Ecclesiastes 3:21

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

and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

Ecclesiastes 3:19

3:19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same:

As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath.

There is no advantage for humans over animals,

for both are fleeting.

Ecclesiastes 1:13

1:13 I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine

all that has been accomplished on earth.

I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task

that keeps them occupied.

Ecclesiastes 8:11

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

the human heart is encouraged to do evil.

Ecclesiastes 7:24

7:24 Whatever has happened is beyond human understanding;

it is far deeper than anyone can fathom.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

3:11 God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time,

but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart

so that people cannot discover what God has ordained,

from the beginning to the end of their lives.

Ecclesiastes 1:18

1:18 For with great wisdom comes great frustration;

whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.

Ecclesiastes 2:13

2:13 I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly,

just as light is preferable to darkness:

Ecclesiastes 6:7

6:7 All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach –

yet his appetite is never satisfied!

Ecclesiastes 7:29

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

but they have sought many evil schemes.

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?

Ecclesiastes 3:18

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.

Ecclesiastes 6:10

The Futile Way Life Works

6:10 Whatever has happened was foreordained,

and what happens to a person was also foreknown.

It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate

because God is more powerful than he is.

Ecclesiastes 1:16

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself,

“I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem;

I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”

Ecclesiastes 6:12

6:12 For no one knows what is best for a person during his life –

during the few days of his fleeting life –

for they pass away like a shadow.

Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.

Ecclesiastes 2:3

2:3 I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine

(all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom)

and the effects of behaving foolishly,

so that I might discover what is profitable

for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.

Ecclesiastes 8:17

8:17 then I discerned all that God has done:

No one really comprehends what happens on earth.

Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it.

Even if a wise person claimed that he understood,

he would not really comprehend it.