Just as there is futility in many dreams, so also in many words. ¹  Therefore, fear God!

A generation comes ¹  and a generation goes, ²  but the earth remains ³  the same ⁴  through the ages. ⁵ 

So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? ¹  And what advantage ²  does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive? ³ 

What benefit can a worker ¹  gain from his toil? ² 

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 

A time to be born, ¹  and a time to die; ²  a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.

The toil of a stupid fool ¹  wears him out, ²  because he does not even know the way to the city. ³ 

Everyone shares the same fate ¹  – the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, ²  the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; ³  what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

Rejoice, young man, while you are young, ¹  and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses ²  of your heart and the desires ³  of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions. ⁴ 

Just as he came forth from his mother's womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.

The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. ¹  How does that benefit him? ² 

Surely the king’s authority ¹  is absolute; ²  no one can say ³  to him, “What are you doing?”

One who digs a pit may ¹  fall into it, and one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. ² 

Then I considered ¹  all the skillful work ²  that is done: Surely it is nothing more than ³  competition ⁴  between one person and another. ⁵  This also is profitless – like ⁶  chasing the wind.

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.

So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness ¹  will be many – all that is about to come is obscure. ² 

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.

One dead fly ¹  makes the perfumer’s ointment give off a rancid stench, ²  so a little folly can outweigh ³  much wisdom. ⁴