My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

Do not keep a secret watch, O evil-doer, against the fields of the upright man, or send destruction on his resting-place:

For their tragedy will rise suddenly,
And who knows the punishment that both [the Lord and the king] will bring on the rebellious?

First, make up thy work that is without, and look well unto that which thou hast in the field, and then build thine house.

These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

He whose spirit is uncontrolled is like an unwalled town which has been broken into.

Like the legs which are useless to the lame,
So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool [who cannot learn from its wisdom].

Like a thorn which goes up into the hand of a man overcome by drink, so is a wise saying in the mouth of a foolish man.

Like a dog going back to the food which he has not been able to keep down, is the foolish man doing his foolish acts over again.

He who gets mixed up in a fight which is not his business, is like one who takes a dog by the ears while it is going by.

[Like] {impure silver} which overlays an earthen vessel, [so are] smooth lips and an evil heart.

Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but which is able to stand before jealousy?

Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: the LORD gave them both eyes with which to see.

Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His word], the people are unrestrained;
But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God].

The leech hath two daughters: Give, give. There are three things never satisfied; four which say not, It is enough:

Sheol, and the barren womb; the earth which is not filled with water, and the fire which saith not, It is enough.

The eye which makes sport of a father, and sees no value in a mother when she is old will be rooted out by the ravens of the valley, and be food for the young eagles.

There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

Such is the way also of a wife that breaketh wedlock, which wipeth her mouth like as when she hath eaten, and sayeth, "As for me, I have done no harm."

For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:

A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;

The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him.

Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

Lest he drink, and forget that which is decreed, and alter the plea of any who are sorely oppressed.

She makes for herself coverlets, cushions, and rugs of tapestry.
Her clothing is linen, pure and fine, and purple [wool].

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

The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again.

All the rivers flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
There they flow again.

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, no remembrance, of the thing before, - nor, even of the things after, which shall be, will there be any remembrance, with them who shall come after.

And I set my mind to seek and explore by [man’s] wisdom all [human activity] that has been done under heaven. It is a miserable business and a burdensome task which God has given the sons of men with which to be busy and distressed.

I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.

That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

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 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 pools of water for myself from which to water the forest and make the trees bud.

I gathered silver and gold together, even a treasure of kings and lands. I provided me singers and women which could play of instruments, to make man mirth and pastime. I gat me drinking cups also and glasses.

And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.

Yet when I considered all the effort which I expended and the toil with which I toiled to do, then behold, "Everything [is] vanity and chasing wind! There is nothing profitable 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.

For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.

Therefore I hated life, for, a vexation unto me, was the work which was done under the sun, - for, all, was vanity, and a feeding on 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 will be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour at which I have laboured, and wherein I have been wise under the sun. This also is vanity.

Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.

For what does a man get from all his labor and from the striving and sorrow of his heart with which he labors under the sun?

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to watch, and a time to cast away

What advantage hath the doer in that which he is labouring at?

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

The whole He hath made beautiful in its season; also, that knowledge He hath put in their heart without which man findeth not out the work that God hath done from the beginning even unto the end.

I knew that all which God will do it shall be forever: to it not to be added, and from it not to be taken away: and God doing they shall be afraid from his face.

That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man rejoice in his works, for it is his portion; for who doth bring him in to look on that which is after him?

And again I saw all the cruel things which are done under the sun; there was the weeping of those who have evil done to them, and they had no comforter: and from the hands of the evil-doers there went out power, but they had 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 that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

Someone cometh out of prison, and is made a king; and another which is born in the kingdom, cometh unto poverty.

I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.

No end to all the people, to all which were before them: also the last ones shall not rejoice in him. For also this is vanity and striving of the spirit

Watch your step whenever you visit God's house, and come more ready to listen than to offer a fool's sacrifice, since fools never think they're doing evil.

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.

If you see the poor under a cruel yoke, and law and right being violently overturned in a country, be not surprised, because one authority is keeping watch on another and there are higher than they.

There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

For when those riches are lost in bad investments and he becomes the father of a son, then there is nothing in his hand [for the support of the child].

As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

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.

Also every man which God gave to him wealth and riches, and permitted him to eat from it, and to lift up his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this the gift of God himself.

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

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.

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.

Seeing there are things in abundance which make vanity abound, what profit hath man?

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?

Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.

Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?

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.

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

Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.

That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?

See this which I have found, saith the Preacher, searching one by one to find out the reason;

Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

Only see this which I have found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices.

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

Because the word of a king is that which has power; and who may say to him, What are you doing?

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

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.

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:

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 be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

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.

When I gave my mind to the knowledge of wisdom and to seeing the business which is done on the earth (and there are those whose eyes see not sleep by day or by night),

Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.

This is evil in all things which are done under the sun: that there is one fate for all, and the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; while they have life their hearts are foolish, and after that--to the dead.