Linen garments she hath made, and selleth, And a girdle she hath given to the merchant.

Strength and honour are her clothing, And she rejoiceth at a latter day.

Give ye to her of the fruit of her hands, And her works do praise her in the gates!

What advantage is to man by all his labour that he laboureth at under the sun?

A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth to the age is standing.

All the streams are going unto the sea, and the sea is not full; unto a place whither the streams are going, thither they are turning back to go.

All these things are wearying; a man is not able to speak, the eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor filled is the ear from hearing.

And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that hath been done under the heavens. It is a sad travail God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.

A crooked thing one is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered.

And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this is vexation of spirit;

I have sought in my heart to draw out with wine my appetite, (and my heart leading in wisdom), and to take hold on folly till that I see where is this -- the good to the sons of man of that which they do under the heavens, the number of the days of their lives.

I made for me pools of water, to water from them a forest shooting forth trees.

I got men-servants, and maid-servants, and sons of the house were to me; also, I had much substance -- herd and flock -- above all who had been before me in Jerusalem.

and I have looked on all my works that my hands have done, and on the labour that I have laboured to do, and lo, the whole is vanity and vexation of spirit, and there is no advantage under the sun!

And I turned to see wisdom, and madness, and folly, but what is the man who cometh after the king? that which is already -- they have done it!

And I saw that there is an advantage to wisdom above folly, like the advantage of the light above the darkness.

That there is no remembrance to the wise -- with the fool -- to the age, for that which is already, in the days that are coming is all forgotten, and how dieth the wise? with the fool!

And I have hated life, for sad to me is the work that hath been done under the sun, for the whole is vanity and vexation of spirit.

And I have hated all my labour that I labour at under the sun, because I leave it to a man who is after me.

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, and to a man who hath not laboured therein he giveth it -- his portion! Even this is vanity and a great evil.

For what hath been to a man by all his labour, and by the thought of his heart that he laboured at under the sun?

For to a man who is good before Him, He hath given wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; and to a sinner He hath given travail, to gather and to heap up, to give to the good before God. Even this is vanity and vexation of spirit.

To everything -- a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens:

A time to bring forth, And a time to die. A time to plant, And a time to eradicate the planted.

A time to slay, And a time to heal, A time to break down, And a time to build up.

A time to weep, And a time to laugh. A time to mourn, And a time to skip.

A time to cast away stones, And a time to heap up stones. A time to embrace, And a time to be far from embracing.

A time to seek, And a time to destroy. A time to keep, And a time to cast away.

A time to rend, And a time to sew. A time to be silent, And a time to speak.

A time to love, And a time to hate. A time of war, And a time of peace.

I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.

I have known that there is no good for them except to rejoice and to do good during their life,

I have known that all that God doth is to the age, to it nothing is to be added, and from it nothing is to be withdrawn; and God hath wrought that they do 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 said in my heart, 'The righteous and the wicked doth God judge, for a time is to every matter and for every work there.'

I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves are beasts.

For an event is to the sons of man, and an event is to the beasts, even one event is to them; as the death of this, so is the death of that; and one spirit is to all, and the advantage of man above the beast is nothing, for the whole is vanity.

Who knoweth the spirit of the sons of man that is going up on high, and the spirit of the beast that is going down below to the earth?

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?

Better is a handful with quietness, than two handfuls with labour and vexation of spirit.'

There is one, and there is not a second; even son or brother he hath not, and there is no end to all his labour! His eye also is not satisfied with riches, and he saith not, 'For whom am I labouring and bereaving my soul of good?' This also is vanity, it is a sad travail.

The two are better than the one, in that they have a good reward by their labour.

For if they fall, the one raiseth up his companion, but woe to the one who falleth and there is not a second to raise him up!

Also, if two lie down, then they have heat, but how hath one heat?

And if the one strengthen himself, the two stand against him; and the threefold cord is not hastily broken.

Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who hath not known to be warned any more.

For from a house of prisoners he hath come out to reign, for even in his own kingdom he hath been poor.

there is no end to all the people, to all who were before them; also, the latter rejoice not in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Keep thy feet when thou goest unto a house of God, and draw near to hear rather than to give of fools the sacrifice, for they do not know they do 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 to God, delay not to complete it, for there is no pleasure in fools; that which thou vowest -- complete.

Better that thou do not vow, than that thou dost vow and dost not complete.

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger, that 'it is an error,' why is God wroth because of thy voice, and hath destroyed the work of thy hands?

If oppression of the poor, and violent taking away of judgment and righteousness thou seest in a province, do not marvel at the matter, for a higher than the high is observing, and high ones are over them.

