Egging You On! Beating Life's Difficulties & Cracking on With God

Spirit Filled Leadership

Colt to Cross to Crown: Reflections for Holy Week

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One Another: Showing Hospitality

Confidently YOU

Messiah's Last Words | 7 Easter Reflections

Untold Stories: Remembering the Faithfulness of God

Ten Men: The Rich Connections Every Man Needs (A Study of King David)

Led by the Spirit: Journey Through the Book of Acts Part 2

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

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Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkECC">
      <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="ECC.1">
         <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Everything Is Meaningless</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.1.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">The words of the Teacher,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">1:1 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">the leader of the assembly</span><span class="ft">; also in verses 2 and 12</span></span></span><span class="content"> son of David, king in Jerusalem:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.1.1"></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.1.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">&#8220;Meaningless! Meaningless!&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.1.2"><span class="content">says the Teacher.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.1.2"><span class="content">&#8220;Utterly meaningless!</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.1.2"><span class="content">Everything is meaningless.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.1.2"></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.1.2"></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.1.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">What do people gain from all their labors</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.1.3"><span class="content">at which they toil under the sun?</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.1.3"></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ECC.1.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Generations come and generations go,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ECC.1.4"><span class="content">but the earth remains forever.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ECC.1.4"></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ECC.1.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">The sun rises and the sun sets,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ECC.1.5"><span class="content">and hurries back to where it rises.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ECC.1.5"></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.1.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">The wind blows to the south</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.1.6"><span class="content">and turns to the north;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.1.6"><span class="content">round and round it goes,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.1.6"><span class="content">ever returning on its course.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.1.6"></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.1.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">All streams flow into the sea,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.1.7"><span class="content">yet the sea is never full.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.1.7"><span class="content">To the place the streams come from,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.1.7"><span class="content">there they return again.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.1.7"></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.1.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">All things are wearisome,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.1.8"><span class="content">more than one can say.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.1.8"><span class="content">The eye never has enough of seeing,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.1.8"><span class="content">nor the ear its fill of hearing.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.1.8"></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ECC.1.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">What has been will be again,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ECC.1.9"><span class="content">what has been done will be done again;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ECC.1.9"><span class="content">there is nothing new under the sun.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ECC.1.9"></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.1.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">Is there anything of which one can say,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.1.10"><span class="content">&#8220;Look! This is something new&#8221;?</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.1.10"><span class="content">It was here already, long ago;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.1.10"><span class="content">it was here before our time.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.1.10"></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.1.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">No one remembers the former generations,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.1.11"><span class="content">and even those yet to come</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.1.11"><span class="content">will not be remembered</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.1.11"><span class="content">by those who follow them.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Wisdom Is Meaningless</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.1.11"></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.1.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ECC.1.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ECC.1.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ECC.1.14"></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.1.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">What is crooked cannot be straightened;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.1.15"><span class="content">what is lacking cannot be counted.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.1.15"></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ECC.1.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">I said to myself, &#8220;Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ECC.1.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ECC.1.17"></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ECC.1.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ECC.1.18"><span class="content">the more knowledge, the more grief.</span></span></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkECC">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="ECC.2">
         <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Pleasures Are Meaningless</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.2.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">I said to myself, &#8220;Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.&#8221; But that also proved to be meaningless. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.2.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">&#8220;Laughter,&#8221; I said, &#8220;is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.2.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly&#8212;my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.2.3"></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ECC.2.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ECC.2.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.2.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.2.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.2.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">2:8 </span><span class="ft">The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.</span></span></span><span class="content"> as well&#8212;the delights of a man&#8217;s heart. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ECC.2.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ECC.2.9"></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.2.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.2.10"><span class="content">I refused my heart no pleasure.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.2.10"><span class="content">My heart took delight in all my labor,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.2.10"><span class="content">and this was the reward for all my toil.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.2.10"></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.2.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.2.11"><span class="content">and what I had toiled to achieve,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.2.11"><span class="content">everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.2.11"><span class="content">nothing was gained under the sun.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.2.11"></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.2.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.2.12"><span class="content">and also madness and folly.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.2.12"><span class="content">What more can the king&#8217;s successor do</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.2.12"><span class="content">than what has already been done?</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.2.12"></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ECC.2.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">I saw that wisdom is better than folly,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ECC.2.13"><span class="content">just as light is better than darkness.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ECC.2.13"></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ECC.2.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">The wise have eyes in their heads,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ECC.2.14"><span class="content">while the fool walks in the darkness;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ECC.2.14"><span class="content">but I came to realize</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ECC.2.14"><span class="content">that the same fate overtakes them both.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ECC.2.14"></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.2.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">Then I said to myself,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.2.15"><span class="content">&#8220;The fate of the fool will overtake me also.</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.2.15"><span class="content">What then do I gain by being wise?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.2.15"><span class="content">I said to myself,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.2.15"><span class="content">&#8220;This too is meaningless.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.2.15"></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ECC.2.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ECC.2.16"><span class="content">the days have already come when both have been forgotten.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ECC.2.16"><span class="content">Like the fool, the wise too must die!</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Toil Is Meaningless</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ECC.2.16"></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ECC.2.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ECC.2.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ECC.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ECC.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ECC.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ECC.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="ECC.2.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="ECC.2.23"></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="ECC.2.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ECC.2.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ECC.2.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.</span></span></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkECC">
