Reflections of a Royal Philosopher; Life Is Useless; Everything Is Meaningless; The futility of all endeavour

1 The following are the words of the leader,[fn] David’s son, king in Yerushalem (Jerusalem):

2 “Totally pointless,” says the leader.

“≈A complete waste of time. Everything’s worthless.”

3 What profit does humanity gain from all ≈their hard work in this world?

4 ≈Generations come, and generations go,

≈but the world just carries on going.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets,

then ≈rushes around to its place, rising there again.

6 Going to the south then around to the north,

the wind is going, changing, turning,

then *it’s returning on its rounds.

7 All the rivers ≈flow into the sea ≈but it never gets full.

The place that the rivers are going to, they ≈end up going there again.

8 Everything is wearisome—≈not even worth talking about.

The #eyes ≈never stop seeing,

and &your #ears ≈never fill up with everything they hear.

9 Whatever that was in the past, it will be in the future,

and ≈everything that’s happened before, will happen again.

There’s nothing new ≈in this world.[fn].

10 If someone says, “Look at this—it’s new,”

well, it was already done ≈long ago before we even got here.

11 ≈Things that happened in the past get forgotten,

and ≈the same will also happen for future events.

≈People in the future will be exactly the same.

12 I, the leader, was king over Yisrael in Yerushalem.

13 I ≈used my mind and wisdom to discover and to explore everything that is done ≈in this world.

It’s a difficult job that God has given humanity to be busy with.

14 I saw all the deeds that are done ≈in this world,

and look—everything’s pointless like chasing after the wind.

15 Something that’s bent can’t be straightened again,

≈and what’s missing can’t be counted.

16 I spoke with ≈sincerity, saying, “Look at me—I’ve become ≈powerful,

and I’ve ≈increased in wisdom relative to everyone who ruled before me here in Yerushalem.[ref]

≈My mind has acquired much knowledge and wisdom.”

17 I ≈made it my aim to discover knowledge and wisdom versus madness and folly.

I was aware that that also is chasing after the wind

18 because ≈having much wisdom leads to much frustration

≈and anyone who’s adding knowledge is also adding pain.

The Futility of Pleasure; Pleasures Are Meaningless; The Futility of Self-Indulgence

2 I said ≈to myself,

“Come on, let me ≈find out what’s good and enjoy the pleasure from them.”

But look, it was also pointless.

2 To laughter, I said, “It’s madness,”

≈and to joy, “What’s ≈the point of this?”

3 I explored in myself how to ≈indulge my body with wine, but my ≈mind was guiding me in wisdom.

≈Also, how to grasp foolishness

until I could see whether that’s better for humanity to do ≈while they live out their lives here on this earth.

4 I expanded my ≈program of works.

I built houses for myself.

I planted vineyards for myself.[ref]

5 I made gardens for myself, and royal parks,

and I planted ≈all different kinds of fruit trees in them.

6 I constructed pools for myself

to ≈irrigate a forest of growing trees.

7 I acquired male and female servants,

and ≈the children born to them belonged to me.

Also ≈a large number of sheep and cattle belonged to me—

more than all ≈my predecessors in Yerushalem.[ref]

8 I also accumulated gold and silver for myself,

and treasure from kings and from the provinces.

I appointed male and female singers for myself,

and the pleasures of the sons of humanity—≈many women.[ref]

9 ≈So I became famous,

and I added more than all who ≈preceded me in Yerushalem.

Also my wisdom stayed with me.[ref]

10 ≈Everything my eyes wanted, I ^gave them.

I didn’t ≈hold back from ≈anything that would make me happy,

because ≈I was happy inside from all my work

and that was my reward from all my effort.

11 And I turned, I, to all ≈the things that I’d made

and to the work that I’d done,

and look, everything was pointless and chasing after the wind,

and there wasn’t any profit ≈in anything done in this world.

The Wise and the Foolish; Wisdom and Joy Given to One Who Pleases God; Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless

12 Then I ≈changed direction to investigate wisdom and madness and folly,

because what could ≈any future king do that hasn’t already been done?

