So I loathed ¹  life ²  because what happens ³  on earth ⁴  seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom ⁵  are futile – like chasing the wind.

So I perceived there is nothing better than for people ¹  to enjoy their work, ²  because that is their ³  reward; for who can show them what the future holds? 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.

So I recommend the enjoyment of life, ¹  for there is nothing better on earth ²  for a person to do ³  except ⁴  to eat, drink, and enjoy ⁵  life. ⁶  So ⁷  joy ⁸  will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth. ⁹ 

I have examined all this by wisdom; I said, “I am determined ¹  to comprehend this” ²  – but it was beyond my grasp. ³ 

Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these days?” ¹  for it is not wise to ask that. ² 

The wise man can see where he is going, ¹  but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate ²  happens to them both. ³ 

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 

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 

The sleep of the laborer is pleasant – whether he eats little or much – but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

It is best to take hold of one warning ¹  without letting go of the other warning; ²  for the one who fears God will follow ³  both warnings. ⁴ 

Just as no one has power over the wind to restrain it, ¹  so no one has power over the day of his ²  death. Just as no one can be discharged during the battle, ³  so wickedness cannot rescue the wicked. ⁴ 

Whatever you find to do with your hands, ¹  do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, ²  the place where you will eventually go. ³ 

Next, I decided to consider ¹  wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. ²  For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king ³  has already done?

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.

Not only was the Teacher wise, ¹  but he also taught knowledge to the people; he carefully evaluated ²  and arranged ³  many proverbs.

For the wise man, like ¹  the fool, will not be remembered for very long, ²  because ³  in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. ⁴  Alas, ⁵  the wise man dies – just like ⁶  the fool!

God has made everything fit beautifully ¹  in its appropriate time, but ²  he has also placed ignorance ³  in the human heart ⁴  so that ⁵  people ⁶  cannot discover what God has ordained, ⁷  from the beginning to the end ⁸  of their lives. ⁹ 

All of man’s labor is for nothing more than ¹  to fill his stomach ²  – yet his appetite ³  is never satisfied!

I thought deeply ¹  about the effects of ²  indulging ³  myself ⁴  with wine (all the while ⁵  my mind was guiding me ⁶  with wisdom) ⁷  and the effects of ⁸  behaving foolishly, ⁹  so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.