All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.

What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun?

All the rivers go down to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers go, there they go again.

All things are full of weariness; man may not give their story: the eye has never enough of its seeing, or the ear of its hearing.

That which has been, is that which is to be, and that which has been done, is that which will be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.

There is no memory of those who have gone before, and of those who come after there will be no memory for those who are still to come after them.

And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do.

I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.

I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

I made a search with my heart to give pleasure to my flesh with wine, still guiding my heart with wisdom, and to go after foolish things, so that I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life.

I made myself gardens and fruit gardens, planting in them fruit-trees of all sorts.

I got men-servants and women-servants, and they gave birth to sons and daughters in my house. I had great wealth of herds and flocks, more than all who were in Jerusalem before me.

I got together silver and gold and the wealth of kings and of countries. I got makers of song, male and female; and the delights of the sons of men--girls of all sorts to be my brides.

And I became great; increasing more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom was still with me.

And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.

Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the foolish man goes walking in the dark; but still I saw that the same event comes to them all.

Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.

Of the wise man, as of the foolish man, there is no memory for ever, seeing that those who now are will have gone from memory in the days to come. See how death comes to the wise as to the foolish!

So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.

Hate had I for all my work which I had done, because the man who comes after me will have its fruits.

And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.

Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?

All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose.

A time to put to death and a time to make well; a time for pulling down and a time for building up;

I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.

And for every man to take food and drink, and have joy in all his work, is a reward from God.

I am certain that whatever God does will be for ever. No addition may be made to it, nothing may be taken from it; and God has done it so that man may be in fear before him.

I said in my heart, God will be judge of the good and of the bad; because a time for every purpose and for every work has been fixed by him.

Because the fate of the sons of men and the fate of the beasts is the same. As is the death of one so is the death of the other, and all have one spirit. Man is not higher than the beasts; because all is to no purpose.

All go to one place, all are of the dust, and all will be turned to dust again.

So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work--because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?

And again I saw all the cruel things which are done under the sun; there was the weeping of those who have evil done to them, and they had no comforter: and from the hands of the evil-doers there went out power, but they had no comforter.

And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.

And if one has a fall, the other will give him a hand; but unhappy is the man who is by himself, because he has no helper.

A young man who is poor and wise is better than a king who is old and foolish and will not be guided by the wisdom of others.

I saw all the living under the sun round the young man who was to be ruler in place of the king.

There was no end of all the people, of all those whose head he was, but they who come later will have no delight in him. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.

The sleep of a working man is sweet, if he has little food or much; but to him who is full, sleep will not come.

And this again is a great evil, that in all points as he came so will he go; and what profit has he in working for the wind?

All his days are in the dark, and he has much sorrow, pain, disease, and trouble.

This is what I have seen: it is good and fair for a man to take meat and drink and to have joy in all his work under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; that is his reward.

He will not give much thought to the days of his life; because God lets him be taken up with the joy of his heart.

A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease.

In wind it came and to the dark it will go, and with the dark will its name be covered.

All the work of man is for his mouth, and still he has a desire for food.

Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?

A good name is better than oil of great price, and the day of death than the day of birth.

It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts.

Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent?

In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.

There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.

Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.

All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.

And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.

For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen.

This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.

Who is like the wise man? and to whom is the sense of anything clear? A man's wisdom makes his face shining, and his hard face will be changed.

Whoever keeps the law will come to no evil: and a wise man's heart has knowledge of time and of decision.

No one is certain what is to be, and who is able to say to him when it will be?

No man has authority over the wind, to keep the wind; or is ruler over the day of his death. In war no man's time is free, and evil will not keep the sinner safe.

All this have I seen, and have given my heart to all the work which is done under the sun: there is a time when man has power over man for his destruction.

Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life is long, I am certain that it will be well for those who go in fear of God and are in fear before him.

But it will not be well for the evil-doer; he will not make his days long like a shade, because he has no fear before God.

So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.

All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them.

Because to all there is one event, to the upright man and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him who makes an offering and to him who makes no offering; as is the good so is the sinner; he who takes an oath is as he who has fear of it.

This is evil in all things which are done under the sun: that there is one fate for all, and the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; while they have life their hearts are foolish, and after that--to the dead.

For him who is joined to all the living there is hope; a living dog is better than a dead lion.

The living are conscious that death will come to them, but the dead are not conscious of anything, and they no longer have a reward, because there is no memory of them.

Let your clothing be white at all times, and let not your head be without oil.

Have joy with the woman of your love all the days of your foolish life which he gives you under the sun. Because that is your part in life and in your work which you do under the sun.

Whatever comes to your hand to do with all your power, do it because there is no work, or thought, or knowledge, or wisdom in the place of the dead to which you are going.

And again I saw under the sun that the reward goes not to him who is quick, or the fruits of war to the strong; and there is no bread for the wise, or wealth for men of learning, or respect for those who have knowledge; but time and chance come to all.

Dead flies make the oil of the perfumer give out an evil smell; more valued is a little wisdom than the great glory of the foolish.

He who makes a hole for others will himself go into it, and for him who makes a hole through a wall the bite of a snake will be a punishment.

He who gets out stones from the earth will be damaged by them, and in the cutting of wood there is danger.

If the iron has no edge, and he does not make it sharp, then he has to put out more strength; but wisdom makes things go well.

The words of a wise man's mouth are sweet to all, but the lips of a foolish man are his destruction.

The foolish are full of words; man has no knowledge of what will be; and who is able to say what will be after him?

The work of the foolish will be a weariness to him, because he has no knowledge of the way to the town.

Say not a curse against the king, even in your thoughts; and even secretly say not a curse against the man of wealth; because a bird of the air will take the voice, and that which has wings will give news of it.

Put out your bread on the face of the waters; for after a long time it will come back to you again.

Give a part to seven or even to eight, because you have no knowledge of the evil which will be on the earth.

If the clouds are full of rain, they send it down on the earth; and if a tree comes down to the south, or the north, in whatever place it comes down, there it will be.

He who is watching the wind will not get the seed planted, and he who is looking at the clouds will not get in the grain.

As you have no knowledge of the way of the wind, or of the growth of the bones in the body of her who is with child, even so you have no knowledge of the works of God who has made all.

In the morning put your seed into the earth, and till the evening let not your hand be at rest; because you are not certain which will do well, this or that--or if the two will be equally good.

But even if a man's life is long and he has joy in all his years, let him keep in mind the dark days, because they will be great in number. Whatever may come is to no purpose.

Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge.

Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;

While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are not dark, and the clouds come not back after the rain;

When the doors are shut in the street, and the sound of the crushing is low, and the voice of the bird is soft, and the daughters of music will be made low;

Before ever the silver cord is cut, or the vessel of gold is broken, or the pot is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the water-hole;

All things are to no purpose, says the Preacher, all is to no purpose.