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 

Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again ¹  what has occurred ²  in the past. ³ 

What exists now ¹  is what will be, ²  and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth. 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.

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 

Go, eat your food ¹  with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved your works.

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!

So remember ¹  your Creator in the days of your youth – before ²  the difficult ³  days come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

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 –

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

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 

So I decided ¹  to discern the benefit of ²  wisdom and knowledge over ³  foolish behavior and ideas; ⁴  however, I concluded ⁵  that even ⁶  this endeavor ⁷  is like ⁸  trying to chase the wind! ⁹ 

So I loathed ¹  life ²  because what happens ³  on earth ⁴  seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom ⁵  are futile – like chasing the wind.

Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: ¹  Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty ²  of man.

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