The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.

So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies just like the fool?

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

The fool folds his arms and consumes his own flesh.

Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings.

Caution in God’s Presence

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to draw near in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

For dreams result from much work and a fool’s voice from many words.

When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because He does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

What advantage then does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others?

The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.

It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person than to listen to the song of fools,

for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe destroys the mind.

Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools.

Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time?

The calm words of the wise are heeded more than the shouts of a ruler over fools.

A wise man’s heart goes to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.

Even when the fool walks along the road, his heart lacks sense, and he shows everyone he is a fool.

The fool is appointed to great heights, but the rich remain in lowly positions.

The words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.

Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what will happen, and who can tell anyone what will happen after him?

The struggles of fools weary them, for they don’t know how to go to the city.