Beginning

9 For I have thought of all this, how good and wise men and their works are in the hand of God. Man does not know if love or hate is waiting for them.

² It is the same for all. The same thing will happen to both the man who is good and the man who is sinful. The same thing will happen to the clean and the unclean, and to the man who gives a gift on the altar and to the man who does not. As the good man is, so is the sinner. As the man who swears is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. ³ This is a bad thing in all that is done under the sun, that the same thing happens to all men. Also the hearts of men are sinful and crazy all their lives. Then they join the dead. ⁴ But there is hope for the one who is among the living. For sure a live dog is better off than a dead lion. ⁵ For the living know they will die. But the dead know nothing, and they will receive nothing further, for they are forgotten. ⁶ Their love and hate and desire have already died. They will no longer have a part in what is done under the sun.

⁷ Go and eat your bread in happiness. Drink your wine with a happy heart. For God has already been pleased with your works. ⁸ Let your clothes be white all the time. And let there always be oil on your head. ⁹ Enjoy life with the woman you love all the days of your life that will soon be over. God has given you these days under the sun. This is the good you will get in life and in your work which you have done under the sun.

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your strength. For there is no work or planning or learning or wisdom in the place of the dead where you are going. ¹¹ Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the fast and the battle to the men of war. Bread is not to the wise and riches are not to the men of understanding. Favor is not to able workers. Time comes and goes and things happen for no reason to them all. ¹² Man does not know his time. Like fish caught in a bad net, and birds caught in a trap, so men are trapped at a bad time when trouble comes upon them when they do not expect it.

Wisdom Is Better Than Being Foolish

¹³ I have also seen this as wisdom under the sun, and it made me think. ¹⁴ There was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it. His army gathered around it and built a large wall to help them in battle against it. ¹⁵ But a poor wise man was found in the city, and he brought the city out of its trouble by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. ¹⁶ So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is hated and his words are not carried out. ¹⁷ The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the loud words of a ruler among fools. ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than objects used in war, but one sinner destroys much good.

10 Dead flies make a perfume maker’s oil smell bad. So does acting a little foolish weigh more than wisdom and honor. ² A wise man’s heart leads him toward the right. But the foolish man’s heart leads him toward the left. ³ Even when the fool walks on the road, he has little understanding and shows everyone that he is a fool. ⁴ If the ruler becomes angry with you, do not back away. If you are quiet, much wrong-doing may be put aside.

⁵ There is a sin I have seen under the sun, like a mistake done by a ruler: ⁶ Fools are put in many places of honor, while rich men sit in places that are not important. ⁷ I have seen servants riding on horses, and princes walking like servants on the land.

⁸ He who digs a deep hole may fall into it. And a snake may bite him who breaks through a wall. ⁹ He who cuts stones may be hurt by them. And he who cuts trees may be in danger by them. ¹⁰ If the ax is not sharp and he does not make it sharp, then he must use more strength. Wisdom helps one to do well. ¹¹ If the snake bites before it is put under a man’s power, it will not be of help to the man who would have power over it. ¹² The words of a wise man’s mouth are kind, but the lips of a fool destroy him. ¹³ The beginning of his talking is foolish, and the end of it is sinful and crazy. ¹⁴ Yet the fool speaks many words. No man knows what will happen. And who can tell him what will come after him? ¹⁵ The work of a fool makes him so tired that he does not even know the way to a city. ¹⁶ It is bad for you, O land, when your king is a child and your princes eat too much in the morning. ¹⁷ Happy are you, O land, when your king is from parents who have ruled, and your princes eat at the right time, for strength and not to get drunk. ¹⁸ When men are lazy, the roof begins to fall in. When they will do no work, the rain comes into the house. ¹⁹ Food is made ready to be enjoyed, wine makes life happy, but money is the answer to everything. ²⁰ Do not curse a king even in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich man in your bedroom because a bird of the heavens will carry your voice and an animal with wings will make it known.

The Ways of a Wise Man

11 Throw your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. ² Share what you have with seven, or even with eight, for you do not know what trouble may come on the earth. ³ If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth. And if a tree falls to the south or to the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies. ⁴ He who watches the wind will not plant his seeds. And he who looks at the clouds will not gather the food. ⁵ Just as you do not know the path of the wind or how the bones are made of a child yet to be born, so you do not know the work of God Who makes all things. ⁶ Plant your seeds in the morning, and do not be lazy in the evening. You do not know which will grow well, the morning or evening planting, or if both of them alike will do well.

⁷ Light is pleasing. It is good for the eyes to see the sun. ⁸ If a man should live many years, let him have joy in them all. Yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is for nothing.

What Young People Should Do

⁹ Young man, be filled with joy while you are young. And let your heart be happy while you are a young man. Follow the ways of your heart and the desires of your eyes. But know that God will judge you for all these things. ¹⁰ So put away trouble from your heart, and put away pain from your body. Because the years when you were a child and the best years of your life are going by fast.

12 Remember also your Maker while you are young, before the days of trouble come and the years when you will say, “I have no joy in them,” ² before the sun, the light, the moon and the stars are made dark, and clouds return after the rain. ³ This will be the day when the men who watch the house shake in fear. Strong men bow. Those who grind will stop because they are few. And the eyes of those who look through windows will not see well. ⁴ The doors on the street will be shut when the sound of the grinding is no more. One will rise up at the sound of a bird. All the daughters of song will sing very low. ⁵ Men will be afraid of a high place and of fears on the road. Flowers will grow on the almond tree. The grasshopper will pull himself along. And desire will be at an end. For man will go to his home that lasts forever, while people filled with sorrow go about in the street. ⁶ Remember Him before the silver rope of life is broken and the gold dish is crushed. Remember Him before the pot by the well is broken and the wheel by the water-hole is crushed. ⁷ Then the dust will return to the earth as it was. And the spirit will return to God Who gave it. ⁸ “It is of no use,” says the Preacher, “It is all for nothing!”

The Preacher’s Last Words

⁹ Besides being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people much learning. He thought about, and looked for, and put together many wise sayings. ¹⁰ The Preacher looked to find pleasing words and to write words of truth in the right way.

¹¹ The words of wise men are like a stick. Their gathered sayings are like well-driven nails given by one Shepherd. ¹² But more than this, my son, be careful. There is no end to the writing of many books and reading many of them makes the body tired.

¹³ The last word, after all has been heard, is: Honor God and obey His Laws. This is all that every person must do. ¹⁴ For God will judge every act, even everything which is hidden, both good and bad.