King James Version · The united kingdom
Ecclesiastes 7
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A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of than the day of one’s birth. It is better to go to the house of , than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to . Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance is made better. of is in the house of ; but of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of , than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is . Surely maketh a man mad; and a gift destroyeth . Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the in is better than the proud in . Be not hasty in thy to be angry: for resteth in the of fools. Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this. is good with an : and by it there is profit to them that see the sun. For is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that giveth life to them that have it. Consider the work of : for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. All things have I seen in the days of my : there is a man that perisheth in his , and there is a man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. Be not over much; neither make thyself over : why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much , neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou before thy time? It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth shall come forth of them all. strengtheneth more than ten which are in the city. For there is not a man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant thee: For oftentimes also thine own knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast others. All this have I proved by : I said, I will be ; but it was far from me. That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out? I applied mine to know, and to search, and to seek out , and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness: And I find more bitter than the woman, whose is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth shall escape from her; but the shall be taken by her. Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: Which yet seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. Lo, this only have I found, that hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.