What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.

There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.

For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth -- only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile -- like chasing the wind!

I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.

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.

and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God.

I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.

I thought to myself, "God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.

I also thought to myself, "It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.

Be careful what you do when you go to the temple of God; draw near to listen rather than to offer a sacrifice like fools, for they do not realize that they are doing wrong.

Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth! Therefore, let your words be few.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay in paying it. For God takes no pleasure in fools: Pay what you vow!

Do not let your mouth cause you to sin, and do not tell the priest, "It was a mistake!" Why make God angry at you so that he would destroy the work of your hands?"

Just as there is futility in many dreams, so also in many words. Therefore, fear God!

I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward.

To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things are the gift of God.

For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.

God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor -- instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.

Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is.

A good reputation is better than precious perfume; likewise, the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth.

Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart.

Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who see the light of day.

Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent?

In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.

It is best to take hold of one warning without letting go of the other warning; for the one who fears God will follow both warnings.

For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.

I discovered this: More bitter than death is the kind of woman who is like a hunter's snare; her heart is like a hunter's net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her.

This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.

Obey the king's command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.

Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes and still live a long time, yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people -- for they stand in fear before him.

But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.

Here is another enigma that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said, "This also is an enigma."

So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.

then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.

So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated -- no one knows what lies ahead.

Everyone shares the same fate -- the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

Go, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved your works.

Enjoy life with your beloved wife during all the days of your fleeting life that God has given you on earth during all your fleeting days; for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work on earth.

The words of the wise are heard in quiet, more than the shouting of a ruler is heard among fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

A wise person's good sense protects him, but a fool's lack of sense leaves him vulnerable.

Send your grain overseas, for after many days you will get a return.

Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions.

and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the life's breath returns to God who gave it.

Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

For God will evaluate every deed, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.