The lizard taketh hold with her hands, Yet is she in kings palaces.

a strutting rooster, a goat,
and a king at the head of his army.

For the churning of milk bringeth out butter, And the wringing of the nose bringeth out blood, And the forcing of anger bringeth out strife!

What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

Otherwise they drink and forget the law and its decrees,
And pervert the rights and justice of all the afflicted.

that they may drink it, and forget their misery and adversity.

She looks for wool and flax
And works with willing hands in delight.

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

She does not fear for her house [when] it snows, for {her entire household} is clothed [in] crimson.

Coverlets, she maketh for herself, Of white linen and of purple, is her clothing:

Her husband is known at the gates, in his seat among the elders of the land.

She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

Strength and dignity are her clothing; And she laugheth at the time to come.

Her mouth is open to give out wisdom, and the law of mercy is on her tongue.

She looks well to how things go in her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.

Charm and grace are deceptive, and [superficial] beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord [reverently worshiping, obeying, serving, and trusting Him with awe-filled respect], she shall be praised.

Give her the reward of her labor,
and let her works praise her at the city gates.

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

The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.

The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

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 whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

There is not a remembrance of former generations; and also of the latter that are, there is no remembrance of them with those that are at the last.

And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

I observed every activity done on earth. My conclusion: all of it is pointless like chasing after the wind.

What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is defective and lacking cannot be counted.

I -- I spake with my heart, saying, 'I, lo, I have magnified and added wisdom above every one who hath been before me at Jerusalem, and my heart hath seen abundantly wisdom and knowledge.

And I set my mind to know [practical] wisdom and to discern [the character of] madness and folly [in which men seem to find satisfaction]; I realized that this too is a futile grasping and chasing after the wind.

I said in my heart, 'Pray, come, I try thee with mirth, and look thou on gladness;' and lo, even it is vanity.

I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine 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.

I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:

I also accumulated silver, gold, and the wealth of kings and their kingdoms. I gathered around me both male and female singers, along with what delights a man all sorts of mistresses.

So I was far wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem, yet I maintained my objectivity:

and, nothing that mine eyes asked, withheld I from them, - I did not keep back my heart from any gladness, for, my heart, obtained gladness out of all my toil, and so, this, was my portion, out of all my toil.

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that it had cost me to do them; and behold, all was vanity and pursuit of the wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

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.

The wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happeneth to them all.

Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

Certainly no one will remember the wise man or the fool in {future generations}. When [future] days come, both will have been forgotten already. How [is it that] the wise man dies the same as the fool?

So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun caused me only great sorrow; because all is futility and chasing after the wind.

Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto 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 labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

And I turned round to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labour that I laboured at under the sun.

For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?

For all his days are sorrows, and his travail sadness; even at night his heart hath not lain down; this also is vanity.

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?

For to the person who pleases Him God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who pleases God. This too is vanity and chasing after the wind.

A time to be born and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

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

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

What is that which hath been? already it is, and that which is to be hath already been, and God requireth that which is pursued.

I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.

I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.

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

Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goeth downward to the earth?

Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a 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 I have turned, and I see all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and lo, the tear of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and at the hand of their oppressors is power, and they have no comforter.

Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.

Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

And I saw all labour, and all success of work, that it is man's jealousy of his neighbour. This also is vanity and pursuit of the wind.

{The fool refuses to work with his hands, so he has nothing to eat except his own skin}!

One hand full of rest and patience is better than two fists full of labor and chasing after the wind.

Then I came back, and I saw an example of what is to no purpose under the sun.

There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

Also if two shall lie down, and heat to them: and to the one it shall not be warm.

A poor yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction.

For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.

There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was: yet they that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Guard your steps and focus on what you are doing as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the [careless or irreverent] sacrifice of fools; for they are too ignorant to know they are doing evil.

Cause not thy mouth to hasten, and let not thy heart hasten to bring out a word before God, for God is in the heavens, and thou on the earth, therefore let thy words be few.

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

Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

For it was done amidst a multitude of dreams, and vanities, and many words, - but, towards God, be thou reverent.

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

It is good generally for a country where the land is worked to have a king.

When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

Yet is there a sore plague, which I have seen under the sun: namely, riches kept to the hurt of him that hath them in possession.

and those riches perish, by being ill employed, - and though he begetteth a son, yet is there in his hand nothing at all.

As he came out from the belly of his mother, naked he turneth back to go as he came, and he taketh not away anything of his labour, that doth go in his hand.

And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

What is more, he eats in darkness all his days, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.

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 labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

Though it be not much, let him remember the days of his life, - for, God, beareth witness, by the gladness of his heart.

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