What profit hath a man of all his labor, which he taketh under the sun?

The thing that hath 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 hath been already of old time, which was before us.

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

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

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

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

Yes, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it to the man that shall be after me.

And who knoweth 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 showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun.

For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, in which he hath 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 hath he that worketh in that in which he laboreth?

I have seen the labor, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yes, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

When thou vowest a vow to God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners of them to their hurt.

As he came into the world, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.

Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

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

That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.

For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as 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 hath made crooked?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labor which thou takest under the sun.

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

Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air will carry the voice, and that which hath wings will tell the matter.

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

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

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