A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.

I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile.

The wise man has eyes in his head,
but the fool walks in darkness.

Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.

When there is a man whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.

For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.

Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm?

Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings.

The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed.

God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy.

And if he lives a thousand years twice, but does not experience happiness, do not both go to the same place?

Whatever exists was given its name long ago, and it is known what man is. But he is not able to contend with the One stronger than he.

The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot,
so is the laughter of the fool.
This too is futile.

In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me.

And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, her heart a net, and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her.

which my soul continually searches for but does not find: among a thousand people I have found one true man, but among all these I have not found a true woman.

Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes.”

Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, and don’t persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants.

Everything is the same for everyone: there is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as for the one who takes an oath, so for the one who fears an oath.

But there is hope for whoever is joined with all the living, since a live dog is better than a dead lion.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten.

And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner can destroy much good.

A wise man’s heart goes to the right,
but a fool’s heart to the left.

The fool is appointed to great heights,
but the rich remain in lowly positions.

I have seen slaves on horses,
but princes walking on the ground like slaves.

The one who digs a pit may fall into it,
and the one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

The words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious,
but the lips of a fool consume him.

The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly,
but the end of his speaking is evil madness.

Rejoice, young man, while you are young,
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
And walk in the ways of your heart
and in the sight of your eyes;
but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.

Remove sorrow from your heart,
and put away pain from your flesh,
because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.

But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.