To the place [from] which they flow
The streams flow back again.d
8All such things are wearisome:
No man can ever state them;
The eye never has enough of seeing,
Nor the ear enough of hearing.
9Only that shall happen
Which has happened,
Only that occur
Which has occurred;
There is nothing new
Beneath the sun!
10Sometimes there is a phenomenon of which they say, “Look, this one is new!”— it occurred long since, in ages that went by before us. 11The earlier ones are not remembered; so too those that will occur later e-will no more be remembered than-e those that will occur at the very end.
12I, Koheleth, was king in Jerusalem over Israel. 13I set my mind to study and to probe with wisdom all that happens under the sun.— An unhappy business, that, which God gave men to be concerned with! 14I observed all the happenings beneath the sun, and I found that all is futile and pursuitf of wind:
15A twisted thing that cannot be made straight,
A lack that cannot be made good.
16I said to myself: “Here I have grown richer and wiser than any that ruled before me over Jerusalem, and my mind has zealously absorbed wisdom and learning.” 17And so I set my mind to appraise wisdom and to appraise madness and folly. And I learned—that this too was pursuit of wind:
18For as wisdom grows, vexation grows;
To increase learning is to increase heartache.
2 I said to myself, “Come, I will treat you to merriment. Taste mirth!” That too, I found, was futile.
2Of revelry I said, “It’s mad!”
Of merriment, “What good is that?”
3I ventured to tempt my flesh with wine, and to grasp folly, while letting my mind direct with wisdom, to the end that I might learn which of the two was better for men to practice in their few days of life under heaven. 4I multiplied my possessions. I built myself houses and I planted vineyards. 5I laid out gardens and groves, in which I planted every kind of fruit tree. 6I constructed pools of water, enough to irrigate a forest shooting up with trees. 7I bought male and female slaves, and I acquired stewards. I also acquired more cattle, both herds and flocks, than all who were before me in Jerusalem. 8I further amassed silver and gold and treasures of kings and provinces; and I got myself male and female singers, as well as the luxuries of commoners—coffersa and coffers of them. 9Thus, I gained more wealth than anyone before me in Jerusalem. In addition, my wisdom remained with me: 10I withheld from my eyes nothing they asked for, and denied myself no enjoyment; rather, I got enjoyment out ofb all my wealth. And that was all I got out of my wealth.
11Then my thoughts turned to all the fortune my hands had built up, to the wealth I had acquired and won—and oh, it was all futile and pursuit of wind; there was no real value under the sun! 12cFor what will the man be like who will succeed d-the one who is ruling-d over what was built up long ago?
My thoughts also turned to appraising wisdom and madness and folly. 13I found that
Wisdom is superior to folly
As light is superior to darkness;
14A wise man has his eyes in his head,
Whereas a fool walks in darkness.
But I also realized that the same fate awaits them both. 15So I reflected: “The fate of the fool is also destined for me; to what advantage, then, have I been wise?” And I came to the conclusion that that too was futile, 16because the wise man, just likee the fool, is not remembered forever; for, as the succeeding days roll by, both are forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies, just likee the fool!
17And so I loathed life. For I was distressed by all that goes on under the sun, because everything is futile and pursuit of wind.
18So, too, I loathed all the wealth that I was gaining under the sun. For I shall leave it to the man who will succeed me—19and who knows whether he will be wise or foolish?— and he will control all the wealth that I gained by toil and wisdom under the sun. That too is futile. 20And so I came to view with despair all the gains I had made under the sun. 21For sometimes a person whose fortune was made with wisdom, knowledge, and skill must hand it on to be the portion of somebody who did not toil for it. That too is futile, and a grave evil. 22For what does a man get for all the toiling and worrying he does under the sun? 23All his days his thoughts are grief and heartache, and even at night his mind has no respite. That too is futile!
24There is nothing worthwhile for a man but to eat and drink and afford himself enjoyment with his means. And even that, I noted, comes from God. 25For who eats and who enjoys but myself?f 26To the man, namely, who pleases Him He has given g-the wisdom and shrewdness to enjoy himself;-g and to him who displeases, He has given the urge to gather and amass—only for handing on to one who is pleasing to God. That too is futile and pursuit of wind.
3
A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven:a
2A time for b-being born-b and a time for dying,
A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted;
3A time for c-slaying and a time for healing,-c
A time for tearing down and a time for building up;
4A time for weeping and a time for laughing,
A time for wailing and a time for dancing;
5A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces;
6A time for seeking and a time for losing,
A time for keeping and a time for discarding;
7A time for ripping and a time for sewing,
A time for silence and a time for speaking;
8A time for loving and a time for hating;
A time for war and a time for peace.
9What value, then, can the man of affairs get from what he earns? 10I have observed the business that God gave man to be concerned with: 11He brings everything to pass precisely at its time; He also puts eternity in their mind,d but without man ever guessing, from first to last, all the things that God brings to pass. 12Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for them is to enjoy themselves and do what is goode in their lifetime; 13also, that whenever a man does eat and drink and get enjoyment out of all his wealth, it is a gift of God.
14I realized, too, that whatever God has brought to pass will recur evermore:
Nothing can be added to it
And nothing taken from it—
and God has brought to pass that men revere Him.
15fWhat is occurring occurred long since,
And what is to occur occurred long since:
and God seeks the pursued. 16And, indeed, I have observed under the sun:
Alongside justice there is wickedness,
Alongside righteousness there is wickedness.
17I mused: “God will doom both righteous and wicked, for g-there is-g a time for every experience and for every happening.” 18fSo I decided, as regards men, to dissociate them [from] the divine beings and to face the fact that they are beasts.h 19For in respect of the fate of man and the fate of beast, they have one and the same fate: as the one dies so dies the other, and both have the same lifebreath; man has no superiority over beast, since both amount to nothing. 20Both go to the same place; both came from dust and both return to dust. 21Who knows if a man’s lifebreath does rise upward and if a beast’s breath does sink down into the earth?
22I saw that there is nothing better for man than to enjoy his possessions, since that is his portion. For who can enable him to see what will happen afterward?
4 I further observeda all the oppression that goes on under the sun: the tears of the oppressed, with none to comfort them; and the power of their oppressors—with none to comfort them. 2Then I accounted those who died long since more fortunate than those who are still living; 3and happier than either are those who have not yet come into being and have never witnessed the miseries that go on under the sun.
4I have also noted that all labor and skillful enterprise come from men’s envy of each other—another futility and pursuit of wind!
5[True,]
The fool folds his hands togetherb
And has to eat his own flesh.
6[But no less truly,]
Better is a handful of gratification
Than two fistfuls of labor which is pursuit of wind.
7And I have noted this further futility under the sun: 8the case of the man who is alone, with no companion, who has neither son nor brother; yet he amasses wealth without limit, and his eye is never sated with riches. For whom, now, c-is he amassing it while denying himself-c enjoyment? That too is a futility and an unhappy business.
9dTwo are better off than one, in that they have greater e-benefit from-e their earnings. 10For should they fall, one can raise the other; but woe betide him who is alone and falls with no companion to raise him! 11Further, when two lie together they are warm; but how can he who is alone get warm? 12Also, if one attacks, two can stand up to him. A three-fold cord is not readily broken!
13Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer has the sense to heed warnings. 14For the former can emerge
