<t /><p class="poetry">What benefit can a worker<n id="1" /> gain from his toil?<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">What exists now<n id="1" /> is what will be,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and what has been done is what will be done;p> <p class="poetry">there is nothing truly new on earth.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Who really knows if the human spirit<n id="1" /> ascends upward,p> <p class="poetry">and the animal&#8217;s spirit descends into the earth?p>

<p class="poetry">However, a poor but wise man lived in the city,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and he could have delivered<n id="2" /> the city by his wisdom,p> <p class="poetry">but no one listened<n id="3" /> to that poor man.p>

<p class="poetry">The sun rises<n id="1" /> and the sun sets;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">it hurries away<n id="3" /> to a place from which it rises<n id="4" /> again.<n id="5" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">What does a man acquire from all his laborp> <p class="poetry">and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil,p> <p class="poetry">for these things<n id="1" /> are a gift from God.p>

<p class="poetry">Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been;p> <p class="poetry">for God will seek to do again<n id="1" /> what has occurred<n id="2" /> in the past.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">The produce of the land is seized<n id="1" /> by all of them,p> <p class="poetry">even the king is served<n id="2" /> by the fields.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Then that wealth was lost through bad luck;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him.<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Here is<n id="1" /> another misfortune<n id="2" /> that I have seen on earth,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and it weighs<n id="4" /> heavily on people:<n id="5" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">I have examined all this by wisdom;p> <p class="poetry">I said, &#8220;I am determined<n id="1" /> to comprehend this&#8221;<n id="2" /> &#8211; but it was beyond my grasp.<n id="3" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and it is a great burden<n id="2" /> to me:p>

<p class="poetry">Even when a fool walks along the road he lacks sense,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and shows<n id="2" /> everyone what a fool he is.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">If an iron axhead<n id="1" /> is blunt and a workman<n id="2" /> does not sharpen<n id="3" /> its edge,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">he must exert a great deal of effort;<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">so wisdom has the advantage of giving success.p>

<p class="poetry">Is there anything about which someone can say, &#8220;Look at this! It is new!&#8221;?<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">It was already<n id="2" /> done long ago,<n id="3" /> before our time.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">So I decided<n id="1" /> to discern the benefit of<n id="2" /> wisdom and knowledge over<n id="3" /> foolish behavior and ideas;<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">however, I concluded<n id="5" /> that even<n id="6" /> this endeavor<n id="7" /> is like<n id="8" /> trying to chase the wind!<n id="9" />p>

<t /> I thought to myself,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Come now,<n id="2" /> I will try<n id="3" /> self-indulgent pleasure<n id="4" /> to see<n id="5" /> if it is worthwhile.&#8221;<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">But I found<n id="7" /> that it also is futile.<n id="8" />p>

<p class="poetry">For all day long<n id="1" /> his work produces pain and frustration,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and even at night his mind cannot relax!<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">This also is futile!p>

<t /><p class="poetry">There is nothing better for<n id="1" /> people<n id="2" /> than<n id="3" /> to eat and drink,p> <p class="poetry">and to find enjoyment<n id="4" /> in their<n id="5" /> work.p> <p class="poetry">I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment<n id="6" /> comes from God.<n id="7" />p>