      <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="ECC.3">
         <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">A Time for Everything</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.3.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">There is a time for everything,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.3.1"><span class="content">and a season for every activity under the heavens:</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.3.1"></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.3.1"></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.3.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">a time to be born and a time to die,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.3.2"><span class="content">a time to plant and a time to uproot,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.3.2"></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.3.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">a time to kill and a time to heal,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.3.3"><span class="content">a time to tear down and a time to build,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.3.3"></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ECC.3.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">a time to weep and a time to laugh,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ECC.3.4"><span class="content">a time to mourn and a time to dance,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ECC.3.4"></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ECC.3.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ECC.3.5"><span class="content">a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ECC.3.5"></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.3.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">a time to search and a time to give up,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.3.6"><span class="content">a time to keep and a time to throw away,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.3.6"></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.3.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">a time to tear and a time to mend,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.3.7"><span class="content">a time to be silent and a time to speak,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.3.7"></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.3.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">a time to love and a time to hate,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.3.8"><span class="content">a time for war and a time for peace.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.3.8"></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ECC.3.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">What do workers gain from their toil? </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.3.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.3.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">3:11 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">also placed ignorance in the human heart, so that</span></span></span><span class="content"> no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.3.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ECC.3.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil&#8212;this is the gift of God. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ECC.3.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ECC.3.14"></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.3.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">Whatever is has already been,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.3.15"><span class="content">and what will be has been before;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.3.15"><span class="content">and God will call the past to account.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">3:15 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">God calls back the past</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.3.15"></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ECC.3.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">And I saw something else under the sun:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ECC.3.16"><span class="content">In the place of judgment&#8212;wickedness was there,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ECC.3.16"><span class="content">in the place of justice&#8212;wickedness was there.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ECC.3.16"></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ECC.3.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">I said to myself,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ECC.3.17"><span class="content">&#8220;God will bring into judgment</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ECC.3.17"><span class="content">both the righteous and the wicked,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ECC.3.17"><span class="content">for there will be a time for every activity,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ECC.3.17"><span class="content">a time to judge every deed.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ECC.3.17"></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ECC.3.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">I also said to myself, &#8220;As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ECC.3.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">3:19 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">spirit</span></span></span><span class="content">; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ECC.3.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ECC.3.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ECC.3.21"></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ECC.3.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?</span></span></div>
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         <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.4.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.4.1"><span class="content">I saw the tears of the oppressed&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.4.1"><span class="content">and they have no comforter;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.4.1"><span class="content">power was on the side of their oppressors&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.4.1"><span class="content">and they have no comforter.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ECC.4.1"></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.4.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">And I declared that the dead,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.4.2"><span class="content">who had already died,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.4.2"><span class="content">are happier than the living,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.4.2"><span class="content">who are still alive.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ECC.4.2"></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.4.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">But better than both</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.4.3"><span class="content">is the one who has never been born,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.4.3"><span class="content">who has not seen the evil</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.4.3"><span class="content">that is done under the sun.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ECC.4.3"></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ECC.4.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person&#8217;s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ECC.4.4"></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ECC.4.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Fools fold their hands</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ECC.4.5"><span class="content">and ruin themselves.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ECC.4.5"></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.4.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Better one handful with tranquillity</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.4.6"><span class="content">than two handfuls with toil</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.4.6"><span class="content">and chasing after the wind.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ECC.4.6"></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.4.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ECC.4.7"></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.4.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">There was a man all alone;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.4.8"><span class="content">he had neither son nor brother.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.4.8"><span class="content">There was no end to his toil,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.4.8"><span class="content">yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.4.8"><span class="content">&#8220;For whom am I toiling,&#8221; he asked,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.4.8"><span class="content">&#8220;and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.4.8"><span class="content">This too is meaningless&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.4.8"><span class="content">a miserable business!</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.4.8"></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ECC.4.8"></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ECC.4.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Two are better than one,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ECC.4.9"><span class="content">because they have a good return for their labor:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ECC.4.9"></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.4.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">If either of them falls down,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.4.10"><span class="content">one can help the other up.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.4.10"><span class="content">But pity anyone who falls</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.4.10"><span class="content">and has no one to help them up.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ECC.4.10"></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.4.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.4.11"><span class="content">But how can one keep warm alone?</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ECC.4.11"></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.4.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Though one may be overpowered,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.4.12"><span class="content">two can defend themselves.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.4.12"><span class="content">A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Advancement Is Meaningless</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ECC.4.12"></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ECC.4.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ECC.4.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ECC.4.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king&#8217;s successor. </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ECC.4.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.</span></span></div>
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Reading The Bible In Historical Sequence Part 5Sample

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