Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.

I applied my mind to seek and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.

I said about laughter, “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.

So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

When there is a man whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.

For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,

For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

I said to myself, “This happens concerning people, so that God may test them and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”

I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to a man’s jealousy of his friend. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “So who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself from good?” This too is futile and a miserable task.

There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

The one who loves money is never satisfied with money, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind?

God has also given riches and wealth to every man, and He has allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God,

God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy.

Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot,
so is the laughter of the fool.
This too is futile.

Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?”
since it is not wise of you to ask this.

I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me.

“Look,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find out the explanation,

Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes.”

All this I have seen, applying my mind to all the work that is done under the sun, at a time when one man has authority over another to his harm.

In such circumstances, I saw the wicked buried. They came and went from the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they did so. This too is futile.

There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.

So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: the righteous, the wise, and their works are in God’s hands.People don’t know whether to expect love or hate. Everything lies ahead of them.

This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live—after that they go to the dead.

I have observed that this also is wisdom under the sun, and it is significant to me:

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity.