The wind blows toward the south,
Then circles toward the north;
The wind circles and swirls endlessly,
And on its circular course the wind returns.

There is no remembrance of those who came before;
and of those who will come after
there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.

And I gave my heart to getting knowledge of wisdom, and of the ways of the foolish. And I saw that this again was desire for wind.

I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

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.

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.

And I went again in search of wisdom and of foolish ways. What may the man do who comes after the king? The thing which he has done before.

Then I said to myself, “As it happens to the fool, so death will also happen to me. What use is it then for me to be extremely wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This too is vanity (meaningless).”

For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?

God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.

I said in my heart, God will be judge of the good and of the bad; because a time for every purpose and for every work has been fixed by him.

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.

And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

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.

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.

That which is, has been named before, and of what man is there is knowledge. He has no power against one stronger than he.

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.

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

I have turned round, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and of foolishness the madness.

Whoever keeps the law will come to no evil: and a wise man's heart has knowledge of time and of decision.

No man has authority over the wind, to keep the wind; or is ruler over the day of his death. In war no man's time is free, and evil will not keep the sinner safe.

Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.

Even this, had I seen of wisdom, under the sun, - and, of great import, was the same unto me: -

The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

Blessed [prosperous and admired] are you, O land, when your king is a man of noble birth, and your princes and officials feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.

Just as you do not know the way and path of the wind or how the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

Remember thy maker in thy youth, before the days of adversity come, and or the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, "I have no pleasure in them";

before the sun, the light, the moon and stars be darkened, and or the clouds turn again after the rain;

Also of that which is high they are afraid, And of the low places in the way, And the almond-tree is despised, And the grasshopper is become a burden, And want is increased, For man is going unto his home age-during, And the mourners have gone round through the street.

Before the silver lace be taken away, and or the golden band be broken; or the pot be broken at the well, and the wheel upon the cistern;

Or dust be turned again unto earth from whence it came, and or the spirit return unto God, which gave it.

This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.