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.

The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.

Whatever has happened is beyond human ¹  understanding; ²  it is far deeper than anyone can fathom. ³ 

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.

Send ¹  your grain ²  overseas, ³  for after many days you will get a return. ⁴ 

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

This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.

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 

However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, ¹  and he could have delivered ²  the city by his wisdom, but no one listened ³  to that poor man.

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 

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 

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.