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1 The author: Solomon of Jerusalem, King David's son, "The Preacher."

2 In my opinion, nothing is worthwhile; everything is futile.

3 For what does a man get for all his hard work?

4 Generations come and go, but it makes no difference.

5 The sun rises and sets and hurries around to rise again.

6 The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere.

7 The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full, and the water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea. . .

8 everything is unutterably weary and tiresome. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied; no matter how much we hear, we are not content.

9 History merely repeats itself. Nothing is truly new; it has all been done or said before.

10 What can you point to that is new? How do you know it didn't exist long ages ago?

11 We don't remember what happened in those former times, and in the future generations no one will remember what we have done back here.

12 I, the Preacher, was king of Israel, living in Jerusalem.

13 And I applied myself to search for understanding about everything in the universe. I discovered that the lot of man, which God has dealt to him, is not a happy one.

14 It is all foolishness, chasing the wind.

15 What is wrong cannot be righted; it is water over the dam; and there is no use thinking of what might have been.

16 I said to myself, "Look, I am better educated than any of the kings before me in Jerusalem. I have greater wisdom and knowledge."

17 So I worked hard to be wise instead of foolish --but now I realize that even this was like chasing the wind.

18 For the more my wisdom, the more my grief; to increase knowledge only increases distress.

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1 I said to myself, "Come now, be merry; enjoy yourself to the full." But I found that this, too, was futile. For it is silly to be laughing all the time; what good does it do?

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3 So after a lot of thinking, I decided to try the road of drink, while still holding steadily to my course of seeking wisdom. Next I changed my course again and followed the path of folly, so that I could experience the only happiness most men have throughout their lives.

4 Then I tried to find fulfillment by inaugurating a great public works program: homes, vineyards,

5 gardens, parks, and orchards for myself,

6 and reservoirs to hold the water to irrigate my plantations.

7 Next I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born within my household. I also bred great herds and flocks, more than any of the kings before me.

8 I collected silver and gold as taxes from many kings and provinces. In the cultural arts, I organized men's and women's choirs and orchestras. And then there were my many beautiful concubines.

9 So I became greater than any of the kings in Jerusalem before me, and with it all I remained clear-eyed, so that I could evaluate all these things.

10 Anything I wanted I took and did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work. This pleasure was, indeed, my only reward for all my labors.

11 But as I looked at everything I had tried, it was all so useless, a chasing of the wind, and there was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

12 Now I began a study of the comparative virtues of wisdom and folly, and anyone else would come to the same conclusion I did--

13 that wisdom is of more value than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness; for the wise man sees, while the fool is blind. And yet I noticed that there was one thing that happened to wise and foolish alike--

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15 just as the fool will die, so will I. So of what value is all my wisdom? Then I realized that even wisdom is futile.

16 For the wise and fool both die, and in the days to come both will be long forgotten.

17 So now I hate life because it is all so irrational; all is foolishness, chasing the wind.

18 And I am disgusted about this--that I must leave the fruits of all my hard work to others.

19 And who can tell whether my son will be a wise man or a fool? And yet all I have will be given to him--how discouraging!

20 So I turned in despair from hard work as the answer to my search for satisfaction.

21 For though I spend my life searching for wisdom, knowledge, and skill, I must leave all of it to someone who hasn't done a day's work in his life; he inherits all my efforts, free of charge. This is not only foolish but unfair.

22 So what does a man get for all his hard work?

23 Days full of sorrow and grief, and restless, bitter nights. It is all utterly ridiculous.

24 So I decided that there was nothing better for a man to do than to enjoy his food and drink and his job. Then I realized that even this pleasure is from the hand of God.

25 For who can eat or enjoy apart from him?

26 For God gives those who please him wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away from him and gives it to those who please him. So here, too, we see an example of foolishly chasing the wind.

