a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.
So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?
Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.
And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.
There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.
When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.
Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.
But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.
Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt,
and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand.
This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind?
a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.
If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?
A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.
It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.
Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.
Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found.
Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way.
For there is a time and a way for everything, although man's trouble lies heavy on him.
Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him.
But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.
But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.
For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
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