Is there anything of which men say, See, this is new? It has been in the old time which was before us.

I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

And I gave my heart to getting knowledge of wisdom, and of the ways of the foolish. And I saw that this again was desire for wind.

I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

I made a search with my heart to give pleasure to my flesh with wine, still guiding my heart with wisdom, and to go after foolish things, so that I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life.

And I became great; increasing more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom was still with me.

And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.

Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.

So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.

There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God.

And again, I saw under the sun, in the place of the judges, that evil was there; and in the place of righteousness, that evil was there.

And again I saw all the cruel things which are done under the sun; there was the weeping of those who have evil done to them, and they had no comforter: and from the hands of the evil-doers there went out power, but they had no comforter.

So my praise was for the dead who have gone to their death, more than for the living who still have life.

And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

Because out of a prison the young man comes to be king, though by birth he was only a poor man in the kingdom.

I saw all the living under the sun round the young man who was to be ruler in place of the king.

There was no end of all the people, of all those whose head he was, but they who come later will have no delight in him. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.

Let not your mouth make your flesh do evil. And say not before the angel, It was an error. So that God may not be angry with your words and put an end to the work of your hands.

All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.

There was a little town and the number of its men was small, and there came a great king against it and made an attack on it, building works of war round about it.

Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man.

And the dust goes back to the earth as it was, and the spirit goes back to God who gave it.

And because the Preacher was wise he still gave the people knowledge; searching out, testing, and putting in order a great number of wise sayings.

The Preacher made search for words which were pleasing, but his writing was in words upright and true.