Study Desk

All the wordes of God are pure & cleane, for he is a shylde vnto all them, that put their trust in him.

There be thre thinges that are neuer satisfied, and the fourth saieth neuer hoo. The hell, a womans wombe, and the earth hath neuer water ynough. As for fyre, it sayeth neuer: hoo.

There be thre thinges to hye for me, and as for the fourth, it passeth my knowlege.

Soch is the waye also of a wyfe yt breaketh wedlocke, which wypeth hir mouth like as wha she hath eate, & sayeth: As for me, I haue done no harme.

Be thou an aduocate & stonde in iudgment thyself, to speake for all soch as be dome & sucourles.

She is vp in ye night season, to prouyde meate for hir housholde, & foode for hir maydens.

She feareth not yt the colde of wynter shal hurte hir house, for all hir housholde folkes are duble clothed.

As for fauor, it is disceatfull, and beutie is a vayne thinge: but a woman that feareth the LORDE, she is worthy to be praysed.

For what els hath a ma, of all the labor yt he taketh vnder the Sonne?

All floudes runne in to the see, & yet the see is not fylled: for loke vnto what place the waters runne, thence they come agayne.

Is there eny thinge, wherof it maye be sayde: lo, this is new? For it was loge agoo in the tymes yt haue bene before vs.

The thinge yt is past, is out of remebraunce: Eue so the thiges that are for to come, shal no more be thought vpo amoge the that come after.

applyed my mynde to seke out & search for the knowlege of all thiges yt are done vnder heaue. Soch trauayle & labor hath God geue vnto ye childre of me, to exercyse the selues theri.

for there vnto I applyed my mynde: yt I might knowe what were wy?dome & vnderstodinge, what were error & foolishnes. And I perceaued yt this also was but a vexacion of mynde:

for where moch wy?dome is, there is also greate trauayle & disquietnes: & ye more knowlege a man hath, the more is his care.

So I thought in my herte, to withdrawe my flesh from wyne, to applye my mynde vnto wy?dome, and to comprehede foolishnes vntill the tyme that (amonge all ye thinges which are vnder ye Sonne) I might se what were best for men to do, so longe as they lyue vnder heauen.

I bought seruauntes and maydes, and had a greate housholde. As for catell and shepe, I had more substaunce of them, then all they yt were before me in Ierusalem.

(Shortly) I was greater & in more worshipe, then all my predecessours in Ierusale. For wy?dome remayned with me:

& loke what so euer myne eyes desyred, I let them haue it: & wherin so euer my herte delyted or had eny pleasure, I with helde it not fro it. Thus my hert reioysed in all yt I dyd, and this I toke for the porcion of all my trauayle.

Then turned I me to considre wy?dome, erroure and foolishnesse (for what is he amonge men, that might be compared to me ye kynge in soch workes?)