I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.

Who may take food or have pleasure without him?

A time to take stones away and a time to get stones together; a time for kissing and a time to keep from kissing;

And for every man to take food and drink, and have joy in all his work, is a reward from God.

I am certain that whatever God does will be for ever. No addition may be made to it, nothing may be taken from it; and God has done it so that man may be in fear before him.

The foolish man, folding his hands, takes the flesh of his body for food.

When you take an oath before God, put it quickly into effect, because he has no pleasure in the foolish; keep the oath you have taken.

It is better not to take an oath than to take an oath and not keep it.

When goods are increased, the number of those who take of them is increased; and what profit has the owner but to see them?

As he came from his mother at birth, so does he go again; he gets from his work no reward which he may take away in his hand.

This is what I have seen: it is good and fair for a man to take meat and drink and to have joy in all his work under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; that is his reward.

He will not give much thought to the days of his life; because God lets him be taken up with the joy of his heart.

A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease.

If a man has a hundred children, and his life is long so that the days of his years are great in number, but his soul takes no pleasure in good, and he is not honoured at his death; I say that a birth before its time is better than he.

It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts.

It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.

In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.

And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.

And then I saw evil men put to rest, taken even from the holy place; and they went about and were praised in the town because of what they had done. This again is to no purpose.

So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

Because to all there is one event, to the upright man and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him who makes an offering and to him who makes no offering; as is the good so is the sinner; he who takes an oath is as he who has fear of it.

Come, take your bread with joy, and your wine with a glad heart. God has taken pleasure in your works.

Even man has no knowledge of his time; like fishes taken in an evil net, or like birds taken by deceit, are the sons of men taken in an evil time when it comes suddenly on them.

Happy is the land whose ruler is of noble birth, and whose chiefs take food at the right time, for strength and not for feasting.

Say not a curse against the king, even in your thoughts; and even secretly say not a curse against the man of wealth; because a bird of the air will take the voice, and that which has wings will give news of it.

And further, my son, take note of this: of the making of books there is no end, and much learning is a weariness to the flesh.