I dedicated myself to using wisdom for study and discovery of everything that is done under heaven. God uses terrible things so human beings will struggle with life.

For with much wisdom there is much sorrow; the more someone adds to knowledge, the more someone adds to grief.

I decided to indulge in wine, while still remaining committed to wisdom. I also tried to indulge in foolishness, just enough to determine whether it was good for human beings under heaven given the short time of their lives.

With respect to my extravagant works, I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself.

I constructed gardens and orchards for myself, and within them I planted all kinds of fruit trees.

I built for myself water reservoirs to irrigate forests that produce trees.

I acquired male and female slaves, and had other slaves born in my house. I also acquired for myself increasing numbers of herds and flocks more than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem.

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?

Then I despised everything I had worked for on earth, that is, the things that I will leave to the person who will succeed me.

For sometimes people who strive to obtain wisdom, knowledge, and equity leave everything as an inheritance to a person who never worked for it. This, too, is pointless and greatly troublesome.

For what does a person gain from everything that he accomplishes and from his inner life struggles that he undergoes while working on earth?

The only worthwhile thing for a human being is to eat, drink, and enjoy life's goodness that he finds in what he accomplishes. This, I observed, is also from the hand of God himself,

for who can eat or enjoy life apart from him?

There is a season for everything, and a time for every event under heaven:

a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

I have concluded that the only worthwhile thing for them is to take pleasure in doing good in life;

I have concluded that everything that God undertakes will last for eternity nothing can be added to it nor taken away from it and that God acts this way so that people will fear him.

"As for human beings," I told myself, "God puts them to the test, that they might see themselves as mere animals."

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.

I concluded that it is worthwhile for people to find joy in their accomplishments, because that is their inheritance, since who can see what will exist after them?

Consider someone who is alone, having neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his work, and he is never satisfied with wealth. "So for whom do I work," he asks, "and deprive myself of pleasure?" This, too, is pointless and a terrible tragedy.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.

Never let your mouth cause you to sin and don't proclaim in the presence of the angel, "My promise was a mistake," for why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy what you've undertaken?

In spite of many daydreams, pointless actions, and empty words, it is more important to fear God.

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.

and that wealth is lost in troubled circumstances. Then a son is born, but there is nothing left for him.

Look! I observed that it is good and prudent to eat, drink, and enjoy all that is good of a person's work that he does on earth during the limited days of his life, which God gives him, for this is his allotment.

Furthermore, for every person to whom God has given wealth, riches, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept this allotment, and to rejoice in his work this is a gift from God.

For he will not brood much over the days of his life, since God will keep him occupied with the joys of his heart.

A man might father a hundred children, and live for many years, so that the length of his life is long but if his life does not overflow with goodness, and he doesn't receive a proper burial, I maintain that stillborn children are better off than he is,

Every person works for his own self-interests, but his desires remain unsatisfied.

For what advantage has the wise person over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have in knowing how to face life?

Because many words lead to pointlessness, how do people benefit from this? 12Who knows what is best for people in this life, every day of their pointless lives that they pass through like a shadow? Who informs people on earth what will come along after them?

It's better to attend a funeral than to attend a banquet, for everyone dies eventually, and the living will take this to heart.

For the wise person thinks carefully when in mourning, but fools focus their thoughts on pleasure.

For as thorns burn to heat a pot, so also is the laughter of the fool even this is pointless.

It is good for you to grab hold of this and not let go, because whoever fears God will escape all of these extremes.

For there is not a single righteous man on earth who practices good and does not sin.

Whatever it is, it's far off and most profound. Who can attain it?

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.

I discovered for myself a bitterness that surpasses that of death: the woman whose heart is full of snares and nets, whose hands are chains of bondage. Whoever pleases God will escape from her, but the transgressor will be trapped by her.

I have discovered only this: God made human beings for righteousness, but they seek many alternatives."

Don't be in a hurry to leave him, and don't persist in evil, for he does whatever he pleases.

Indeed, there is an appropriate time and a response for every circumstance, since human misery weighs heavily upon him.

For he has absolutely no knowledge what will happen, since who can declare to him when it will come about?

Whenever a sentence for a crime is not carried out swiftly, the human mind becomes determined to commit evil.

Even though a sinner does what is wrong a hundred times and still survives, nevertheless I also know that things will go well for those who fear God, who fear in his presence.

But things will not go well for the wicked person: he will not lengthen his life like a shadow, since he has no fear before God.

So then I recommended enjoyment of life, because it is better on earth for a man to eat, drink, and be happy, since this will stay with him throughout his struggle all the days of his life, which God grants him on earth.

That land is blessed whose king is of noble birth, whose princes feast at the right time, for strength, and not to become drunk.

Festivals are for laughter, wine makes life pleasant, and money speaks to everything.

Do not curse the king, even in your thoughts. Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom. For a bird will fly by and tell what you say, or something with wings may talk about it.

How sweet is the daylight, and how pleasant it is for someone's eyes to behold the sunshine!

So enjoy yourself in your youth, young man, and be encouraged during your younger days. Live as you like, consistent with your world view, but keep in mind that God will bring you to account for everything.

At that time they will fear climbing heights and dangers along the road while the almond tree will blossom, and the grasshopper is weighed down. Desire will cease, because the person goes to his eternal home, and mourners will gather in the marketplace.

Let the conclusion of all of these thoughts be heard: Fear God and obey his commandments, for this is what it means to be human.

For God will judge every deed, along with every secret, whether good or evil.