eth by the way, his understanding faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. [4] If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for gentleness allayeth great offences. [5] There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as it were an error which proceedeth from the ruler: [6] folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place. [7] I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking like servants upon the earth. [8] He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh through a wall, a serpent shall bite him. [9] Whoso heweth out stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood is endangered thereby. [10] If the iron be blunt, and one do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. [11] Ifs the serpent bite before it is charmed, then is there no advantage in the10 charmer. [12] The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. [13] The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the end of his11 talk is mischievous madness. [14] A fool also multiplieth words: yet man knoweth not what shall be; and that which shall be after him, who can tell him? [15] The labor of fools wearieth every one of them; for he knoweth not how to go to the city. [16] Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child,12 and thy princes eat in the morning! [17] Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is the13 son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness ! [18] By slothfulness the roof14 sinketh in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh. [19] A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh glad the life; and money answereth all things. [20] Revile not the king, no, not in thy thought; and revile not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the heavens shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. Heb. heart. 4 • Or, of. Or, calmness leaveth great sins undone. Heb. heights. Or, moveth stones. 8 Or, Surely the serpent will bite where there is no enchantment; and the slanderer is no better. Heb. without enchantment. 10 Heb. the master of the tongue. 11 Heb. his mouth. 12 Or, servant. 13 Or, a free man. 14 Or, rafters sink. XI [1] CAST' thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days. [2] Give a portion to seven, yea, even unto eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. [3] If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be. [4] He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. [5] As thou knowest not what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the work of God who doeth all. [6] In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. [7] Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. [8] Yea, if a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. [9] Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. [10] Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. XII [1] REMEMBER also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; [2] before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; [3] in the day when 1 Or, Send forth. 2 Heb. upon the face of the waters. Or, Divide a portion into seven, yea, even into eight. Or, and remember. Or, vexation. Or, provocation. Or, in. Or, spirit. Or, For. HC-Vol. 44 (12) the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders' cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened, [4] and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; [5] yea, they shall be afraid of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond-tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire' shall fail; because man goeth to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets: [6] before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, [7] and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it. [8] Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity. [9] And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he pondered,' and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. [10] The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written uprightly, even words of truth. [11] The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are the words of the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. [12] And" furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. [13] This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. [14] For God will bring every work into judgment, with" every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. & Or, burst. 1 Or, grinding women. 2 Or, of danger from on high. Or, shall drag itself along. Or, the caperberry. Or, snapped asunder. Or, gave ear. Heb. words of delight. Or, collectors of sentences. 10 Or, And as for more than these, my son. be warned. 11 Or, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. 12 Or, this is the duty of all men. 18 Or, concerning. INTRODUCTORY NOTE THE "Gospel according to Luke" was probably written not far from the year 70 A. D. It is quoted in the first half of the second century, and in a fragment dated about 175 A. D. we find the earliest extant ascription of the authorship to Luke. The third Gospel, says the so-called "Canon of Muratori," "Luke compiled in his own name from report, the physician whom Paul took with him after the ascension of Christ, as it were, for a traveling companion; however he did not himself see the Lord in the flesh, and hence begins his account with the birth of John." Eusebius states that Luke was born at Antioch, and Paul seems to imply that he was a Gentile. The sources from which the compilation was made are still a matter of dispute. Much of the narrative of events seems to be drawn from "Mark"; of the speeches, from that collection of the discourses of Christ which is supposed by scholars to lie behind the gospel of "Matthew." But the author of "Luke" had peculiar sources not used by the other evangelists; and from these come some of the most precious contents of this gospel. There has been much discussion on the question as to the existence in "Luke" of a Jewish or of a Gentile bias. Those who find it markedly Jewish in tone incline to distrust the tradition ascribing its composition to the Gentile physician; those who regard it as the Pauline gospel naturally find it easier to associate it with the companion of the apostle to the Gentiles. The question is closely connected with the authorship of "The Acts of the Apostles," a continuation of "Luke" by the same hand, which is generally admitted to contain descriptions of Paul's travels recorded by his companion. The author, whether Luke or another, opens by stating his purpose to be to trace accurately and in order "those matters which have been fulfilled among us." It would be an impertinence to comment on the importance to mankind of the carrying out of his purpose. |