I thought to myself, ¹  “Come now, ²  I will try ³  self-indulgent pleasure ⁴  to see ⁵  if it is worthwhile.” ⁶  But I found ⁷  that it also is futile. ⁸ 

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.

For wisdom provides ¹  protection, ²  just as ³  money provides protection. ⁴  But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life ⁵  of its owner.

While applying ¹  my mind ²  to everything ³  that happens in this world, ⁴  I have seen all this: Sometimes one person ⁵  dominates ⁶  other people ⁷  to their harm. ⁸ 

I have observed the burden that God has given to people ¹  to keep them occupied.

For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns ¹  under a cooking pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This kind of folly ²  also is useless. ³ 

¹ Be careful what you do ²  when you go to the temple ³  of God; draw near to listen ⁴  rather than to offer a sacrifice ⁵  like fools, ⁶  for they do not realize that they are doing wrong.

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.

I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹ 

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

If the snake should bite before it is charmed, ¹  the snake charmer ²  is in trouble. ³ 

Divide your merchandise ¹  among seven or even eight ²  investments, ³  for you do not know ⁴  what calamity ⁵  may happen on earth.

then I discerned all that God has done: ¹  No one really comprehends what happens ²  on earth. ³  Despite all human ⁴  efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp ⁵  it. ⁶  Even if ⁷  a wise person claimed ⁸  that he understood, he would not really comprehend ⁹  it.

The words of the Teacher, ¹  the son ²  of David, king ³  in Jerusalem: ⁴ 

I constructed pools of water for myself, to irrigate my grove ¹  of flourishing trees.

All this ¹  monotony ²  is tiresome; no one can bear ³  to describe it: ⁴  The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content ⁵  with hearing.

Do not rush out of the king’s presence in haste – do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, ¹  for he can do whatever he pleases.

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 

For no one knows what is best for a person during his life ¹  – during the few days of his fleeting life – for ²  they pass away ³  like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth. ⁴