Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

And why do you not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, and you will seek me diligently, but I will be gone.”

I also have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?

Do not be like an unintelligent horse or mule, which will not obey you unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.

For the music director; written by the Lord’s servant, David; an oracle. An evil man is rebellious to the core. He does not fear God,

Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.

O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things; you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. No one can thwart you! I want to declare them and talk about them, but they are too numerous to recount!

For innumerable dangers surround me. My sins overtake me so I am unable to see; they outnumber the hairs of my head so my strength fails me.

God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago, will hear and humiliate them. (Selah) They refuse to change, and do not fear God.

Angrily wipe them out! Wipe them out so they vanish! Let them know that God rules in Jacob and to the ends of the earth! (Selah)

Over here is the deep, wide sea, which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, living things both small and large.

May sinners disappear from the earth, and the wicked vanish! Praise the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!

When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle!

All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again.

What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.

No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations.

Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless – like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”

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!

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.

So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?