The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

The sun rises, the sun sets, then rushes back to where it arose.

Whenever I wanted something I had seen, I never refused that desire. Instead, I enjoyed everything I did, and this became the reward in what I had undertaken.

Consider someone who is alone, having neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his work, and he is never satisfied with wealth. "So for whom do I work," he asks, "and deprive myself of pleasure?" This, too, is pointless and a terrible tragedy.

If someone attacks one of them, the two of them together will resist. Furthermore, the tri-braided cord is not soon broken.

Never let your mouth cause you to sin and don't proclaim in the presence of the angel, "My promise was a mistake," for why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy what you've undertaken?

and that wealth is lost in troubled circumstances. Then a son is born, but there is nothing left for him.

Furthermore, though they never saw the sun nor learned anything, they are more content than the other.

I have seen it all during my pointless life: both a righteous person who dies while he is righteous, and a wicked person who lives to an old age, while remaining wicked.

For there is not a single righteous man on earth who practices good and does not sin.

Otherwise, when the sun, daylight, moon, or stars turn dark, or when clouds fail to return after the rain

So learn from them, my son. There is no end to the crafting of many books, and too much study wearies the body.