before the sun and the light ¹  of the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds disappear ²  after the rain;

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

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking. ¹ 

All the streams flow ¹  into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again. ² 

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

The produce of the land is seized ¹  by all of them, even the king is served ²  by the fields. ³ 

The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round ¹  the wind goes and on its rounds it returns. ² 

before the silver cord is removed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the well, ¹  or the water wheel ²  is broken at the cistern –

Because of laziness the roof ¹  caves in, and because of idle hands ²  the house leaks.

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

The words of the wise are heard in quiet, more than the shouting of a ruler is heard ¹  among fools.

and the doors along the street are shut; when the sound of the grinding mill ¹  grows low, and one is awakened ²  by the sound of a bird, and all their ³  songs ⁴  grow faint, ⁵ 

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.

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

If the clouds are full of rain, they will empty themselves on the earth, and whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, the tree will lie wherever it falls.

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.

Just as you do not know the path ¹  of the wind, or how the bones form ²  in the womb of a pregnant woman, ³  so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

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.

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!

and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the life’s breath ¹  returns to God who gave it.