What I have continually sought, I have not found; I have found only one upright man among a thousand, but I have not found one upright woman among all of them.

The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.

Whatever has happened is beyond human understanding; it is far deeper than anyone can fathom.

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.

Send your grain overseas, for after many days you will get a return.

The Teacher sought to find delightful words, and to write accurately truthful sayings.

This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.

However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, and he could have delivered the city by his wisdom, but no one listened to that poor man.

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.

In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.

I discovered this: More bitter than death is the kind of woman who is like a hunter’s snare; her heart is like a hunter’s net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her.