Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.

So I considered those who are dead and gone more fortunate than those who are still alive.

Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? It was already done long ago, before our time.

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?

For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies – just like the fool!

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.

What they loved, as well as what they hated and envied, perished long ago, and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth.

Go, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved your works.