A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!

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.

What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.

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.

Wisdom gives a wise person more protection than ten rulers in a city.

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.

Who is a wise person? Who knows the solution to a problem? A person’s wisdom brightens his appearance, and softens his harsh countenance.

Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward, and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.

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.

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.

Surely oppression can turn a wise person into a fool; likewise, a bribe corrupts the heart.

and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God.

The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?

It is better for a person to receive a rebuke from those who are wise than to listen to the song of fools.

yet a fool keeps on babbling. No one knows what will happen; who can tell him what will happen in the future?

The sleep of the laborer is pleasant – whether he eats little or much – but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.

A wise person’s good sense protects him, but a fool’s lack of sense leaves him vulnerable.