The sun rises, and the sun goes down; to its place it hurries, and there it rises again.

All the streams flow to the sea, but the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow.

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

There is a thing [of] which it is said, "Look at this! This is new!" [But] it already existed in ages past before us.

There is neither remembrance of former generations, nor will there be remembrance of future generations.

Yet when I considered all the effort which I expended and the toil with which I toiled to do, then behold, "Everything [is] vanity and chasing wind! There is nothing profitable under the sun!"

There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and {find delight} in his toil. For I also realized that this [is] from the hand of God!

For everything there [is] an appointed time, a time for every matter under heaven:

So I realized that there is {nothing better} for them than to {rejoice and enjoy themselves} during their lives.

I saw something else under the sun: instead of justice [there was] evil; instead of righteousness [there was] wickedness.

So I concluded that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy [the fruit of] his labor, for this is his lot in life. {For no one knows what will happen in the future.}

Sometimes a man is all alone with no companion; he also has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eye is not satisfied with wealth. [He laments,] "For whom am I toiling and depriving {myself} of pleasure?" This also [is] vanity--it is an unhappy business!

For if one falls, his companion may help him up. But pity the one who falls and there is {no one} to help him up.

There is no end to all the people, to all who were before him. Yet the later generation will not rejoice in him, for this also [is] vanity and chasing wind!

Do not be surprised if you see the poor being oppressed with violence or [do not see] justice and righteousness in the province. For one official is watched by a higher official, and [there are] even higher officials over them!

There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth {hoarded} by its owner to his harm.

Surely there is no one righteous on the earth who [continually] does good and never sins.

For there is a [proper] time and right [procedure] for every matter, even though the trouble of man [weighs] heavy upon him.

But it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not prolong [their] days, like the shadow; because there is no fearing {God's presence}.

There [is] a vanity that happens on earth: sometimes the righteous suffer what the wicked deserve, and sometimes the wicked receive what the righteous deserve. I said, "This also [is] vanity!"

So I recommend enjoyment. For there [is] nothing better for man under the sun than to eat and to drink and to rejoice. This will accompany him in his toil the days of his life that God gives to him under the sun.

[There was] a small city with few people in it. A great king came and besieged it, building great siege works against it.

There is an evil I have seen under the sun-- [it is] an error that proceeds from a ruler!

When the clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or whether it falls to the north, the place where the tree falls--there it will be.