A Time for Everything

¹⁷ I said to myself,

³ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.^[a](A)

²⁶ But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time^(A) to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves?^(B)

³ I tried cheering myself with wine,^(A) and embracing folly^(B)—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

Toil Is Meaningless

¹⁷ So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.^(A)