For neither the wise nor the fool will be long remembered, since in days to come everything will be forgotten. The wise man dies the same way as the fool, does he not?

So I became great, greater than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. Throughout all of this, I remained wise.

The wise use their eyes, but the fool walks in darkness. I also perceived that the same outcome affects them all.

I used my wisdom to test all of this. I said, "I want to be wise," but it was beyond me.

Among the things I seek but have not found: one man among a thousand I did find, but I have not found one woman to be wise among all these.

In light of all of this, I committed myself to explain it this way: the righteous and the wise, along with everything they do, are in the hands of God. Furthermore, as to love and hate, no human being knows everything concerning them.

I considered and observed on earth the following: The race doesn't go to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor food to the wise, nor wealth to the smart, nor recognition to the skilled. Instead, timing and circumstances meet them all.