What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun?

That which has been, is that which is to be, and that which has been done, is that which will be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.

There is no memory of those who have gone before, and of those who come after there will be no memory for those who are still to come after them.

That which is bent may not be made straight, and that which is not there may not be numbered.

I got together silver and gold and the wealth of kings and of countries. I got makers of song, male and female; and the delights of the sons of men--girls of all sorts to be my brides.

And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.

And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.

I am certain that whatever God does will be for ever. No addition may be made to it, nothing may be taken from it; and God has done it so that man may be in fear before him.

Whatever is has been before, and what is to be is now; because God makes search for the things which are past.

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.

All go to one place, all are of the dust, and all will be turned to dust again.

It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.

And if one has a fall, the other will give him a hand; but unhappy is the man who is by himself, because he has no helper.

So again, if two are sleeping together they are warm, but how may one be warm by himself?

And two attacked by one would be safe, and three cords twisted together are not quickly broken.

A young man who is poor and wise is better than a king who is old and foolish and will not be guided by the wisdom of others.

Because out of a prison the young man comes to be king, though by birth he was only a poor man in the kingdom.

I saw all the living under the sun round the young man who was to be ruler in place of the king.

Be not unwise with your mouth, and let not your heart be quick to say anything before God, because God is in heaven and you are on the earth--so let not the number of your words be great.

Let not your mouth make your flesh do evil. And say not before the angel, It was an error. So that God may not be angry with your words and put an end to the work of your hands.

Because much talk comes from dreams and things of no purpose. But let the fear of God be in you.

If you see the poor under a cruel yoke, and law and right being violently overturned in a country, be not surprised, because one authority is keeping watch on another and there are higher than they.

There is a great evil which I have seen under the sun--wealth kept by the owner to be his downfall.

And I saw the destruction of his wealth by an evil chance; and when he became the father of a son he had nothing in his hand.

Every man to whom God has given money and wealth and the power to have pleasure in it and to do his part and have joy in his work: this is given by God.

He will not give much thought to the days of his life; because God lets him be taken up with the joy of his heart.

In wind it came and to the dark it will go, and with the dark will its name be covered.

What have the wise more than the foolish? and what has the poor man by walking wisely before the living?

There are words without number for increasing what is to no purpose, but what is man profited by them?

Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?

The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.

Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish.

Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.

In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you?

Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time?

It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.

Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.

All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.

I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.

And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.

Who is like the wise man? and to whom is the sense of anything clear? A man's wisdom makes his face shining, and his hard face will be changed.

Be not quick to go from before him. Be not fixed in an evil design, because he does whatever is pleasing to him.

No one is certain what is to be, and who is able to say to him when it will be?

Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life is long, I am certain that it will be well for those who go in fear of God and are in fear before him.

But it will not be well for the evil-doer; he will not make his days long like a shade, because he has no fear before God.

So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

When I gave my mind to the knowledge of wisdom and to seeing the business which is done on the earth (and there are those whose eyes see not sleep by day or by night),

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.

All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them.

Let your clothing be white at all times, and let not your head be without oil.

Even man has no knowledge of his time; like fishes taken in an evil net, or like birds taken by deceit, are the sons of men taken in an evil time when it comes suddenly on them.

Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man.

If the wrath of the ruler is against you, keep in your place; in him who keeps quiet even great sins may be overlooked.

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which comes by chance from a ruler:

He who makes a hole for others will himself go into it, and for him who makes a hole through a wall the bite of a snake will be a punishment.

He who gets out stones from the earth will be damaged by them, and in the cutting of wood there is danger.

The foolish are full of words; man has no knowledge of what will be; and who is able to say what will be after him?

The work of the foolish will be a weariness to him, because he has no knowledge of the way to the town.

Unhappy is the land whose king is a boy, and whose rulers are feasting in the morning.

A feast is for laughing, and wine makes glad the heart; but by the one and the other money is wasted.

Give a part to seven or even to eight, because you have no knowledge of the evil which will be on the earth.

If the clouds are full of rain, they send it down on the earth; and if a tree comes down to the south, or the north, in whatever place it comes down, there it will be.

In the morning put your seed into the earth, and till the evening let not your hand be at rest; because you are not certain which will do well, this or that--or if the two will be equally good.

But even if a man's life is long and he has joy in all his years, let him keep in mind the dark days, because they will be great in number. Whatever may come is to no purpose.

Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge.

Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;

When the doors are shut in the street, and the sound of the crushing is low, and the voice of the bird is soft, and the daughters of music will be made low;

The words of the wise are pointed, and sayings grouped together are like nails fixed with a hammer; they are given by one guide.

God will be judge of every work, with every secret thing, good or evil.