I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures ¹  taken from kingdoms and provinces. ²  I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual delight ³  – a harem of beautiful concubines! ⁴ 

I also thought to myself, “It is ¹  for the sake of people, ²  so God can clearly ³  show ⁴  them that they are like animals.

Who really knows if the human spirit ¹  ascends upward, and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

When ¹  a sentence ²  is not executed ³  at once against a crime, ⁴  the human heart ⁵  is encouraged to do evil. ⁶ 

Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. ¹  There is no end to the making ²  of many books, and much study is exhausting to the body. ³ 

For the fate of humans ¹  and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.

This is the unfortunate fact ¹  about everything that happens on earth: ²  the same fate awaits ³  everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people ⁴  are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die. ⁵ 

Surely, no one ¹  knows his appointed time! ²  Like fish that are caught in a deadly ³  net, and like birds that are caught in a snare – just like them, all people ⁴  are ensnared ⁵  at an unfortunate ⁶  time that falls upon them suddenly.