Глава 9

Eccl.9:1. I turned my heart to all this to study that the righteous and wise and their deeds are in the hand of God, and that man knows neither love nor hatred in all that is before him. All this I have given in my heart, that I may search out all that is righteous and wise, and their deeds in the hand of the Lord. And even love, and even hatred: a person does not know everything about them. And Symmachus translated this passage more clearly, saying: I have decided all this in my heart in order to explore everything - that both the righteous and the wise and their work are in the hand of God. And moreover, man knows neither friendship nor enmity; but everything is wrong before him, because everyone has the same fate - the righteous and the unrighteous. The meaning is this: and to this I set my heart, and wanted to know whom God loved and whom he hated. And I found that although the deeds of the righteous are in the hand of God, yet now they cannot know whether God loves them or not, and they hesitate in doubt whether they endure what they endure as a test or as a punishment. They will find out in the future; “and everything is in their sight”, i.e. knowledge of this awaits them when they depart from this life; for there was judgment then, but now there is strife. And now it remains unknown whether those who suffer disasters suffer out of God’s love, like Job, or out of hatred, like so many sinners. Eccl.9:2. There is one thing for everything and everyone: one fate for the righteous and the wicked, the good and the [evil], the pure and the unclean, those who offer sacrifice and those who do not; both the virtuous and the sinner; both the one who swears and the one who fears an oath. The outcome is the same for everyone - the righteous and the wicked, the good and the evil, the pure and the unclean, those who sacrifice and those who do not. Both the good and the sinner, both the one who swears and the one who fears an oath. That which in itself is neither good nor bad, but is called average by the sages of the age (because it comprehends equally the righteous and the unrighteous), confuses some simpletons as to why it happens so; and therefore they think that there is no judgment, when in the future there must be a difference in everything, but here everything is united together. And what is said: “the outcome is the same for everyone - the righteous and the wicked”, means the outcome of either disasters or death, and therefore they do not know either God’s love for themselves or anger. And the one who brings a sacrifice and the one who does not offer a sacrifice and other things counted with opposites must be understood spiritually, according to this: “the sacrifice to God is a broken spirit” (Ps. 50:19). Eccl.9:3. This is what is bad in everything that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for everyone, and the hearts of the sons of men are filled with evil, and madness is in their hearts, in their lives; and after that they go to the dead. This is the worst thing in everything that has happened under the sun, which is the outcome for everyone. But the hearts of the sons of men are also filled with evil, and delusions are in their hearts throughout their lives, and after that to the dead. For who is he who communicates with all living things? And this Symmachus, according to his custom, translated more clearly, saying: “But the heart of the sons of men will be filled with evil and shamelessness according to their heart in their life. And the last of them goes to the dead. For who can remain alive forever?” Scripture repeats the same idea that we spoke about a little above - that while everything is equally destined for everyone and there is no distinction in the test of good or bad, while we are all carried away from this world by the same death - we are nevertheless filled with error and shamelessness and evil, and after that we are instantly snatched away by death and can no longer have communication with the living. Or the meaning is this: since the same disasters oppress both the righteous and the wicked, therefore people are prompted to sin; and equally, after all the efforts in which they exhaust themselves in vain, they, at an hour unknown to them, descend into hell. Eccl.9:4–6. Whoever is among the living still has hope, since a living dog is better off than a dead lion. The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and there is no longer any reward for them, because the memory of them is consigned to oblivion, and their love and their hatred and their jealousy have already disappeared, and they no longer have a part forever in anything that is done under the sun. There is hope, since a living dog is better than a dead lion; because the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing and have no more reward. For their memory passes into oblivion. But their love and their hatred and their jealousy have already perished, and they no longer have a part in the world in everything that is done under the sun. since I said above that the heart of the sons of men is filled with evil and lewdness and after that everything ends in death: now he complements and repeats that while people live, they can become righteous, and after death no opportunity is given to do good deeds. A living sinner can be better than a dead righteous man if he wants to move on to his virtues. And in any case, the poor and most despised can be better than the one who boasted in evil, power and wickedness, and died. Why? because the living, out of fear of death, can do good deeds, but the dead cannot add