What advantage does man have in all his work
Which he does under the sun?

I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.

I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.”

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity.

There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.

For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity.

I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind.

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

I have seen all the living under the sun throng to the side of the second lad who replaces him.

There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt.

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward.

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent among men—

If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he,

For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living?

I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness.

For you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.

“Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation,

which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all these.

Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”

All this I have seen and applied my mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised authority over another man to his hurt.

So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility.

For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.

For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.

Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler—

I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”;