And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that hath been done under the heavens. It is a sad travail God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.

I -- I spake with my heart, saying, 'I, lo, I have magnified and added wisdom above every one who hath been before me at Jerusalem, and my heart hath seen abundantly wisdom and knowledge.

And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this is vexation of spirit;

I said in my heart, 'Pray, come, I try thee with mirth, and look thou on gladness;' and lo, even it is vanity.

I have sought in my heart to draw out with wine my appetite, (and my heart leading in wisdom), and to take hold on folly till that I see where is this -- the good to the sons of man of that which they do under the heavens, the number of the days of their lives.

I got men-servants, and maid-servants, and sons of the house were to me; also, I had much substance -- herd and flock -- above all who had been before me in Jerusalem.

And all that mine eyes asked I kept not back from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labour, and this hath been my portion, from all my labour,

and I said in my heart, 'As it happeneth with the fool, it happeneth also with me, and why am I then more wise?' And I spake in my heart, that also this is vanity:

And I turned round to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labour that I laboured at under the sun.

For what hath been to a man by all his labour, and by the thought of his heart that he laboured at under the sun?

For all his days are sorrows, and his travail sadness; even at night his heart hath not lain down; this also is vanity.

The whole He hath made beautiful in its season; also, that knowledge He hath put in their heart without which man findeth not out the work that God hath done from the beginning even unto the end.

I said in my heart, 'The righteous and the wicked doth God judge, for a time is to every matter and for every work there.'

I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves are beasts.

Cause not thy mouth to hasten, and let not thy heart hasten to bring out a word before God, for God is in the heavens, and thou on the earth, therefore let thy words be few.

For he doth not much remember the days of his life, for God is answering through the joy of his heart.

Better to go unto a house of mourning, Than to go unto a house of banqueting, For that is the end of all men, And the living layeth it unto his heart.

Better is sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becometh better.

The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.

Surely oppression maketh the wise mad, And a gift destroyeth the heart.

Also to all the words that they speak give not thy heart, that thou hear not thy servant reviling thee.

For many times also hath thy heart known that thou thyself also hast reviled others.

I have turned round, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and of foolishness the madness.

And I am finding more bitter than death, the woman whose heart is nets and snares, her hands are bands; the good before God escapeth from her, but the sinner is captured by her.

Whoso is keeping a command knoweth no evil thing, and time and judgment the heart of the wise knoweth.

All this I have seen so as to give my heart to every work that hath been done under the sun; a time that man hath ruled over man to his own evil.

Because sentence hath not been done on an evil work speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of man is full within them to do evil.

When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that hath been done on the earth, (for there is also a spectator in whose eyes sleep is not by day and by night),

But all this I have laid unto my heart, so as to clear up the whole of this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God, neither love nor hatred doth man know, the whole is before them.

This is an evil among all that hath been done under the sun, that one event is to all, and also the heart of the sons of man is full of evil, and madness is in their heart during their life, and after it -- unto the dead.

Go, eat with joy thy bread, and drink with a glad heart thy wine, for already hath God been pleased with thy works.

And I said, 'Better is wisdom than might, and the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard.' --

The words of the wise in quiet are heard, More than the cry of a ruler over fools.

The heart of the wise is at his right hand, And the heart of a fool at his left.

And also, when he that is a fool Is walking in the way, his heart is lacking, And he hath said to every one, 'He is a fool.'

Rejoice, O young man, in thy childhood, And let thy heart gladden thee in days of thy youth, And walk in the ways of thy heart, And in the sight of thine eyes, And know thou that for all these, Doth God bring thee into judgment.

And turn aside anger from thy heart, And cause evil to pass from thy flesh, For the childhood and the age are vanity!