There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be remembrance of things that are to come with those who shall live afterwards.

I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

for, in abundance of wisdom is abundance of sadness, and he who addeth knowledge addeth pain.'

I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done?

Of the wise man, as of the foolish man, there is no memory for ever, seeing that those who now are will have gone from memory in the days to come. See how death comes to the wise as to the foolish!

Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

And who knoweth whether he will be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour at which I have laboured, and wherein I have been wise under the sun. This also is vanity.

For there is a man whose labour hath been with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with skill, and who leaveth it to a man that hath not laboured therein, to be his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

There is nothing good in a man who eateth, and hath drunk, and hath shewn his soul good in his labour. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.

For who can eat, or who be eager, more than I?

For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is vanity and striving after wind.

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

moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God.

Who knoweth the spirit of the children of men? Doth it go upwards? and the spirit of the beasts, doth it go downwards to the earth?

And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

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.

Then I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive;

and more fortunate than both is he who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

There is one alone and without a second; also he hath neither son nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour, neither is his eye satisfied with riches, and he saith not, For whom then am I labouring, and depriving my soul of good? This also is vanity and a grievous occupation.

For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and who hath not another to lift him up!

And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

Better is a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth no more how to be admonished.

I have seen all the living under the sun throng to the side of the second lad who replaces him.

There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him, for this too is vanity and striving after wind.

When you make a vow or a pledge to God, do not put off paying it; for God takes no pleasure in fools [who thoughtlessly mock Him]. Pay what you vow.

If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight [of corruption]; for a higher official watches over another official, and there are higher ones over them [looking out for one another].

After all, a king who cultivates the field is an advantage to the land.

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.

When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on?

The sleep of a working man is sweet, if he has little food or much; but to him who is full, sleep will not come.

This also is a grievous evil—exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind?

Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.

a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.

If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he is not respected and is not given a proper burial [he is not laid to rest in the sepulcher of his fathers], then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he,

It has not seen the sun nor had any knowledge; yet it has more rest and is better off than he.

For what advantage is to the wise above the fool? What to the poor who knoweth to walk before the living?

Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is.

Because many words lead to pointlessness, how do people benefit from this? 12Who knows what is best for people in this life, every day of their pointless lives that they pass through like a shadow? Who informs people on earth what will come along after them?

For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life? He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?

It is better for a person to receive a rebuke from those who are wise than to listen to the song of fools.

Wisdom along with an inheritance is good
And an advantage to those who see the sun.

Indeed, wisdom gives protection, just like money does, but it's better to know that wisdom gives life, to those who have mastered it.

Consider the work of God,
For who is able to straighten what He has bent?

I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness.

It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.

Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

What has been is remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it?

And I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her.

Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam.

The word of a king has authority; and who may say to him, What is this you are doing?

He who keeps a royal command experiences no trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure.

For there is a proper time and [appropriate] procedure for every delight,
Though mankind’s misery and trouble lies heavily upon him [who rebels against the king].

No one is certain what is to be, and who is able to say to him when it will be?

No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver those who practice it.

So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility.

Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life is long, I am certain that it will be well for those who go in fear of God and are in fear before him.

There is a thing which is to no purpose done on the earth: that there are good men to whom is given the same punishment as those who are evil, and there are evil men who get the reward of the good. I say that this again is to no purpose.

When I gave my heart, to know wisdom, and to consider the business that was done upon the earth, then surely, by day and by night, there was one who suffered not his eyes, to sleep.

Because to all there is one event, to the upright man and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him who makes an offering and to him who makes no offering; as is the good so is the sinner; he who takes an oath is as he who has fear of it.

For him who is joined to all the living there is hope; a living dog is better than a dead lion.

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

And again I saw under the sun that the reward goes not to him who is quick, or the fruits of war to the strong; and there is no bread for the wise, or wealth for men of learning, or respect for those who have knowledge; but time and chance come to all.

For man does not know his time. Just as fish are caught in a cruel net and like birds who are seized in a snare, so also {humans} are ensnared at a cruel time when it falls suddenly upon them.

and there was found in it a poor wise man, who by his wisdom delivered the city; but no man remembered that poor man.

The words of wise men heard in quietness are better than the shouting of one who rules among fools.

Dead flies make the oil of the perfumer give off a foul odor; so a little foolishness [in one who is esteemed] outweighs wisdom and honor.

Even when a fool walks along the road, his [common] sense and good judgment fail him and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

If the wrath of the ruler is against you, keep in your place; in him who keeps quiet even great sins may be overlooked.

Here was a misfortune I had seen under the sun, - a veritable mistake that was going forth from the presence of one who had power:

He who makes a hole for others will himself go into it, and for him who makes a hole through a wall the bite of a snake will be a punishment.

He who gets out stones from the earth will be damaged by them, and in the cutting of wood there is danger.

A fool also multiplieth words: yet man knoweth not what shall be; and that which shall be after him, who can tell him?

He who is watching the wind will not get the seed planted, and he who is looking at the clouds will not get in the grain.

As thou knowest not what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the work of God who doeth all.

In the day when the keepers of the house are shaking for fear, and the strong men are bent down, and the women who were crushing the grain are at rest because their number is small, and those looking out of the windows are unable to see;

And he is in fear of that which is high, and danger is in the road, and the tree is white with flower, and the least thing is a weight, and desire is at an end, because man goes to his last resting-place, and those who are sorrowing are in the streets;

and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.