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1 There is a right time for everything:

2 A time to be born; A time to die; A time to plant; A time to harvest;

3 A time to kill; A time to heal; A time to destroy; A time to rebuild;

4 A time to cry; A time to laugh; A time to grieve; A time to dance;

5 A time for scattering stones; A time for gathering stones; A time to hug; A time not to hug;

6 A time to find; A time to lose; A time for keeping; A time for throwing away;

7 A time to tear; A time to repair; A time to be quiet; A time to speak up;

8 A time for loving; A time for hating; A time for war; A time for peace.

9 What does one really get from hard work?

10 I have thought about this in connection with all the various kinds of work God has given to mankind.

11 Everything is appropriate in its own time. But though God has planted eternity in the hearts of men, even so, many cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.

12 So I conclude that, first, there is nothing better for a man than to be happy and to enjoy himself as long as he can;

13 and second, that he should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of his labors, for these are gifts from God.

14 And I know this, that whatever God does is final--nothing can be added or taken from it; God's purpose in this is that man should fear the all-powerful God.

15 Whatever is has been long ago; and whatever is going to be has been before; God brings to pass again what was in the distant past and disappeared.

16 Moreover, I notice that throughout the earth justice is giving way to crime, and even the police courts are corrupt.

17 I said to myself, "In due season God will judge everything man does, both good and bad."

18 And then I realized that God is letting the world go on its sinful way so that he can test mankind, and so that men themselves will see that they are no better than beasts.

19 For men and animals both breathe the same air, and both die. So mankind has no real advantage over the beasts; what an absurdity!

20 All go to one place--the dust from which they came and to which they must return.

21 For who can prove that the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward into dust?

22 So I saw that there is nothing better for men than that they should be happy in their work, for that is what they are here for, and no one can bring them back to life to enjoy what will be in the future, so let them enjoy it now.

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1 Next I observed all the oppression and sadness throughout the earth--the tears of the oppressed, and no one helping them, while on the side of their oppressors were powerful allies.

2 So I felt that the dead were better off than the living.

3 And most fortunate of all are those who have never been born and have never seen all the evil and crime throughout the earth.

4 Then I observed that the basic motive for success is the driving force of envy and jealousy! But this, too, is foolishness, chasing the wind.

5 The fool won't work and almost starves but feels that it is better to be lazy and barely get by, than to work hard, when in the long run it is all so futile.

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7 I also observed another piece of foolishness around the earth.

8 This is the case of a man who is quite alone, without a son or brother, yet he works hard to keep gaining more riches. And to whom will he leave it all, and why is he giving up so much now? It is all so pointless and depressing.

9 Two can accomplish more than twice as much as one, for the results can be much better.

10 If one falls, the other pulls him up; but if a man falls when he is alone, he's in trouble.

11 Also, on a cold night, two under the same blanket gain warmth from each other, but how can one be warm alone?

12 And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

13 It is better to be a poor but wise youth than to be an old and foolish king who refuses all advice.

14 Such a lad could come from prison and succeed. He might even become king though born in poverty.

15 Everyone is eager to help a youth like that, even to help him usurp the throne.

16 He can become the leader of millions of people and be very popular. But, then, the younger generation grows up around him and rejects him! So again, it is all foolishness, chasing the wind.

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1 As you enter the Temple, keep your ears open and your mouth shut!

2 Don't be a fool who doesn't even realize it is sinful to make rash promises to God, for he is in heaven and you are only here on earth, so let your words be few.

3 Just as being too busy gives you nightmares, so being a fool makes you a blabbermouth.

4 So when you talk to God and vow to him that you will do something, don't delay in doing it, for God has no pleasure in fools. Keep your promise to him.

5 It is far better not to say you'll do something than to say you will and then not do it.

6 In that case, your mouth is making you sin. Don't try to defend yourself by telling the messenger from God that it was all a mistake to make the vow. That would make God very angry; and he might destroy your prosperity.