anything to what they once took with them from life, in accordance with what is written in the psalm: “I am forgotten as if dead from the heart” (Ps. 30:13). But their love and hatred and jealousy and everything that they could have in the world ends with the advent of death: they can no longer do anything righteously, nor sin, nor add virtues, nor vices. However, some contradict this interpretation, arguing that even after death we can grow and deteriorate, and the words: “and they will no longer have any part in the world in everything that is done under the sun” are understood to mean that they do not have any communication in this world and under this sun that we see, but have in another world, about which the Savior said: “I am not of this world” (John 8:23) and under the sun of righteousness, and that these words are not removed the opinion that even after moving from this world, we, rational beings, can both fall and improve. The Jew reported that this verse, which says: “a living dog is better than a dead lion,” is explained differently by them: namely, that although an unlearned, but still living and teaching teacher is more useful than a perfect, but already dead teacher, at least by a dog we roughly mean any teacher from many, and by a lion Moses or one of the other prophets. But since we don’t like this explanation, we will stretch to the highest and say that the dog, according to the Gospel, is the Canaanite woman to whom it was said: “Your faith will save you” (Matthew 9:22), and the dead lion is the people of the circumcision, as the prophet Balaam says: “Behold, the people will rise up like a lion, and like a lion will be exalted” (Num. 23:24). So, the living dog is us from the Gentiles, and the dead lion is the people of Judah, abandoned by the Lord. And this living dog is better before the Lord than that dead lion. For we who are alive know the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, but they who are dead know nothing and do not expect any promise or reward, but their memory is fulfilled. And neither they themselves remember what they should have known, nor the Lord no longer remembers them. And their love, with which they once loved God, disappeared, and the hatred about which they boldly spoke: “Have they not hated Thee, O Lord, and of all Thy things?” (Ps. 139:21), and the jealousy with which Phinehas was jealous and from which Mattathias’s veins shook also disappeared. And obviously they have no part in the world, for they cannot say: “The Lord is my part” (Ps. 73:26). Eccl.9:7–12. Go therefore, eat thy bread with gladness, and drink thy wine with gladness of heart, when God delighteth in thy works. May your garments be bright at all times, and may the oil on your head not fail. Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your vain life, and whom God has given you under the sun for all your vain days; because this is your portion in life and in your labors, as you labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your strength; because in the grave where you go there is no work, no reflection, no knowledge, no wisdom. And I turned, and saw under the sun that it is not to the swift that the race is won, nor to the brave the victory, nor to the wise the bread, nor to the wise riches, nor to the skillful the favor, but time and chance for them all. For man does not know his time. As fish are caught in a destructive net, and as birds are entangled in a snare, so the sons of men are caught in times of trouble when it unexpectedly comes upon them. Go and eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a good heart, for your deeds have already become more pleasing to God. May your clothes be white at all times, and may the oil on your head not fail, etc., to the point where he said: “Like fish that are caught in a destructive net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the sons of men will be caught in the worst time, when it falls on them unexpectedly.” Before we talk about each verse separately, let's make a brief general overview so that we can see in what sense all this is said. Since in the previous section he said that people after their death disappear from the hearts of people and no one has either love or hatred for them, in the poet’s words: “There is no fight with the vanquished, the dead” (Aeneid. II) and since they cannot do anything under the sun: now he cites, as a human delusion, the very way of their mutual persuasion to use the blessings of this world. According to the custom of rhetoricians and poets, he makes a personification, saying: O man, if thus after death you are nothing and death itself is nothing, then listen to my advice and while you live in this short life, enjoy pleasures, use precious fabrics, indulge in wine and understand that all this has been given to you by God for your use. Walk dressed in white clothes, let your head be perfumed with incense, whichever woman you like, enjoy in her arms and spend your vain and short life in vain and short pleasure. For besides this you will have nothing to enjoy; hurry to pluck everything that may give you pleasure, hurry so that it does not disappear. And don’t let empty fairy tales disturb you, as if for every deed, good or bad, you will have to give an account in hell. After all, there is no wisdom in death: after the end of this life, no sensation remains. So say, says some Epicurus, Aristippus, Cyreneiki and other brutes of philosophers. And I, having carefully thought with myself, find that it is not by chance that everything happens and it is not blind Fortune that plays with human