That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.

There is no remembrance of earlier things;
And also of the later things which will occur,
There will be for them no remembrance
Among those who will come later still.

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility.

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?

Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.”

For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die!

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 knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity.

He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.

That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.

I said to myself, “God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a time for every matter and for every deed is there.

I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

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.

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

As he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand.

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?

For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.

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?

In the day of prosperity be happy,
But in the day of adversity consider—
God has made the one as well as the other
So that man will not discover anything that will be after him.

Also, do not take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant cursing you.

I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.

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.

Do not be in a hurry to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.”

Since the word of the king is authoritative, who will say to him, “What are you doing?”

If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?

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.

Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.

But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.

So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover.

For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.

For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.

Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.

Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?

Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.

Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.

He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.

Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”;

and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly.

then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.