7 Dreaming instead of doing is foolishness, and there is ruin in a flood of empty words; fear God instead.

8 If you see some poor man being oppressed by the rich, with miscarriage of justice anywhere throughout the land, don't be surprised! For every official is under orders from higher up, and the higher officials look up to their superiors. And so the matter is lost in red tape and bureaucracy.

9 And over them all is the king. Oh, for a king who is devoted to his country! Only he can bring order from this chaos.

10 He who loves money shall never have enough. The foolishness of thinking that wealth brings happiness!

11 The more you have, the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income. So what is the advantage of wealth--except perhaps to watch it as it runs through your fingers!

12 The man who works hard sleeps well whether he eats little or much, but the rich must worry and suffer insomnia.

13 There is another serious problem I have seen everywhere--savings are put into risky investments that turn sour, and soon there is nothing left to pass on to one's son.

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15 The man who speculates is soon back to where he began--with nothing.

16 This, as I said, is a very serious problem, for all his hard work has been for nothing; he has been working for the wind. It is all swept away.

17 All the rest of his life he is under a cloud--gloomy, discouraged, frustrated, and angry.

18 Well, one thing, at least, is good: It is for a man to eat well, drink a good glass of wine, accept his position in life, and enjoy his work whatever his job may be, for however long the Lord may let him live.

19 And, of course, it is very good if a man has received wealth from the Lord and the good health to enjoy it.

20 To enjoy your work and to accept your lot in life--that is indeed a gift from God. The person who does that will not need to look back with sorrow on his past, for God gives him joy.

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1 Yes, but there is a very serious evil which I have seen everywhere--

2 God has given to some men very great wealth and honor so that they can have everything they want, but he doesn't give them the health to enjoy it, and they die and others get it all! This is absurd, a hollow mockery, and a serious fault.

3 Even if a man has a hundred sons and as many daughters and lives to be very old, but leaves so little money at his death that his children can't even give him a decent burial--I say that he would be better off born dead.

4 For though his birth would then be futile and end in darkness, without even a name,

5 never seeing the sun or even knowing its existence, yet that is better than to be an old, unhappy man.

6 Though a man lives a thousand years twice over but doesn't find contentment--well, what's the use?

7 Wise men and fools alike spend their lives scratching for food and never seem to get enough. Both have the same problem, yet the poor man who is wise lives a far better life.

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9 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; mere dreaming of nice things is foolish; it's chasing the wind.

10 All things are decided by fate; it was known long ago what each man would be. So there's no use arguing with God about your destiny.

11 The more words you speak, the less they mean, so why bother to speak at all?

12 In these few days of our empty lifetimes, who can say how one's days can best be spent? Who can know what will prove best for the future after he is gone? For who knows the future?

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1 A good reputation is more valuable than the most expensive perfume. The day one dies is better than the day he is born!

2 It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and it is a good thing to think about it while there is still time.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.

4 Yes, a wise man thinks much of death, while the fool thinks only of having a good time now.

5 It is better to be criticized by a wise man than to be praised by a fool!

6 For a fool's compliment is as quickly gone as paper in fire, and it is silly to be impressed by it.

7 The wise man is turned into a fool by a bribe; it destroys his understanding.

8 Finishing is better than starting! Patience is better than pride!

9 Don't be quick-tempered--that is being a fool.

10 Don't long for "the good old days," for you don't know whether they were any better than these!

11 To be wise is as good as being rich; in fact, it is better.

12 You can get anything by either wisdom or money, but being wise has many advantages.

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14 Enjoy prosperity whenever you can, and when hard times strike, realize that God gives one as well as the other--so that everyone will realize that nothing is certain in this life.

15 In this silly life I have seen everything, including the fact that some of the good die young and some of the wicked live on and on. So don't be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? On the other hand, don't be too wicked either--don't be a fool! Why should you die before your time?

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18 Tackle every task that comes along, and if you fear God you can expect his blessing.

19 A wise man is stronger than the mayors of ten big cities!

20 And there is not a single man in all the earth who is always good and never sins.

21 Don't eavesdrop! You may hear your servant cursing you! For you know how often you yourself curse others!

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23 I have tried my best to be wise. I declared, "I will be wise," but it didn't work.

