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

What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?

Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time.

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

A good reputation is better than precious perfume; likewise, the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns under a cooking pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This kind of folly also is useless.

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

Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who see the light of day.

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

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.

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.

God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor – instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.

But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.

If an iron axhead is blunt and a workman does not sharpen its edge, he must exert a great deal of effort; so wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures taken from kingdoms and provinces. I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual delight – a harem of beautiful concubines!

Surely, no one knows his appointed time! Like fish that are caught in a deadly net, and like birds that are caught in a snare – just like them, all people are ensnared at an unfortunate time that falls upon them suddenly.

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.

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

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.

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!