All things are wearisome;
man is unable to speak.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing
or the ear filled with hearing.

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.

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.

But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

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.

And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

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.

Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because He does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you, and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

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.

A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he.

And if he lives a thousand years twice, but does not experience happiness, do not both go to the same place?

Whatever exists was given its name long ago, and it is known what man is. But he is not able to contend with the One stronger than he.

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

It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, her heart a net, and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her.

which my soul continually searches for but does not find: among a thousand people I have found one true man, but among all these I have not found a true woman.

Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, and don’t persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants.

The one who keeps a command will not experience anything harmful, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.

No one has authority over the wind to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death; there is no furlough in battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape.

Because the sentence against a criminal act is not carried out quickly, the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit crime.

However, it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, for they are not reverent before God.

When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one’s eyes do not close in sleep day or night),

Everything is the same for everyone: there is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as for the one who takes an oath, so for the one who fears an oath.

Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them.

For man certainly does not know his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.

And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge,
then one must exert more strength;
however, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success.

Blessed are you, land, when your king is a son of nobles
and your princes feast at the proper time—
for strength and not for drunkenness.

Do not curse the king even in your thoughts,
and do not curse a rich person even in your bedroom,
for a bird of the sky may carry the message,
and a winged creature may report the matter.

One who watches the wind will not sow,
and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.

In the morning sow your seed,
and at evening do not let your hand rest,
because you don’t know which will succeed,
whether one or the other,
or if both of them will be equally good.