What profit has a man of all his labor which he takes under the sun?

The thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Is there any thing of which it may be said, See, this is new? it has been already of old time, which was before us.

That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is lacking cannot be numbered.

I sought in my heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting my heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men, which they should do under heaven all the days of their life.

I made myself pools of water, with which to water the forest that brings forth trees:

And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can a man do that comes after the king? even that which has been already done.

For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool forever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how does the wise man die? as the fool.

Yea, I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun: because I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

And who knows whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

Therefore I gave my heart up to despair of all the labor in which I toiled under the sun.

For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart, with which he has labored under the sun?

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

What profit has he that works in that in which he labors?

I have seen the task, which God has given to the sons of men to be occupied in it.

That which has been is now; and that which is to be has already been; and God requires that which is past.

For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; the same thing befalls them: as the one dies, so dies the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man has no advantage over a beast: for all is vanity.

When you vow a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools: pay that which you have vowed.

There is a great evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept by their owners to their hurt.

As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing from his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.

Behold that which I have seen: it is good and fitting for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he takes under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him: for this is his lot.

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:

For who knows what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spends like a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he has made crooked?

That which is far off, and exceedingly deep, who can find it out?

Which yet my soul seeks, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

For he knows not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?

All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.

But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he fears not before God.

There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are just men, unto whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him in his labor all the days of his life, which God gives him under the sun.

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of the life of your vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all the days of your vanity: for that is your portion in this life, and in your labor which you perform under the sun.

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceeds from the ruler:

Curse not the king, no not even in your thought; and curse not the rich in your bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which has wings shall tell the matter.

In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hand: for you know not which shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both alike shall be good.

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets:

The preacher sought to find acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails firmly fixed by the masters of assemblies, which are given by one shepherd.