affairs, as some people think badly, but all this happens by God’s determination. Neither the fleet-footed one, if he runs, should consider running as his own, nor the strong one should not rely on his strength, nor the smart one should think that he collects wealth and property with his mind, nor the eloquent and learned one, that he gains the love of the people with his eloquence and learning; no, but everything is done by God’s dispensation. And if He does not direct everything according to His will, if He does not build the house, then those who built it labored in vain; If He does not preserve the city, then those who guard it will watch in vain (Ps. 127:1). So, there is not one outcome for everyone, and the order of this life is not accidental, as they think: because when they do not think about it, abducted instantly by death, they will go to judgment. And just as a fish falls into a fishing rod and into a net, and birds free in the air become entangled in a snare, unknown to them, so do people, while they believed that everything revolves by chance, with the unexpected onset of death and judgment, according to their merits, they will be sent away to eternal torment. This is in the sense of a brief general overview of everything that has been said; now everything should be explained separately and as if he were speaking not on behalf of another, but on his own. Eccl.9:7. Go therefore, eat thy bread with gladness, and drink thy wine with gladness of heart, when God delighteth in thy works. Go and eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a good heart, for your deeds have already become pleasing to God. since you know that everything ends in death and in hell there is no repentance and no return to virtues: then while you are in this world, hurry, be zealous to repent, strive while you have time. For God willingly accepts the repentant. Otherwise: a simple understanding of this passage, consistent with it, is useful: “whether you eat, or drink, or do anything else, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31) and also: “drink wine wisely.” For he does not have true joy and a good heart who abuses created things beyond measure. But it is better to understand this: whose deeds are pleasing to God, he will in no way need the true bread and wine trampled from the Soreh vineyard. So, if we are given a commandment that says: “If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord will give it to you”: then we will keep the commandments, and we will be able to obtain spiritual bread and wine. And whoever does not keep the commandments and boasts about the abundance of bread and wine, he is told through Isaiah: “Do not say: I already know it; you have neither comprehended nor know, and from the beginning I did not open your ears; for I know that by despising you will be despised” (Isaiah 48:8). Further, what is said in the Seventy Interpreters: “Go, eat your bread with joy” is the voice of that Ecclesiastes, who says in the Gospel: “Let the thirsty come to me and drink” (John 7:37) and in Proverbs: “Come, eat my bread and drink my wine” (Prov. 9:5). Eccl.9:8. May your garments be bright at all times, and may the oil on your head not fail. May your garments be white at all times, and may the oil on your head not fail. Have, he says, a clean body, and be merciful. Or this: let there never be a time when your clothes are not white; beware of ever walking in unclean clothes. For the sinful people are depicted shining in dark robes. And you should be clothed with light, and not with the curse that was written on Judas: “and put on a curse like a robe” (Ps. 109:18). Clothe your inner self with mercy, goodness, humility, meekness, and patience. And when you have put off the old man with his deeds, put on the new man, which is renewed day by day. And regarding what was said: “let not the oil on your head fail,” you need to know that the property of oil is such that it nourishes the light and alleviates the suffering of the exhausted. There is also spiritual oil, the oil of joy, about which it is written: “Because of this anointing of You, O God, Your God is more than your partaker with the oil of joy” (Ps. 44:8). This oil should make our face shine with joy. The head of the fasting person should be anointed with this oil, an oil that sinners cannot have, to whom it is said: “There is no plaster to apply, lower than oil, lower than obligation” (Is. 1:6). For they have the opposite oil, which the righteous man abhors, saying: “The oil of sinners shall not make my head fat.” Heretics have this oil, and they want to anoint the heads of the deceived with it. Eccl.9:9. Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your vain life, and whom God has given you under the sun for all your vain days; because this is your portion in life and in your labors, as you labor under the sun. See life with the wife whom you have loved, in all the days of your life of vanity, which are given to you under the sun: because this is your share in the life and work with which you work under the sun. Follow the wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures and take her as your wife, about whom Proverbs says: “Love her, and she will keep you; embrace her and she will protect you” (Prov. 4:8). And the days of vanity mean the days of this indecent age, about which the apostle is not silent. And what was said: “see life with the wife whom you loved” is said in a twofold sense - either see and look at life you yourself and your wife with you (for you alone without such a wife will not be able to see life), go: look at both - see both life and the woman in the days of your vanity. And he beautifully commands that in the days of our vanity we seek true life with woman-wisdom. For this is our share, this is the fruit of our labor, if in this, like a shadow of a ghostly life, we can find true life. Eccl.9:10. