¹² “Though evil^(A) is sweet in his mouth
    and he hides it under his tongue,^(B)
13 though he cannot bear to let it go
    and lets it linger in his mouth,^(C)
14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;^(D)
    it will become the venom of serpents^(E) within him.
¹⁵ He will spit out the riches^(F) he swallowed;
    God will make his stomach vomit^(G) them up.
¹⁶ He will suck the poison^(H) of serpents;
    the fangs of an adder will kill him.^(I)

¹² They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;^(A)
    they make merry to the sound of the pipe.^(B)

¹³ They spend their years in prosperity^(A)
    and go down to the grave^(B) in peace.^[a](C)

¹⁷     “Stolen water is sweet;
    food eaten in secret is delicious!^(A)”

²¹ Folly brings joy to one who has no sense,^(A)
    but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course.

¹⁷ Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
    whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.^(A)

² “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”^(C)

³ What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?^(D)
4 Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.^(E)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.^(F)
6 The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
⁷ All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.^(G)
8 All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,^(H)
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.
⁹ What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;^(I)
    there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰ Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.
¹¹ No one remembers the former generations,^(J)
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.^(K)

¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be straightened;^(Q)
    what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁸ For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;^(U)
    the more knowledge, the more grief.^(V)