I said to myself, “Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.”

I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile.

I said about laughter, “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

I said to myself, “This happens concerning people, so that God may test them and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”

The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

Grief is better than laughter,
for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.

And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

In the morning sow your seed,
and at evening do not let your hand rest,
because you don’t know which will succeed,
whether one or the other,
or if both of them will be equally good.

Light is sweet,
and it is pleasing for the eyes to see the sun.