In the multiplying of good have its consumers been multiplied, and what benefit is to its possessor except the sight of his eyes?

Sweet is the sleep of the labourer whether he eat little or much; and the sufficiency of the wealthy is not suffering him to sleep.

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

Lo, that which I have seen: It is good, because beautiful, to eat, and to drink, and to see good in all one's labour that he laboureth at under the sun, the number of the days of his life that God hath given to him, for it is his portion.

Every man also to whom God hath given wealth and riches, and hath given him power to eat of it, and to accept his portion, and to rejoice in his labour, this is a gift of God.

A man to whom God giveth wealth, and riches, and honour, and there is no lack to his soul of all that he desireth, and God giveth him not power to eat of it, but a stranger eateth it; this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

And though he had lived a thousand years twice over, yet good he hath not seen; to the same place doth not every one go?

For what advantage is to the wise above the fool? What to the poor who knoweth to walk before the living?

What is that which hath been? already is its name called, and it is known that it is man, and he is not able to contend with him who is stronger than he.

For there are many things multiplying vanity; what advantage is to man?

For who knoweth what is good for a man in life, the number of the days of the life of his vanity, and he maketh them as a shadow? for who declareth to man what is after him under the sun?

Better is a name than good perfume, And the day of death than the day of birth.

Better to go unto a house of mourning, Than to go unto a house of banqueting, For that is the end of all men, And the living layeth it unto his heart.

Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than for a man to hear a song of fools,

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools resteth.

Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And an advantage it is to those beholding the sun.

See the work of God, For who is able to make straight that which He made crooked?

In a day of prosperity be in gladness, And in a day of evil consider. Also this over-against that hath God made, To the intent that man doth not find anything after him.

Be not over-righteous, nor show thyself too wise, why art thou desolate?

Do not much wrong, neither be thou a fool, why dost thou die within thy time?

The wisdom giveth strength to a wise man, more than wealth the rulers who have been in a city.

Also to all the words that they speak give not thy heart, that thou hear not thy servant reviling thee.

I have turned round, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and of foolishness the madness.

See, this I have found, said the Preacher, one to one, to find out the reason

Who is as the wise? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? The wisdom of man causeth his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.

Where the word of a king is power is, and who saith to him, 'What dost thou?'

For to every delight there is a time and a judgment, for the misfortune of man is great upon him.

For he knoweth not that which shall be, for when it shall be who declareth to him?

There is no man ruling over the spirit to restrain the spirit, and there is no authority over the day of death, and there is no discharge in battle, and wickedness delivereth not its possessors.

All this I have seen so as to give my heart to every work that hath been done under the sun; a time that man hath ruled over man to his own evil.

Because sentence hath not been done on an evil work speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of man is full within them to do evil.

Though a sinner is doing evil a hundred times, and prolonging himself for it, surely also I know that there is good to those fearing God, who fear before Him.

And good is not to the wicked, and he doth not prolong days as a shadow, because he is not fearing before God.

There is a vanity that hath been done upon the earth, that there are righteous ones unto whom it is coming according to the work of the wicked, and there are wicked ones unto whom it is coming according to the work of the righteous. I have said that this also is vanity.

And I have praised mirth because there is no good to man under the sun except to eat and to drink, and to rejoice, and it remaineth with him of his labour the days of his life that God hath given to him under the sun.

When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that hath been done on the earth, (for there is also a spectator in whose eyes sleep is not by day and by night),

then I considered all the work of God, that man is not able to find out the work that hath been done under the sun, because though man labour to seek, yet he doth not find; and even though the wise man speak of knowing he is not able to find.

But all this I have laid unto my heart, so as to clear up the whole of this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God, neither love nor hatred doth man know, the whole is before them.

The whole is as to the whole; one event is to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, and to him who is sacrificing, and to him who is not sacrificing; as is the good, so is the sinner, he who is swearing as he who is fearing an oath.

This is an evil among all that hath been done under the sun, that one event is to all, and also the heart of the sons of man is full of evil, and madness is in their heart during their life, and after it -- unto the dead.

But to him who is joined unto all the living there is confidence, for to a living dog it is better than to the dead lion.

For the living know that they die, and the dead know not anything, and there is no more to them a reward, for their remembrance hath been forgotten.

Their love also, their hatred also, their envy also, hath already perished, and they have no more a portion to the age in all that hath been done under the sun.

See life with the wife whom thou hast loved, all the days of the life of thy vanity, that He hath given to thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity, for it is thy portion in life, even of thy labour that thou art labouring at under the sun.