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your strength; because in the grave where you go there is no work, no reflection, no knowledge, no wisdom. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it according to your strength, because in hell, to which you are going, there is no work, no care, no knowledge, no wisdom. Now do everything you can and strive, because when you go to hell, there will be no more room for repentance. The Savior commanded something similar to this: do “while it is day: night will come when no one can do it” (John 9:4). And regarding the words: “in hell, to which you are going,” note that one must believe that it is true that Samuel (Solomon?) was in hell and that before the coming of Christ everyone, even saints, was subject to the law of hell. And that after the resurrection of the Lord, the saints are not imprisoned in hell, the apostle testifies, saying: it is better to “be resolved and be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23); and whoever is with Christ is certainly not imprisoned in hell. Eccl.9:11. And I turned, and saw under the sun that it is not to the swift that the race is won, nor to the brave the victory, nor to the wise the bread, nor to the wise riches, nor to the skillful the favor, but time and chance for them all. I turned and saw under the sun that the run is not with the nimble, the fight is not with the strong, bread is not with the wise, wealth is not with the wise, grace is not with the knowledgeable; but that time and chance will meet all of them. Whoever is bound with iron bonds and burdened with heavy lead shackles - for “unrighteousness sits on a lead talent” (Zechariah 5:7) and in the psalm says: “As a heavy burden weighs upon me” (Psalm 37:5) - he is not capable of that running, about which it is said: “The course of the end, having kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). And the one who is easy and whose soul is not burdened, nevertheless, he cannot reach the end without God. Also, when there is a struggle with opposing forces, about which it is written: “sanctify the war” (Jer. 6:4), even though he was strong, he will not be able to win on his own. And he who is perfect in the sons of men and wise will not be able to have living and heavenly bread except through wisdom exhorting: “Come, eat my bread.” And since there is wealth about which the apostle said: “be rich in good works” (1 Tim. 6:18) and in another place: “be rich in all understanding” (1 Cor. 1:5): then you should know that a wise man can collect this wealth only by receiving it from the Lord, to whom this wealth belongs. It is said about him in another place: “the ransom of a man’s life is wealth to him” (Prov. 13:8). And even an educated man will not be able to obtain grace if it is not accompanied by knowledge and is not given from God. And Paul, knowing this, said: “I have labored more than all of them: not I, but the grace of God which is with me” (1 Cor. 15:10) and again: “And his grace which is in me was not in vain.” And, in conclusion, it is unknown to man when the time will come in which a different outcome and end will follow for everyone. This has a mysterious meaning (secundum αναγωγήν). In a simpler sense, this place corresponds to the letter to the Romans: “neither willing nor abiding, but a gracious God” (Rom. 9:16). And what has been said: “The wise have no bread” is daily proven by the example of many who, being very smart, need the necessary things. “Grace does not belong to those who know.” For one can see that some of the most ignorant people flourish in the church: they, having acquired a self-confident bearing and a glib tongue, without thinking, consider themselves intelligent and educated, especially if they receive the favor of the crowd, which is more delighted and carried away by easy phrases. And on the contrary, an educated husband hides in obscurity, suffers persecution and not only has no favor among the people, but withers from want and poverty. And this happens because everything revolves in a fragile position and there is no reward for merit in the present, but in the future. Eccl.9:12. For man does not know his time. As fish are caught in a destructive net, and as birds are entangled in a snare, so the sons of men are caught in times of trouble when it unexpectedly comes upon them. And man does not know his time. Like fish that are caught in a destructive net and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the sons of men will be caught at the worst time, when it falls on them unexpectedly. As we said above, unbeknownst to people, misfortunes or death come to them. Then, in an allegorical sense, you should know that the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea (Matthew 13:47-50), and vice versa - that heretics have a net to catch fish to their death. Their net is pleasant speech, kind words, feigned or forced fasts, modest clothing, imitation of virtues. And if they begin to talk about lofty subjects, raise their mouths on high and seek the heights of God, then they will lay nets on these heights. So, just as fish and birds are soon caught in such a net and such snares, so when wickedness increases and the love of many grows cold, and signs and wonders are performed to deceive, if possible, even the elect, even