Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet ¹  he will be master over all the fruit of ²  my labor ³  for which I worked so wisely ⁴  on earth! ⁵  This also is futile!

and they are afraid of heights and the dangers ¹  in the street; the almond blossoms ²  grow white, ³  and the grasshopper ⁴  drags itself along, ⁵  and the caper berry ⁶  shrivels up ⁷  – because man goes to his eternal home, ⁸  and the mourners go about in the streets –

What I have continually sought, I have not found; I have found only ¹  one upright ²  man among a thousand, but I have not found one upright woman among all of them.

A man who is all alone with no companion, ¹  he has no children nor siblings; ²  yet there is no end to all his toil, and he ³  is never satisfied with riches. He laments, ⁴  “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself ⁵  of pleasure?” ⁶  This also is futile and a burdensome task! ⁷ 

God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart ¹  desires, ²  yet God does not enable ³  him to enjoy ⁴  the fruit of his labor ⁵  – instead, someone else ⁶  enjoys ⁷  it! ⁸  This is fruitless and a grave misfortune. ⁹ 

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 

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.

For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over ¹  the fruit of his labor ²  as an inheritance ³  to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice! ⁴ 

“Futile! Futile!” laments ¹  the Teacher, ²  “Absolutely futile! ³  Everything ⁴  is futile!” ⁵ 

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

At the beginning his words ¹  are foolish and at the end ²  his talk ³  is wicked madness, ⁴ 

No one remembers the former events, ¹  nor will anyone remember ²  the events that are yet to happen; ³  they will not be remembered by the future generations. ⁴ 

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 

It is better to be content with ¹  what the eyes can see ²  than for one’s heart always to crave more. ³  This continual longing ⁴  is futile – like ⁵  chasing the wind.

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

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 

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 

and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things ¹  are a gift from God.

Obey the king’s command, ¹  because you took ²  an oath before God ³  to be loyal to him. ⁴ 

The Teacher sought to find delightful ¹  words, and to write ²  accurately truthful sayings. ³