Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in His hands?
Who has bound up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name,
and what is the name of His Son—
if you know?

Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Otherwise, I might have too much
and deny You, saying, “Who is the Lord?”
or I might have nothing and steal,
profaning the name of my God.

There is a generation that curses its father
and does not bless its mother.

There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
yet is not washed from its filth.

There is a generation—how haughty its eyes
and pretentious its looks.

There is a generation whose teeth are swords,
whose fangs are knives,
devouring the oppressed from the land
and the needy from among mankind.

Sheol; a childless womb;
earth, which is never satisfied with water;
and fire, which never says, “Enough!”

As for the eye that ridicules a father
and despises obedience to a mother,
may ravens of the valley pluck it out
and young vultures eat it.

This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

a servant when he becomes king,
a fool when he is stuffed with food,

Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:

a lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and doesn’t retreat before anything,

It is not for kings, Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire beer.

Otherwise, they will drink,
forget what is decreed,
and pervert justice for all the oppressed.

Give beer to one who is dying
and wine to one whose life is bitter.

Who can find a capable wife?
She is far more precious than jewels.

She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from far away.

She rises while it is still night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her female servants.

She is not afraid for her household when it snows,
for all in her household are doubly clothed.

She makes her own bed coverings;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known at the city gates,
where he sits among the elders of the land.

She opens her mouth with wisdom
and loving instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the activities of her household
and is never idle.

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,
but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.

“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.
“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

All the streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
The streams are flowing to the place,
and they flow there again.

All things are wearisome;
man is unable to speak.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing
or the ear filled with hearing.

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.

There is no remembrance of those who came before;
and of those who will come after
there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.

I applied my mind to seek and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

What is crooked cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.

I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.

For with much wisdom is much sorrow;
as knowledge increases, grief increases.

I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile.

I said about laughter, “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

I explored with my mind how to let my body enjoy life with wine and how to grasp folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

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

The wise man has eyes in his head,
but the fool walks in darkness.

Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.

So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies just like the fool?

Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

When there is a man whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.

For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,

For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

There is an occasion for everything,
and a time for every activity under heaven:

a time to search and a time to count as lost;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.

It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.

I know that all God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of Him.

Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. God repeats what has passed.

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 to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

For the fate of people and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile.

I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them.

But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to a man’s jealousy of his friend. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “So who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself from good?” This too is futile and a miserable task.

And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings.

There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to draw near in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.

The one who loves money is never satisfied with money, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes?

The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.

As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.

This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind?

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

Here is what I have seen to be good: it is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.

God has also given riches and wealth to every man, and He has allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God,

Here is a tragedy I have observed under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity:

God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy.

A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

For he comes in futility and he goes in darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness.

Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he.

All man’s labor is for his stomach,
yet the appetite is never satisfied.

What advantage then does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others?

Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Whatever exists was given its name long ago, and it is known what man is. But he is not able to contend with the One stronger than he.

For when there are many words, they increase futility. What is the advantage for man?

For who knows what is good for man in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?

A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.

It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
since that is the end of all mankind,
and the living should take it to heart.

Grief is better than laughter,
for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.

The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools,

for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot,
so is the laughter of the fool.
This too is futile.

Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe destroys the mind.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.

Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?”
since it is not wise of you to ask this.

Wisdom is as good as an inheritance
and an advantage to those who see the sun,

because wisdom is protection as money is protection,
and the advantage of knowledge
is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.