It is like the dew of Hermon, which flows down upon the hills of Zion. Indeed that is where the Lord has decreed a blessing will be available – eternal life.

A song of ascents. Attention! Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who serve in the Lord’s temple during the night.

May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.

Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation!”

I will bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to your name, because of your loyal love and faithfulness, for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.

Do not let me have evil desires, or participate in sinful activities with men who behave wickedly. I will not eat their delicacies.

Free me from prison, that I may give thanks to your name. Because of me the godly will assemble, for you will vindicate me.

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?

The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.

So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile – like chasing the wind.

So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.

There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.

I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.

For if they fall, one will help his companion up, but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.

I considered all the living who walk on earth, as well as the successor who would arise in his place.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay in paying it. For God takes no pleasure in fools: Pay what you vow!

For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.

During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds.

Also, do not pay attention to everything that people say; otherwise, you might even hear your servant cursing you.

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