A generation goes, a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

The wind blows southward, then northward, constantly circulating, and the wind comes back again in its courses.

No one remembers those in the past, nor will they be remembered by those who come after them.

For neither the wise nor the fool will be long remembered, since in days to come everything will be forgotten. The wise man dies the same way as the fool, does he not?

The former can come out of prison to reign, while the latter, even if born to kingship, may become poor.

There was no end to all of his subjects or to all of the people who had come before them. But those who come along afterward will not be happy with him. This is also pointless and a chasing after wind.

Watch your step whenever you visit God's house, and come more ready to listen than to offer a fool's sacrifice, since fools never think they're doing evil.

This is also a painful tragedy: However a person comes, he also departs; so what does he gain as he labors after the wind?

Because many words lead to pointlessness, how do people benefit from this? 12Who knows what is best for people in this life, every day of their pointless lives that they pass through like a shadow? Who informs people on earth what will come along after them?

Never ask "Why does the past seem so much better than now?" because this question does not come from wisdom.

For he has absolutely no knowledge what will happen, since who can declare to him when it will come about?

So I watched the wicked being entombed. They used to come in and out of the Holy Place, but now they are forgotten in the city, where they used to work. This, too, is pointless.

Here's another tragedy that I've observed on earth, a kind of error that comes from an overseer:

Even if a person lives many years, let him enjoy them all, recalling that there will be many days of darkness to come all of which are pointless.

So remember your Creator during your youth! Otherwise, troublesome days will come and years will creep up on you when you'll say, "I find no pleasure in them,"

when that day comes, the palace guards will tremble, strong men will stoop down, women grinders will cease because they are few, and the sight of those who peer through the lattice will grow dim.