For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they.

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

He who has a love for silver never has enough silver, or he who has love for wealth, enough profit. This again is to no purpose.

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.

There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being kept and hoarded by their owner to his own misery.

or those riches perish by some evil circumstance, and if he have begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.

All of his life he also eats in darkness [cheerlessly, without sweetness and light], with great frustration, sickness, and anger.

To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things are the gift of God.

a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not given him the power or capacity to enjoy them [all those things which are gifts from God], but a stranger [in whom he has no interest succeeds him and] enjoys them. This is vanity and it is a [cause of] great distress.

If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul be not filled with good, and moreover he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he:

because stillborn children arrive in pointlessness, leave in darkness, and their names are covered in darkness.

Furthermore, though they never saw the sun nor learned anything, they are more content than the other.

And though he goes on living a thousand years twice over and does not see good, are not the two going to the same place?

For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? or what hath the poor man, that knoweth how to walk before the living?

{Better to be content with what your eyes see than for your soul to constantly crave more}. This also [is] vanity and chasing wind!

Whatever exists has already been named [long ago], and it is known what [a frail being] man is; for he cannot dispute with Him who is mightier than he.

Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?

For who knows what [is] good for a man in his life during the few days of his fleeting life, which are fleeting as a shadow? For who can tell anyone what will happen {in the future} under the sun?

The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy.

It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.

The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.

Do not be eager in your heart to be angry,
For anger dwells in the heart of fools.

Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.

When times are good, be joyful; when times are bad, consider this: God made the one as well as the other, so people won't seek anything outside of his best.

These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.

So do not be excessively righteous or excessively wise; otherwise you might be disappointed.

Do not be excessively or willfully wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

It is good that you take hold of one thing (righteousness) and also not let go of the other (wisdom); for the one who fears and worships God [with awe-filled reverence] will come forth with both of them.

Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.

Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:

for you also know that you too have cursed others many times.

And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

Keep [the] command of [the] king {because of your oath to God}.

Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

For every activity there is a right time and procedure, even though man’s troubles are heavy on him.

There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

All this I have seen while applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has exercised power over others to their detriment.

And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.

Because the sentence against an evil act is not executed quickly, the hearts of the sons of men are fully set to do evil.

Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life [seemingly] is prolonged [in spite of his wickedness], still I know that it will be well with those who [reverently] fear God, who fear and worship Him openly [realizing His omnipresence and His power].

But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall 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 righteous men unto 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.

When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one’s eyes do not close in sleep day or night),

I understood of all the works of God, that it is not possible for a man, to attain unto works that are done under the Sun: and though he bestow his labour to seek them out, yet can he not reach unto them: yea, though a wise man would undertake to know them, yet might he not find them.

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

Everyone shares the same fate -- the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

The living are conscious that death will come to them, but the dead are not conscious of anything, and they no longer have a reward, because there is no memory of them.

Their love and their hate and their envy are now ended; and they have no longer a part for ever in anything which is done under the sun.

Go your way, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart [if you are righteous, wise, and in the hands of God]; for God has already approved and accepted your works.

Let your clothes always be white [with purity], and do not let the oil [of gladness] be lacking on your head.

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given you under the sun—all the days of vanity and futility. For this is your reward in life and in your work in which you have labored under the sun.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) where you are going.

Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them.

For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

There was a little town and the number of its men was small, and there came a great king against it and made an attack on it, building works of war round about it.

Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

Dead flies, cause to stink and ferment, the oil of the perfumer, - More costly than wisdom or honour, is a little folly.

If the temper of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post [showing resistance], because composure and calmness prevent great offenses.

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

The foolish are placed in high positions, but men of wealth are kept low.

I see servants ride upon horses, and princes going upon their feet as it were servants.

He who digs a pit [for others] may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a [stone] wall.

He who quarries stones may be hurt with them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.

The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.

The first words of his mouth are foolish, and the end of his talk is evil crime.

The foolish are full of words; man has no knowledge of what will be; and who is able to say what will be after him?

Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child and when your [incompetent] officials and princes feast in the morning.

Blessed [prosperous and admired] are you, O land, when your king is a man of noble birth, and your princes and officials feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.

For mirth they are making a feast, And wine maketh life joyful, And the silver answereth with all.

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

Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, [be diligently active, make thoughtful decisions], for you will find it after many days.

Divide your share in seven or in eight, for you do not know what disaster will happen on the earth.

If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

Just as you do not know the way and path of the wind or how the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

But, if man liveth many years, In all of them let him rejoice, And remember the days of darkness, For they are many! all that is coming is vanity.

Rejoice, young man, in your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant in the days of your young manhood. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the desires of your eyes, but know that God will bring you into judgment for all these things.

Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

Remember [thoughtfully] also your Creator in the days of your youth [for you are not your own, but His], before the evil days come or the years draw near when you will say [of physical pleasures], “I have no enjoyment and delight in them”;

While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

and the doors are shut toward the street; when the sound of the grinding is subdued, and they rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;

they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;)

Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

Or dust be turned again unto earth from whence it came, and or the spirit return unto God, which gave it.

All things are to no purpose, says the Preacher, all is to no purpose.

And further, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge, and gave ear, and sought out -- he made right many similes.

The Preacher sought to find delightful words, even to write correctly 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.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth, For better are thy loves than wine.

For fragrance are thy perfumes good. Perfume emptied out -- thy name, Therefore have virgins loved thee!

“Draw me away with you and let us run together!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.”

(The Chorus)“We will rejoice and be glad in you;
We will remember and extol your love more [sweet and fragrant] than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”(The Shulammite Bride)
“I am deeply tanned but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
[I am dark] like the tents of [the Bedouins of] Kedar,
Like the [beautiful] curtains of Solomon.

Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.