I have concluded ¹  that there is nothing better for people ²  than ³  to be happy and to enjoy themselves ⁴  as long as they live,

I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, ¹  just as light is preferable to darkness:

I considered all the living who walk on earth, ¹  as well as the successor ²  who would arise ³  in his place.

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.

What they loved, ¹  as well as what they hated ²  and envied, ³  perished long ago, and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth. ⁴ 

In times of prosperity ¹  be joyful, but in times of adversity ²  consider this: God has made one as well as the other, ³  so that no one can discover what the future holds. ⁴ 

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

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

This is another misfortune: ¹  Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures ¹  taken from kingdoms and provinces. ²  I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual delight ³  – a harem of beautiful concubines! 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 

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?

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.

Just as dreams come when there are many cares, ¹  so ²  the rash vow ³  of a fool occurs ⁴  when there are many words.

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.

A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; ¹  a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

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.

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 

Not only that, ¹  but I have seen the wicked approaching ²  and entering the temple, ³  and as they left the holy temple, ⁴  they boasted ⁵  in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma. ⁶ 

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