Just as he came from his mother's womb naked, {he will depart} just as he came; he will take nothing with him for his toil.

And this also is a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage is to him who laboureth for wind?

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.

For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

Even if a man fathers a hundred [children] and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, if his heart is not satisfied with {his prosperity} and {he does not receive a proper burial}, I deem the stillborn better than him.

He has neither seen nor known the sun, yet he has more rest than him.

For what advantage has the wise man over the fool [for being worldly-wise is not the secret to happiness]? What advantage has the poor man who has learned how to walk [publicly] among the living [with men’s eyes on him; for being poor is not the secret to happiness either]?

That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.

The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?

For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

For wisdom is a defence, even as money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it.

In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

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.

I counsel you to keep the command of the king because of the oath before God [by which you swore loyalty to him].

Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.

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

Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.

For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?

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

All this I saw, and giving my heart to every work which was done under the sun: a time which man had power overman for evil to him.

Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

Again, as for the ungodly, it shall not be well with him, neither shall he prolong his days: but even as a shadow, so shall he be that feareth not God.

Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

For, unto all this, I applied my heart, and, my heart, considered all this, that, the righteous and the wise and their servants, were in the hand of God, - neither love nor hatred, could any man know, every one, was before Him.

All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

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.

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

Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.

A wise man’s heart turns him toward the right [which is the way of blessing], but a fool’s heart turns him toward the left [which is the way of condemnation].

Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one 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.

There is an evil I saw under the sun as an error going forth from before him having power:

He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.

If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength; but wisdom [to sharpen the axe] helps him succeed [with less effort].

If a serpent will bite, unless he is charmed, then there is nothing better for him that owneth a tongue.

Words of the mouth of the wise are gracious, And the lips of a fool swallow him up.

A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?

The labour of the foolish wearieth him, In that he hath not known to go unto the city.

But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

And remember him creating thee in the days of thy youth, till even when the days of evil shall not come, and the years draw near in which thou shalt say, Not to me delight in them;

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

The words of the wise are like goads; yes, their collected words are like nails driven home; they are given from one Shepherd.

When all has been heard, the end of the matter is: fear God [worship Him with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is almighty God] and keep His commandments, for this applies to every person.

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest the sheep, where thou maketh the rest at the noon day: for why shall I be like him that goeth wrong about the flocks of thy companions?

“He has brought me to his banqueting place,
And his banner over me is love [waving overhead to protect and comfort me].

The voice of my beloved I behold him coming leaping upon the mountains, springing upon the hills

My beloved is like to the roe or to the fawn of the hinds: behold him standing behind our wall looking forth from the windows, glancing from the lattices.

(The Bridegroom)
“O my dove, [here] in the clefts in the rock,
In the sheltered and secret place of the steep pathway,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”

(The Chorus)
“Catch the foxes for us,
The little foxes that spoil and ruin the vineyards [of love],
While our vineyards are in blossom.”

{My beloved belongs to me and I belong to him}; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?

It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

“Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
[In my thoughts] I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.

Awake, O north wind! Come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden! Let its fragrances waft forth! Let my beloved come to his garden, let him eat his choice fruit!

My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.

Y What makes the one you love better than another,
most beautiful of women?
What makes him better than another,
that you would give us this charge?

His mouth is sweetness -- and all of him desirable, This is my beloved, and this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!

Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

There will I turn me unto my love, and he shall turn him unto me.

(The Chorus)
“Who is this coming up from the wilderness
Leaning upon her beloved?”

Many waters, cannot quench love, nor shall, floods, overwhelm it, - If a man would give all the substance of his house, for love, they would, utterly despise, him. ****

“Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers;
Each one was to bring him a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.

(The Shulammite Bride)
“Hurry, my beloved and come quickly,
Like a gazelle or a young stag [taking me home]
On the mountains of spices.”

Oh sinful nation,
people weighed down with iniquity,
brood of evildoers,
depraved children!
They have abandoned the Lord;
they have despised the Holy One of Israel;
they have turned their backs on Him.

From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in him; wounds, and weals, and open sores: they have not been dressed, nor bound up, nor mollified with oil.

Thy princes are traitors and companions of thieves. They love gifts altogether, and gape for rewards. As for the fatherless, they help him not to his right, neither will they let the widows causes come before them.

And it shall happen in the future of the days the mountain of the house of Yahweh [shall] be established; it will be among the highest of the mountains, and it shall be raised from [the] hills. All [of] the nations shall travel to him;

In that day doth man cast his idols of silver, And his idols of gold, That they have made for him to worship, To moles, and to bats,

Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for what account is to be made of him?

"For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because what they say and do opposes the LORD; they keep defying him.

Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

"At that time, seven women will cling tightly to one man and will make him this offer: "We'll provide our own bread. We'll provide our own clothes. Just let us marry you so we won't be stigmatized anymore.'"

And it hath been, he who is left in Zion, And he who is remaining in Jerusalem, 'Holy' is said of him, Of every one who is written for life in Jerusalem.

Then will Yahweh, create - Over all the home of Mount Zion and Over her assembly, A cloud by day and a smoke, And the shining of a fire-flame, by night, - For over all the glory, shall be a canopy;

And Jerusalem shall be a tabernacle for a shadow because of heat in the daytime, and place and refuge where a man may keep him from weather and rain.

This he hedged, this he walled round about, and planted it with goodly grapes. In the midst of it builded he a tower, and made a wine press therein. And afterward when he looked that it should bring him grapes, it brought forth thorns.

That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!

Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

Therefore will he lift up an ensign to the nations afar off, And signal for him from the end of the earth, - And lo! with hot haste, will he come:

None [is] weary, and none among him stumbles; none slumbers and none sleeps. And no loincloth on his waist is opened, and no thong of his sandals is drawn away.

The roaring to him as the lion, and he roared as the young lions: and they shall groan and shall lay hold of the prey, and it shall escape, and none delivering.

And he will roar over him on that day like [the] roaring of [the] sea, and [if] one looks to the land, look! Darkness! Distress! And [the] light grows dark with its clouds.

In the year of the death of Uzziah the king, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and raised throne, and the hem of his robe [was] filling the temple.

Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Make the heart of this people insensitive, and make its ears unresponsive, and shut its eyes so that it may not look with its eyes and listen with its ears and comprehend [with] its mind and turn back, and it may be healed [for] him."

And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.

He will eat sour milk and honey, which will help him know how to reject evil and choose what is right.