the people of the church may soon fall, those who are called the sons of men and who are of little faith. It should be noted that in this entire book, wherever it appears: “sons of men,” in Hebrew it stands: “sons of man,” i.e., “sons of Adam.” And almost all Scripture is full of this peculiarity (idioma), calling the entire human race the sons of Adam. Eccl.9:13–15. Here is another piece of wisdom I saw under the sun, and it seemed important to me: the city is small, and there are few people in it; the great king approached him and besieged him and carried out large siege works against him; but a wise poor man was found in him, and with his wisdom he saved this city; and yet no one remembered this poor man. This is another piece of wisdom I saw under the sun, and it seemed important to me. The city is small, and there are not many people in it: and the great king approached it, and besieged it, and built a large machine against it. But he found in him a poor and wise man, and he saved the city with his wisdom; and yet no one remembered this poor man. While others say that everything is fragile and the righteous has no advantage over the unrighteous, I have found the greatest wisdom in this, that it often happens that a city is small, there are few inhabitants in it, and it is surrounded by an army of countless enemies, besieged and the people die in it from hunger: but suddenly, beyond expectation, a simple, poor man is found who, surpassing in wisdom all the rich, great, strong and proud, who are in this danger and who have lost heart at the sight siege, thinks, searches for and finds means to save the city from disasters. But, oh, the ungrateful forgetfulness of people! as soon as they got rid of it, as soon as the siege was lifted from the city and freedom was returned to the fatherland, no one remembers this wise poor man, no one thanks him for his salvation, but everyone honors the rich, who were unable to provide any help during the misfortune. The Jew explained this place differently, exactly like this: A small city is a person, which philosophers call a small world; and there are few people in it - the members that make up this person; when the great king, the devil, comes out against him and looks for a place through which he could invade him, he finds in him the simple, wise and calm reflection of the inner man, and it preserves the city under siege. But when a person is freed from the danger of persecution, or disasters, or any other misfortune and sin, then that outer man, who is hostile to this poor and wise man, does not remember the inner man and does not obey his suggestions, but again lives in his own freedom. Otherwise: the city is small and there are few people in it - this is the Church, compared to the whole world; the great king, the devil, often rebels against it (not because he is great, but because he boasts of his greatness) and imposes a siege or persecution, or other kind of disasters on it; but he finds in her a poor and wise man - the Lord Jesus Christ, who became poor for our sake (2 Cor. 8:9) and is Wisdom Herself, and this poor man frees the city with his wisdom. How many times have we seen the lion sitting in ambush with the rich, that is, the senators and princes of this age, and plotting against the church, and was amazed by the wisdom of poor Onago! And when this poor man wins and peace is restored in the city, then hardly anyone remembers Him, hardly anyone honors His commands, but everyone, having given themselves over to luxury and pleasures, seeks wealth, which does not relieve in distress. Eccl.9:16. And I said, Wisdom is better than strength, and yet the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not listened to. And I said: wisdom is better than strength, and the wisdom of the poor man, which was despised, and his words were not listened to. Although no one remembers the wise poor man, when everything is given over to pleasures and everyone bows before power and wealth: nevertheless, in accordance with all the above interpretation, I more honor the despised wisdom of the poor man and the words that no one deigns to pay attention to. Eccl.9:17. The words of the wise, spoken calmly, are heard better than the cry of a ruler among fools. The words of the wise are heard calmly, better than the cry of a ruler among fools. If you see in a church that any kind of rhetoric by pleasing the people's taste and eloquent words excites applause, causes laughter, leads the listeners to explosions of delight, then know that this is a ghost of unreasonableness of both the speaker and the listeners. For the words of the wise are listened to calmly and in modest silence, but whoever is unreasonable, even if he were a man of authority and whether he himself shouted or aroused the cries of the people, will be counted among the foolish. Eccl.9:18. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner will destroy a lot of good things. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, and one sinner will destroy a lot of good things. And now he prefers wisdom to strength and says that it is much more important than military weapons. For if one is unreasonable, even if he is small and insignificant, large sums of money and wealth are often wasted through his stupidity. And since in Hebrew you can read: “but whoever sins in one thing will lose many good things,” then you can also think like this: because of one sin, many works of righteousness are lost; virtues are connected to each other, and whoever has one has everything, and whoever sins in one is subject to all vices (James 2:10).