24 Wisdom is far away and very difficult to find.

25 I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and the reason for things, . . . to prove to myself the wickedness of folly and that foolishness is madness.

26 A prostitute is more bitter than death. May it please God that you escape from her, but sinners don't evade her snares.

27 This is my conclusion, says the Preacher. Step by step I came to this result after researching in every direction: One tenth of one percent of the men I interviewed could be said to be wise, but not one woman!

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29 And I found that though God has made men upright, each has turned away to follow his own downward road.

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1 How wonderful to be wise, to understand things, to be able to analyze them and interpret them. Wisdom lights up a man's face, softening its hardness.

2 Obey the king as you have vowed to do. Don't always be trying to get out of doing your duty, even when it's unpleasant. For the king punishes those who disobey.

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4 The king's command is backed by great power, and no one can withstand it or question it.

5 Those who obey him will not be punished. The wise man will find a time and a way to do what he says.

6 Yes, there is a time and a way for everything, though man's trouble lies heavy upon him; for how can he avoid what he doesn't know is going to happen?

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8 No one can hold back his spirit from departing; no one has the power to prevent his day of death, for there is no discharge from that obligation and that dark battle. Certainly a man's wickedness is not going to help him then.

9 I have thought deeply about all that goes on here in the world, where people have the power of injuring each other.

10 I have seen wicked men buried, and as their friends returned from the cemetery, having forgotten all the dead man's evil deeds, these men were praised in the very city where they had committed their many crimes! How odd!

11 Because God does not punish sinners instantly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.

12 But though a man sins a hundred times and still lives, I know very well that those who fear God will be better off,

13 unlike the wicked, who will not live long, good lives--their days shall pass away as quickly as shadows because they don't fear God.

14 There is a strange thing happening here upon the earth: Providence seems to treat some good men as though they were wicked, and some wicked men as though they were good. This is all very vexing and troublesome!

15 Then I decided to spend my time having fun because I felt that there was nothing better in all the earth than that a man should eat, drink, and be merry, with the hope that this happiness would stick with him in all the hard work that God gives to mankind everywhere.

16 In my search for wisdom I observed all that was going on everywhere across the earth--ceaseless activity, day and night. (Of course, only God can see everything, and even the wisest man who says he knows everything, doesn't!)

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1 This, too, I carefully explored--that godly and wise men are in God's will; no one knows whether he will favor them or not. All is chance!

2 The same providence confronts everyone, whether good or bad, religious or irreligious, profane or godly. It seems so unfair that one fate comes to all.

3 That is why men are not more careful to be good but instead choose their own mad course, for they have no hope--there is nothing but death ahead anyway.

4 There is hope only for the living. "It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion!"

5 For the living at least know that they will die! But the dead know nothing; they don't even have their memories.

6 Whatever they did in their lifetimes--loving, hating, envying--is long gone, and they have no part in anything here on earth any more.

7 So go ahead, eat, drink, and be merry, for it makes no difference to God!

8 Wear fine clothes--with a dash of cologne!

9 Live happily with the woman you love through the fleeting days of life, for the wife God gives you is your best reward down here for all your earthly toil.

10 Whatever you do, do well, for in death, where you are going, there is no working or planning, or knowing, or understanding.

11 Again I looked throughout the earth and saw that the swiftest person does not always win the race, nor the strongest man the battle, and that wise men are often poor, and skillful men are not necessarily famous; but it is all by chance, by happening to be at the right place at the right time.

12 A man never knows when he is going to run into bad luck. He is like a fish caught in a net, or a bird caught in a snare.

13 Here is another thing that has made a deep impression on me as I have watched human affairs:

14 There was a small city with only a few people living in it, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.

15 There was in the city a wise man, very poor, and he knew what to do to save the city, and so it was rescued. But afterwards no one thought any more about him.

