Ecclesiastes ( Book 21 )
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Ecclesiastes 1
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is
vanity.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the
sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the
earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place
where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it
whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to
his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the
place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not
satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is
done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the
sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath
been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any
remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come
after.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all
things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to
the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold,
all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is
wanting cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate,
and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in
Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I
perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge
increaseth sorrow.
Ecclesiastes 2
1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth,
therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine
heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was
that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven
all the days of their life.
4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:
5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all
kind of fruits:
6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth
forth trees:
7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also
I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were
in Jerusalem before me:
8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings
and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the
delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all
sorts.
9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in
Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.
10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not
my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and
this was my portion of all my labour.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the
labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and
vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what
can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been
already done.
13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth
darkness.
14 The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness:
and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth
even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart,
that this also is vanity.
16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for
ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be
forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun
is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I
should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he
have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I
have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour
which I took under the sun.
21 For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in
equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it
for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart,
wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart
taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink,
and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I
saw, that it was from the hand of God.
25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?
26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and
knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and
to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also
is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Ecclesiastes 3
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under
the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to
pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time
to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to
dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a
time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast
away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time
to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of
peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be
exercised in it.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the
world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God
maketh from the beginning to the end.
12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to
do good in his life.
13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of
all his labour, it is the gift of God.
14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can
be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men
should fear before him.
15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already
been; and God requireth that which is past.
16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that
wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity
was there.
17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked:
for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that
God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves
are beasts.
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one
thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they
have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast:
for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust
again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the
beast that goeth downward to the earth?
22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man
should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who
shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
Ecclesiastes 4
1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under
the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had
no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but
they had no comforter.
2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the
living which are yet alive.
3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath
not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a
man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of
spirit.
5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with
travail and vexation of spirit.
7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither
child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is
his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour,
and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore
travail.
9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their
labour.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that
is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be
warm alone?
12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a
threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who
will no more be admonished.
14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in
his kingdom becometh poor.
15 I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second
child that shall stand up in his stead.
16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before
them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this
also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Ecclesiastes 5
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready
to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not
that they do evil.
2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter
any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth:
therefore let thy words be few.
3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's
voice is known by multitude of words.
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no
pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow
and not pay.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou
before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry
at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers
vanities: but fear thou God.
8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of
judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he
that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than
they.
9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is
served by the field.
10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that
loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good
is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with
their eyes?
12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much:
but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches
kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and
there is nothing in his hand.
15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as
he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away
in his hand.
16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall
he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and
wrath with his sickness.
18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat
and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh
under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it
is his portion.
19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath
given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to
rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.
20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God
answereth him in the joy of his heart.
Ecclesiastes 6
1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common
among men:
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he
wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth
him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is
vanity, and it is an evil disease.
3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the
days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and
also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better
than he.
4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name
shall be covered with darkness.
5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more
rest than the other.
6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no
good: do not all go to one place?
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not
filled.
8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that
knoweth to walk before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this
is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man:
neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the
better?
12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his
vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what
shall be after him under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death
than the day of one's birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house
of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay
it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance
the heart is made better.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of
fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear
the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the
fool: this also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the
heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the
patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom
of fools.
10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than
these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them
that see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of
knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.
13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he
hath made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity
consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end
that man should find nothing after him.
15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man
that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that
prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why
shouldest thou destroy thyself ?
17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou
die before thy time?
18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this
withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of
them all.
19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in
the city.
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth
not.
21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy
servant curse thee:
22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise
hast cursed others.
23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was
far from me.
24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?
25 I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom,
and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of
foolishness and madness:
26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and
nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from
her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
27 Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to
find out the account:
28 Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand
have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they
have sought out many inventions.
Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing?
a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face
shall be changed.
2 I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of
the oath of God.
3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for
he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him,
What doest thou?
5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise
man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.
6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the
misery of man is great upon him.
7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it
shall be?
8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit;
neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge
in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to
it.
9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is
done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over
another to his own hurt.
10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place
of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so
done: this is also vanity.
11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,
therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do
evil.
12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged,
yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which
fear before him:
13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his
days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just
men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked;
again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work
of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the
sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide
with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him
under the sun.
16 When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that
is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night
seeth sleep with his eyes:)
17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work
that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it
out, yet he shall not find it; yea farther; though a wise man think to
know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
Ecclesiastes 9
1 For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that
the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God:
no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and
to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to
him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good,
so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that
there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is
full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after
that they go to the dead.
4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a
living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any
thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is
forgotten.
6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished;
neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is
done under the sun.
7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry
heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life
of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of
thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour
which thou takest under the sun.
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is
no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither
thou goest.
11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet
riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but
time and chance happeneth to them all.
12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an
evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the
sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon
them.
13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto
me:
14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great
king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom
delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor
man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that
ruleth among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much
good.
Ecclesiastes 10
1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a
stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for
wisdom and honour.
2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his
left.
3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom
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 yielding pacifieth great offences.
5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which
proceedeth from the ruler:
6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.
7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon
the earth.
8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge,
a serpent shall bite him.
9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth
wood shall be endangered thereby.
10 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to
more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.
11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no
better.
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
his talk is mischievous madness.
14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and
what shall be after him, who can tell him?
15 The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he
knoweth not how to go to the city.
16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in
the morning!
17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy
princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of
the hands the house droppeth through.
19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money
answereth all things.
20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in
thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that
which hath wings shall tell the matter.
Ecclesiastes 11
1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many
days.
2 Give a portion to seven, and also to 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 the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the
place where the tree falleth, there it shall 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 spirit, nor how the bones
do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest
not the works of God who maketh all.
6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine
hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either 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 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet 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 thine 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 childhood and youth are vanity.
Ecclesiastes 12
1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days
come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no
pleasure in them;
2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not
darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3 In the day when 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 be darkened,
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the
grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and
all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall
be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper
shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his
long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or
the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the
cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit
shall return unto God who gave it.
8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the
people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in
order many proverbs.
10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was
written was upright, even words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the
masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books
there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing,
whether it be good, or whether it be evil.