Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!

and they are afraid of heights and the dangers in the street; the almond blossoms grow white, and the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper berry shrivels up – because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the streets –

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!

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.

So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated – no one knows what lies ahead.

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.

For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!

“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”

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

At the beginning his words are foolish and at the end his talk is wicked madness,

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.

When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime, the human heart is encouraged to do evil.

It is better to be content with what the eyes can see than for one’s heart always to crave more. This continual longing is futile – like chasing the wind.

Just as there is futility in many dreams, so also in many words. Therefore, fear God!

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

Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? It was already done long ago, before our time.

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

Obey the king’s command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.

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