What advantage does man have from all his work
Which he does under the sun (while earthbound)?

Does anything exist about which someone might say, "Look at this! Is this new?" It happened ages ago; it existed before we did.

I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?”

For there is no [more] lasting remembrance of the wise man than of the fool, since in the days to come all will be long forgotten. And how does the wise man die? Even as the fool!

For what does a person receive for all his toil and in the longing of his heart with which he toils under the sun?

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.

What does the worker gain in his toil?

He has made everything suitable in its time. He also has put {the past} in their hearts, yet no one can grasp what God does from the beginning to the end.

I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor can anything be taken from it, for God does it so that men will fear and worship Him [with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is God].

For what happens to people also happens to animals a single event happens to them: just as someone dies, so does the other. In fact, they all breathe the same way, so that a human being has no superiority over an animal. All of this is pointless.

The fool folds his hands and does no work, so he has nothing to eat but his own flesh.

There was a certain man—without a dependent, having neither a child nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “For whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity (a wisp of smoke, self-conceit); yes, it is a painful effort and an unhappy task.

For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn't have another to lift him up.

Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who doesn't know how to receive admonition any more.

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

When possessions increase, so does the number of consumers; therefore what good are they to their owners, except to look at them?

The sleep of the laborer [is] pleasant, whether he eats little or much, but the wealth of the rich man does not allow him to rest.

As he came from his mother at birth, so does he go again; he gets from his work no reward which he may take away in his hand.

This also [is] a grievous illness. Exactly as he came, so he will go. What profit [does] he gain for all his toil for the wind?

Here is what I have seen to be good: it is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.

For he does not remember the [brief] days of his life, for God keeps his heart preoccupied with enjoyment [of life].

a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not given him the power or capacity to enjoy them [all those things which are gifts from God], but a stranger [in whom he has no interest succeeds him and] enjoys them. This is vanity and it is a [cause of] great distress.

Even if a man fathers a hundred [children] and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, if his heart is not satisfied with {his prosperity} and {he does not receive a proper burial}, I deem the stillborn better than him.

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

Even if a man lives a thousand years twice, if he does not enjoy {prosperity}, {both suffer the same fate}!

What advantage then does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others?

{Increasing words only multiplies futility}, how does that profit anyone?

Never ask "Why does the past seem so much better than now?" because this question does not come from wisdom.

Wisdom keeps a man from danger even as money does; but the value of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its owner.

Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who always does good and who never sins.

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 to get out of his presence. Do not join in a malevolent matter, for the king will do whatever he pleases.

Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

For no one knows what will happen;
So who can tell him how and when it will happen?

There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.

Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life [seemingly] is prolonged [in spite of his wickedness], still I know that it will be well with those who [reverently] fear God, who fear and worship Him openly [realizing His omnipresence and His power].

But it will not be well for the evil man, nor will he lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.

For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hatred, man doesn't know it; all is before them.

It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers sacrifices and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as he who swears an oath is, so is he who is afraid to swear an oath.

I looked again and saw under the sun that the race [does] not [belong] to the swift, the battle [does] not [belong] to the mighty, food [does] not [belong] to the wise, wealth [does] not [belong] to the intelligent, and success [does] not [belong] to the skillful, for time and chance befalls all of them.

For man does not know his time. Just as fish are caught in a cruel net and like birds who are seized in a snare, so also {humans} are ensnared at a cruel time when it falls suddenly upon them.

Dead flies make the oil of the perfumer give off a foul odor; so a little foolishness [in one who is esteemed] outweighs wisdom and honor.

If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength; but wisdom [to sharpen the axe] helps him succeed [with less effort].

A fool also multiplies words. Man doesn't know what will be; and that which will be after him, who can tell him?

The labor of a fool so wearies him [because he is ignorant] that he does not even know how to go to a city.

Just as you do not know the way and path of the wind or how the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.