13 I saw that wisdom ≈is to be preferred over folly,

just as light ≈is to be preferred over darkness.

14 ≈The wise person uses their eyes,

≈but the fool walks in the darkness,

and even I know that ≈the same fate comes to both of them.

15 I said ≈to myself, “≈The fool’s end will also come to me,

≈so what use was it being so wise back then?”

Then I ≈told myself that that also is pointless,

16 because ≈neither the wise person nor the fool will be remembered forever,

≈as they’ll both be forgotten in the days to come—

and how strange it is that the wise die ≈just like the fool!

The Futility of Work; Toil Is Meaningless

17 Then I hated life because of the misfortune around me—

the work that was done ≈in this world,

because everything was pointless and chasing after the wind.

18 Then I hated all the work that I’d done ≈in this world

that will get left to those who follow me after I go.

19 And who knows whether @my successor will be wise or a fool?

He’ll have authority over all my ≈projects that I ≈worked hard on

and which I’ve ≈applied wisdom to in this world.

That also was pointless.

20 Then I ≈changed to despairing over all the ≈projects in this world that I’d worked hard on,

21 because there #are people whose work is in wisdom and knowledge, and in skill.

≈However, then a person who hasn’t worked on it, will ≈gain it as their inheritance.

That also is pointless and a great misfortune

22 because what does a person get in exchange for all their work and ≈their goals in life that they work towards in this world?

23 Because all his days are painful, and anger is his business—

even in the night, his ≈mind doesn’t rest.

That also is pointless.[ref]

24 There’s nothing better for humanity other than eating and drinking,

and ≈genuinely enjoying their hard work.

Also I saw that that comes from God[ref]

25 because who could eat and enjoy life apart from him?

26 ≈Yes, he gives wisdom and knowledge and happiness to ≈people who are good in his sight.

But to the sinner, he gives the job of gathering and collecting to give to the one who’s good ≈in God’s sight.

That also is pointless and chasing after the wind.[ref]

3 There’s an appointed time for everything,

and an appropriate time for every activity ≈in this world:

2 A time to give birth and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to pull out what was planted.

3 A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to mourn and a time to dance.

5 A time to throw stones and a time to pick up stones.

A time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing.

6 A time to search and a time to lose.

A time to keep and a time to toss out.

7 A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be silent and a time to speak up.

8 A time to love and a time to hate.

A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What ≈do people gain from all the work they do?

10 I’ve seen the task that God has given people to ≈keep them occupied.

11 @God makes everything ≈happen at the appropriate time.

Also, he puts the awareness of eternity into ≈the human mind,

yet humanity can’t grasp ≈what God has done from the beginning to the end.

12 I know that there’s nothing better for them

than being cheerful and doing good during #their lives

13 and everyone should eat and drink and see good in ≈everything they do—

that’s a gift from God.

14 I know that everything God does will be enduring.

There’s nothing that needs to be added to it, or taken away,

and God has ≈done it like that so that people will respect and want to obey him.

15 Whatever there is, it already was,

and whatever is to be, it already is,

and God will ≈watch whatever’s being worked on.

16 Then again I saw ≈in this world at the place of judgement, there was wickedness,

and at the place of righteousness, there was wickedness.

17 I said ≈to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked,

because there’s a time for every matter, and ≈for every action to be judged.”

18 I said ≈to myself, “God tests humanity

so they can see that they themselves are like animals

19 because the ≈same one thing happens to both people and animals:

≈just like one dies, so does the other—they both have the same breath.

≈But people have no advantage over #animals—everything is pointless.

20 Both go to ≈the same place—

both came from the dust and both return to the dust.

21 Who can know that a ≈person’s spirit is the one going up—upwards,

and the animal’s spirit is the one going down—downwards to the earth?

22 Then I saw that there is nothing better than that ≈people would enjoy their work,

because ≈that’s their assignment.

≈Yes, who can ≈see what will happen to them after they die?

Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness

4 Then I turned and I saw all the oppression ≈around the world,

and, look, see the tears of the oppressed

≈but there was ≈no one to comfort them.

≈The oppressors exerted their power against them,

≈but there was no one to comfort the oppressed.

