There is a thing [of] which it is said, "Look at this! This is new!" [But] it already existed in ages past before us.

{I said to myself}, "Look! I have become great and have increased [in] wisdom more than anyone who {has preceded} me over Jerusalem. {I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge}."

I said {to myself}, "Come! I will test pleasure {to see whether it is worthwhile}." But look, "This also [is] vanity!"

I said of laughter, "[It is] folly!" and of pleasure, "{What does it accomplish?}"

So I said {to myself}, "{If I also suffer the same fate as the fool}, {what advantage is my great wisdom}?" So I said {to myself}, "This also [is] vanity!"

So I said {to myself}, "God will surely judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time [of judgment] for every deed and every work."

I said to myself concerning {humans}, "God sifts them in order to show them that they are like beasts."

All this I have tested with wisdom. I said, "I will be wise!" but {it was beyond my grasp}.

"Look! I found this," said the Teacher, "while trying to find how the plan fits together.

There [is] a vanity that happens on earth: sometimes the righteous suffer what the wicked deserve, and sometimes the wicked receive what the righteous deserve. I said, "This also [is] vanity!"