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)

18 An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends
    and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.

² Fools find no pleasure in understanding
    but delight in airing their own opinions.^(A)

³ When wickedness comes, so does contempt,
    and with shame comes reproach.

⁴ The words of the mouth are deep waters,^(B)
    but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.

⁵ It is not good to be partial to the wicked^(C)
    and so deprive the innocent of justice.^(D)

⁶ The lips of fools bring them strife,
    and their mouths invite a beating.^(E)

⁷ The mouths of fools are their undoing,
    and their lips are a snare^(F) to their very lives.^(G)

⁸ The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
    they go down to the inmost parts.^(H)

⁹ One who is slack in his work
    is brother to one who destroys.^(I)

¹⁰ The name of the Lord is a fortified tower;^(J)
    the righteous run to it and are safe.^(K)

¹¹ The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;^(L)
    they imagine it a wall too high to scale.

¹² Before a downfall the heart is haughty,
    but humility comes before honor.^(M)

¹³ To answer before listening—
    that is folly and shame.^(N)

¹⁴ The human spirit can endure in sickness,
    but a crushed spirit who can bear?^(O)

¹⁵ The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,^(P)
    for the ears of the wise seek it out.

¹⁶ A gift^(Q) opens the way
    and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.

¹⁷ In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right,
    until someone comes forward and cross-examines.

¹⁸ Casting the lot settles disputes^(R)
    and keeps strong opponents apart.

¹⁹ A brother wronged^(S) is more unyielding than a fortified city;
    disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.

²⁰ From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled;
    with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.^(T)

²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death,^(U)
    and those who love it will eat its fruit.^(V)

²² He who finds a wife finds what is good^(W)
    and receives favor from the Lord.^(X)

²³ The poor plead for mercy,
    but the rich answer harshly.

²⁴ One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.^(Y)