16 Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, nevertheless, if the wise man is poor, he will be despised, and what he says will not be appreciated.

17 But even so, the quiet words of a wise man are better than the shout of a king of fools.

18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one rotten apple can spoil a barrelful.

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1 Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, a small mistake can outweigh much wisdom and honor.

2 A wise man's heart leads him to do right, and a fool's heart leads him to do evil.

3 You can identify a fool just by the way he walks down the street!

4 If the boss is angry with you, don't quit! A quiet spirit will quiet his bad temper.

5 There is another evil I have seen as I have watched the world go by, a sad situation concerning kings and rulers:

6 For I have seen foolish men given great authority and rich men not given their rightful place of dignity!

7 I have even seen servants riding, while princes walk like servants!

8 Dig a well--and fall into it! Demolish an old wall--and be bitten by a snake! When working in a quarry, stones will fall and crush you! There is risk in each stroke of your axe!

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10 A dull axe requires great strength; be wise and sharpen the blade.

11 When the horse is stolen, it is too late to lock the barn.

12 It is pleasant to listen to wise words, but a fool's speech brings him to ruin. Since he begins with a foolish premise, his conclusion is sheer madness.

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14 A fool knows all about the future and tells everyone in detail! But who can really know what is going to happen?

15 A fool is so upset by a little work that he has no strength for the simplest matter.

16 Woe to the land whose king is a child and whose leaders are already drunk in the morning. Happy the land whose king is a nobleman and whose leaders work hard before they feast and drink, and then only to strengthen themselves for the tasks ahead!

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18 Laziness lets the roof leak, and soon the rafters begin to rot.

19 A party gives laughter, and wine gives happiness, and money gives everything!

20 Never curse the king, not even in your thoughts, nor the rich man, either; for a little bird will tell them what you've said.

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1 Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later.

2 Divide your gifts among many, for in the days ahead you yourself may need much help.

3 When the clouds are heavy, the rains come down; when a tree falls, whether south or north, the die is cast, for there it lies.

4 If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.

5 God's ways are as mysterious as the pathway of the wind and as the manner in which a human spirit is infused into the little body of a baby while it is yet in its mother's womb.

6 Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow--perhaps it all will.

7 It is a wonderful thing to be alive!

8 If a person lives to be very old, let him rejoice in every day of life, but let him also remember that eternity is far longer and that everything down here is futile in comparison.

9 Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it! Do all you want to; take in everything, but realize that you must account to God for everything you do.

10 So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it, can make serious mistakes.

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1 Don't let the excitement of being young cause you to forget about your Creator. Honor him in your youth before the evil years come--when you'll no longer enjoy living.

2 It will be too late then to try to remember him when the sun and light and moon and stars are dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among your clouds.

3 For there will come a time when your limbs will tremble with age, your strong legs will become weak, and your teeth will be too few to do their work, and there will be blindness too.

4 Then let your lips be tightly closed while eating when your teeth are gone! And you will waken at dawn with the first note of the birds; but you yourself will be deaf and tuneless, with quavering voice.

5 You will be afraid of heights and of falling--a white-haired, withered old man, dragging himself along: without sexual desire, standing at death's door, and nearing his everlasting home as the mourners go along the streets.

6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young--before the silver cord of life snaps and the gold bowl is broken; before the pitcher is broken at the fountain and the wheel is broken at the cistern;

7 then the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

8 All is futile, says the Preacher; utterly futile.

9 But then, because the Preacher was wise, he went on teaching the people all he knew; and he collected proverbs and classified them.

10 For the Preacher was not only a wise man but a good teacher; he not only taught what he knew to the people, but taught them in an interesting manner.

11 The wise man's words are like goads that spur to action. They nail down important truths. Students are wise who master what their teachers tell them.

12 But, my son, be warned: there is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting!

13 Here is my final conclusion: fear God and obey his commandments, for this is the entire duty of man.

14 For God will judge us for everything we do, including every hidden thing, good or bad.