Ecclesiastes 2:8

2:8 I also amassed silver and gold for myself,

as well as valuable treasures taken from kingdoms and provinces.

I acquired male singers and female singers for myself,

and what gives a man sensual delight – a harem of beautiful concubines!

Ecclesiastes 2:12

Wisdom is Better than Folly

2:12 Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas.

For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?

3:18 I also thought to myself, “It is for the sake of people,

so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.

3:21 Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward,

and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

3:22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work,

because that is their reward;

for who can show them what the future holds?

7:2 It is better to go to a funeral

than a feast.

For death is the destiny of every person,

and the living should take this to heart.

7:29 This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright,

but they have sought many evil schemes.

8:11 When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime,

the human heart is encouraged to do evil.

10:14 yet a fool keeps on babbling.

No one knows what will happen;

who can tell him what will happen in the future?

11:8 So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all,

but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many – all that is about to come is obscure.

12:13 Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

because this is the whole duty of man.