Who is ¹  a ²  wise person? Who knows the solution ³  to a problem? ⁴  A person’s wisdom brightens his appearance, ⁵  and softens ⁶  his harsh countenance. ⁷ 

Sorrow ¹  is better than laughter, because sober reflection ²  is good for the heart. ³ 

So ¹  I was far wealthier ²  than all my predecessors in Jerusalem, yet I maintained my objectivity: ³ 

I have seen another ¹  misfortune ²  on the earth: ³  It is an error a ruler makes. ⁴ 

If an iron axhead ¹  is blunt and a workman ²  does not sharpen ³  its edge, ⁴  he must exert a great deal of effort; ⁵  so wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

Send ¹  your grain ²  overseas, ³  for after many days you will get a return. ⁴ 

For to the one who pleases him, ¹  God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing ²  wealth ³  – only to give ⁴  it ⁵  to the one who pleases God. This ⁶  task of the wicked ⁷  is futile – like chasing the wind!

Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? ¹  It was already ²  done long ago, ³  before our time. ⁴ 

I purchased male and female slaves, and I owned slaves who were born in my house; ¹  I also possessed more livestock – both herds and flocks – than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem. ² 

Do not rush out of the king’s presence in haste – do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, ¹  for he can do whatever he pleases.

But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they ¹  prolong their ²  days like a shadow, ³  because they ⁴  do not stand in fear ⁵  before God.

I thought to myself, ¹  “I have become much wiser ²  than any of my predecessors who ruled ³  over Jerusalem; ⁴  I ⁵  have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” ⁶ 

I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

There is no end to all the people ¹  nor to the past generations, ²  yet future generations ³  will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like ⁴  chasing the wind.

Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth! Therefore, let your words be few.

Do not let your mouth cause you ¹  to sin, and do not tell the priest, ²  “It was a mistake!” ³  Why make God angry at you ⁴  so that he would destroy the work of your hands?”

I discovered this: ¹  More bitter than death is the kind of ²  woman ³  who is like a hunter’s snare; ⁴  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.

Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes ¹  and still live a long time, ²  yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people ³  – for they stand in fear ⁴  before him.

So I reflected on all this, ¹  attempting to clear ²  it all up. I concluded that ³  the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated ⁴  – no one knows what lies ahead. ⁵