I also accumulated silver, gold, and the wealth of kings and their kingdoms. I gathered around me both male and female singers, along with what delights a man all sorts of mistresses.

I also examined on earth: where the halls of justice were supposed to be, there was lawlessness; and where the righteous were supposed to be, there was lawlessness. 17I told myself, "God will judge both the righteous and the wicked, because there is a time set to judge every event and every work."

Better than both of them is someone who has not yet been born, because he hasn't experienced evil on earth.

Don't be surprised when you see the poor oppressed and the violent perverting both justice and verdicts in a province, for one high official watches another, and there are ones higher still over them.

I have seen it all during my pointless life: both a righteous person who dies while he is righteous, and a wicked person who lives to an old age, while remaining wicked.

I committed myself to understand, to learn, to search for wisdom and explanations, and to understand both the evil that is foolishness and the stupidity that is delusion.

Whoever obeys his commands will not experience harm, and the wise in heart will discern both the appropriate time and response.

Sow your seed in the morning, and don't stop working until evening, since you don't know which of your endeavors will do well, whether this one or that, or even if both will do equally well.

Banish sorrow from your heart, and evil from your body, since both childhood and the prime of life are pointless.