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?

Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose.

Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,

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.

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.

Even man has no knowledge of his time; like fishes taken in an evil net, or like birds taken by deceit, are the sons of men taken in an evil time when it comes suddenly on them.

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which comes by chance from a ruler:

The words of the wise are pointed, and sayings grouped together are like nails fixed with a hammer; they are given by one guide.