωπος ἐξουσιάζων ἐν πνεύματι, τοῦ κωλύσαι σὺν τὸ πνεῦμα. καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐξουσία ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θανάτου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀποστολὴ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πολέμου, καὶ οὐ διασώσει ἀσέβεια τὸν παρʼ αὐτῆς. 9 Καὶ σύμπαν τοῦτο εἶδον, καὶ ἔδωκα τὴν καρδίαν μου εἰς πᾶν τὸ ποίημα ὃ πεποίηται ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, τὰ ὅσα ἐξουσιάσατο ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ τοῦ κακῶσαι αὐτόν. 10 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. 11 Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι γινομένη ἀντίῤῥησις ἀπὸ τῶν ποιούντων τὸ πονηρὸν ταχὺ, διὰ τοῦτο ἐπληροφορήθη καρδία υἱῶν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ πονηρόν. 12 Ὃς ἥμαρτεν ἐποίησε τὸ πονηρὸν ἀπὸ τότε καὶ ἀπὸ μακρότητος αὐτῶν· ὅτι καὶ γινώσκω ἐγὼ, ὅτι ἐστὶν ἀγαθὸν τοῖς φοβουμένοις τὸν Θεὸν, ὅπως φοβῶνται ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ· 13 Καὶ ἀγαθὸν οὐκ ἔσται τῷ ἀσεβεῖ, καὶ οὐ μακρυνεῖ ἡμέρας ἐν σκιᾷ, ὃς οὐκ ἔστι φοβούμενος ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ. 14 Ἔστι ματαιότης ἣ πεποίηται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅτι εἰσὶ δίκαιοι, ὅτι φθάνει ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ὡς ποίημα τῶν ἀσεβῶν, καί εἰσιν ἀσεβεῖς, ὅτι φθάνει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὡς ποίημα τῶν δικαίων· εἶπα, ὅτι καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης. 15 Καὶ ἐπῄνεσα ἐγὼ σὺν τὴν εὐφροσύνην, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαθὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ὅτι εἰ μὴ φαγεῖν καὶ τοῦ πιεῖν καὶ τοῦ εὐφρανθῆναι· καὶ αὐτὸ συμπροσέσται αὐτῷ ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ ἡμέρας ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, ὅσας ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον. 16 Ἐν οἷς ἔδωκα τὴν καρδίαν μου τοῦ γνῶναι τὴν σοφίαν, καὶ τοῦ ἰδεῖν τὸν περισπασμὸν τὸν πεποιημένον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅτι καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ ὕπνον ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι βλέπων. 17 Καὶ εἶδον σύμπαντα τὰ ποιήματα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι οὐ δυνήσεται ἄνθρωπος τοῦ εὑρεῖν σὺν τὸ ποίημα τὸ πεποιημένον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον· ὅσα ἂν μοχθήσῃ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ ζητῆσαι, καὶ οὐχ εὑρήσει· καί γε ὅσα ἂν εἴπῃ σοφὸς τοῦ γνῶναι, οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ εὑρεῖν· ὅτι σύμπαν τοῦτο ἔδωκα εἰς καρδίαν μου, καὶ καρδία μου σύμπαν εἶδε τοῦτο.
Ecclesiastes · Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Ecclesiastes 8 Brenton's Greek Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Ezra and Nehemiah form one book (2 Esdras) in this edition; the reader shows them as Ezra 1–10 and Nehemiah 1–13.
Cross references (17)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Acts 6:15; Deuteronomy 28:50; 2 Peter 1:20; Proverbs 24:5; Proverbs 17:24
- 2 Proverbs 24:21; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13–17; 1 Kings 2:43; Romans 13:1–5
- 3 Ecclesiastes 10:4; Daniel 4:35; Acts 5:8–9; Daniel 5:19; Proverbs 14:29
- 4 Romans 13:1–4; Job 9:12; Proverbs 20:2; Daniel 4:35; Romans 9:20
- 5 Hebrews 5:14; 1 Peter 3:13–14; Philippians 1:9–10; Acts 4:19; Luke 20:25
- 6 Ecclesiastes 3:1; Ecclesiastes 3:17; Luke 19:42–44; Ecclesiastes 3:11; Luke 17:26–30
- 7 Ecclesiastes 10:14; Ecclesiastes 9:12; Matthew 24:50; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Proverbs 24:22
- 8 Psalm 89:48; Job 14:5; Hebrews 9:27; Psalm 49:6–9; Ecclesiastes 3:21
- 9 Ecclesiastes 5:8; Ecclesiastes 4:7–8; Ecclesiastes 5:13; Ecclesiastes 3:10; Ecclesiastes 7:25
- 10 Ecclesiastes 2:16; Proverbs 10:7; Ecclesiastes 9:5; Job 21:32–33; Jeremiah 17:13
- 11 Isaiah 26:10; Psalm 50:21–22; Romans 2:4–5; 2 Peter 3:3–10; Matthew 24:49–50
- 12 Psalm 37:11; Luke 1:50; 2 Peter 2:9; Psalm 37:18–19; Ecclesiastes 7:15
- 13 Ecclesiastes 6:12; Isaiah 3:11; Job 14:2; Malachi 3:18; Isaiah 57:21
- 14 Ecclesiastes 7:15; Malachi 3:15; Ecclesiastes 2:14; Ecclesiastes 9:1–3; Psalm 73:3
- 15 Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 5:18; Ecclesiastes 3:12–13; Ecclesiastes 9:7–9; Ecclesiastes 3:22
- 16 Ecclesiastes 2:23; Ecclesiastes 1:13; Psalm 127:2; Ecclesiastes 8:7; Ecclesiastes 8:9
- 17 Ecclesiastes 3:11; Psalm 73:16; Romans 11:33; Isaiah 40:28; Job 11:7–9
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… which is done upon the earth; that there be just men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked: again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said, that this also is vanity." This wisest man devoted this whole book to a full exposure of this vanity, evidently …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)