<t /><p class="poetry">&#8220;Futile! Futile!&#8221; laments<n id="1" /> the Teacher,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Absolutely futile!<n id="3" /> Everything<n id="4" /> is futile!&#8221;<n id="5" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">&#8220;Absolutely futile!&#8221;<n id="1" /> laments the Teacher,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;All of these things<n id="3" /> are futile!&#8221;<n id="4" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">So<n id="1" /> I again considered<n id="2" /> another<n id="3" /> futile thing on earth:<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man<n id="1" /> on earth,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and I concluded: Everything<n id="3" /> he has accomplished<n id="4" /> is futile<n id="5" /> &#8211; like chasing the wind!<n id="6" />p>

<p class="poetry">It is better to be content with<n id="1" /> what the eyes can see<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">than for one&#8217;s heart always to crave more.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">This continual longing<n id="4" /> is futile &#8211; like<n id="5" /> chasing the wind.p>

<p class="poetry">The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">How does that benefit him?<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns<n id="1" /> under a cooking pot,p> <p class="poetry">so is the laughter of the fool.p> <p class="poetry">This kind of folly<n id="2" /> also is useless.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Banish<n id="1" /> emotional stress<n id="2" /> from your mind.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and put away pain<n id="4" /> from your body;<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">for youth<n id="6" /> and the prime of life<n id="7" /> are fleeting.<n id="8" />p>

<p class="poetry">Here is<n id="1" /> another<n id="2" /> enigma<n id="3" /> that occurs on earth:p> <p class="poetry">Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve.<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">I said, &#8220;This also is an enigma.&#8221;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">Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">I concluded:<n id="3" /> &#8220;All these<n id="4" /> achievements and possessions<n id="5" /> are ultimately<n id="6" /> profitless<n id="7" /> &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">like chasing the wind!p> <p class="poetry">There is nothing gained<n id="8" /> from them<n id="9" /> on earth.&#8221;<n id="10" />p>

<p class="poetry">So I thought to myself, &#8220;The fate of the fool will happen even to me!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively<n id="2" /> wise?&#8221;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">So I lamented to myself,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;The benefits of wisdom<n id="5" /> are ultimately<n id="6" /> meaningless!&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">So I loathed<n id="1" /> life<n id="2" /> because whatp> <p class="poetry">happens<n id="3" /> on earth<n id="4" /> seems awful to me;p> <p class="poetry">for all the benefits of wisdom<n id="5" /> are futile &#8211; like chasing the wind.p>

<p class="poetry">Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool?p> <p class="poetry">Yet<n id="1" /> he will be master over all the fruit of<n id="2" /> my labor<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">for which I worked so wisely<n id="4" /> on earth!<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">This also is futile!p>

<p class="poetry">For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill;p> <p class="poetry">however, he must hand over<n id="1" /> the fruit of his labor<n id="2" /> as an inheritance<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">to someone else who did not work for it.p> <p class="poetry">This also is futile, and an awful injustice!<n id="4" />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">The one who loves money<n id="1" /> will never be satisfied with money,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">he who loves wealth<n id="3" /> will never be satisfied<n id="4" /> with his<n id="5" /> income.p> <p class="poetry">This also is futile.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Not only that,<n id="1" /> but I have seen the wicked approaching<n id="2" /> and entering the temple,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and as they left the holy temple,<n id="4" /> theyp> <p class="poetry">boasted<n id="5" /> in the city that they had done so.p> <p class="poetry">This also is an enigma.<n id="6" />p>

<p class="poetry">So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all,p> <p class="poetry">but let him remember that the days of darkness<n id="1" /> will be many &#8211; all that is about to come is obscure.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">For to the one who pleases him,<n id="1" /> God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy,p> <p class="poetry">but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing<n id="2" /> wealth<n id="3" /> &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">only to give<n id="4" /> it<n id="5" /> to the one who pleases God.p> <p class="poetry">This<n id="6" /> task of the wicked<n id="7" /> is futile &#8211; like chasing the wind!p>