All the streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
The streams are flowing to the place,
and they flow there again.

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.

There is no remembrance of those who came before;
and of those who will come after
there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.

When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.

For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies just like the fool?

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.

There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,

There is an occasion for everything,
and a time for every activity under heaven:

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.

I know that all God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of Him.

I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.

I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “So who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself from good?” This too is futile and a miserable task.

There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.

What advantage then does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others?

For when there are many words, they increase futility. What is the advantage for man?

In my futile life I have seen everything: there is a righteous man who perishes in spite of his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in spite of his evil.

There is certainly no righteous man on the earth
who does good and never sins.

For every activity there is a right time and procedure, even though man’s troubles are heavy on him.

No one has authority over the wind to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death; there is no furlough in battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape.

There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.

So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

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.

This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live—after that they go to the dead.

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.

Their love, their hate, and their envy have already disappeared, and there is no longer a portion for them in all that is done under the sun.

Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it.

There is an evil I have seen under the sun, an error proceeding from the presence of the ruler:

If the snake bites before it is charmed,
then there is no advantage for the charmer.

If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain on the earth;
whether a tree falls to the south or the north,
the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

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