2 So I praised those who were dead—who’ve already died,

more than the living—those who are still alive.

3 ≈But better than both of them, is the one who hasn’t yet lived—

who hasn’t seen the evil things that are being done ≈in this world.

4 Then I ≈noticed all the skills used and the work that gets done,

but also ≡saw that it ≈raised the envy of others.

That is also pointless and chasing after the wind.

5 The fool folds his hands together instead of working

and ends up ≈ruining himself.

6 A ≈small handful of quietness is better

than ≈two very full handfuls of work and chasing after the wind.

The Advantages of Companionship

7 Then I turned and I saw a pointless thing ≈in this world:

8 ≈Sometimes there’s a person living alone without a child or a relative, who works hard without stopping.

≈However, wealth doesn’t satisfy them because they wonder why they’re working so hard and not sitting down to enjoy their good things.

That also is pointless, and it’s an unpleasant business.

The Value of a Friend

9 Two >people are better than one.

because ≈their working together can give a better result.

10 ≈Yes, if they fall, one >person can help his companion up,

≈but it wouldn’t end so well if one >person falls alone

and there’s no second >person to ≈help them.

11 Similarly, if two >people lie down together, they can help each other stay warm,

≈but how can one >person stay warm by themself?

12 And even if one >person would be easily overpowered,

two people could stand against @an attacker.

A three-stranded rope can’t be ≈easily broken.

Advancement Is Meaningless; The Futility of Political Power

13 A poor but wise youth is better off

than an old but foolish king who ≈can’t accept advice,

14 because ≈coming from a family who’d spent time in prison, he ≈made it to become king—yet even in his kingdom he was born poor.

15 I saw all those walking around ≈in this world with the next child who will ?≈rule after him—

16 there was no end to all the people ?≈who’ve ruled before them.

Even the ones who ?≈follow him won’t speak kindly about him,

because even that is pointless and chasing after the wind.

5 ≈Watch your step when you go to God’s house.

≈Going in to listen is better than fools who offer #sacrifices,

because they don’t ≈realise that what they’re doing there is evil.

2 Don’t ≈speak out too quickly,

and don’t let your ≈emotions rush to make you request something from God,

because God is in the heavens,

but you’re on the earth, so let your words be few.

3 A dream ≈can lead to a lot of panic,

and a fool’s voice brings many words.

4 When you ≈promise something to God,

don’t ≈put off doing what you promised

because ≈no one likes fools.

Whatever you promise, do it![ref]

5 It’s better not to make a promise

than to promise something and then not do it.

6 Don’t allow your mouth to cause your whole body to sin,

and don’t tell the temple messenger that it was an unintentional sin.

Why ≈make God angry by what you say

and destroy the good ≈things that you’ve done?

7 ≈Yes, there’s many dreams and pointless things and many words—

just ≈respect and strive to obey God.

8 If you see the extortion of the poor

and the ≈perversion of justice and righteousness in the #provinces,

don’t be amazed about it because a high official is watching over another official,

and higher ones are watching over them.

9 ?≈Land is an advantage for everyone—the king gets served from the countryside.

10 A person who loves ≈money won’t be satisfied with *it,

and whoever loves wealth ≡won’t be satisfied with their income.

That’s also pointless.

11 When material goods increase, people’s consumption increases,

and what advantage does the owner get ≈other than just feeding his eyes?

12 The labourer has a pleasant sleep, whether they’ve had a lot to eat or just a little,

^≈but the ≈many investments of the rich person don’t permit them to sleep.

13 There’s a ≈sad contradiction that I’ve seen ≈in this world:

wealth ≈hoarded up by its ≈owner, but working to destroy him.

14 Then that wealth ≈was lost in a failed investment

and although he ≈had a son, he had nothing left ≈to live on.

15 ≈He was naked when he was born and he’ll be naked when he goes again,

and ≈despite all his hard work, he won’t be able to take any ≈money with him.[ref]

16 This is also a sickening misfortune:

He will leave this world just like he entered it,

and what profit belongs to him who will work hard for the wind?

17 What’s more, all his ≈life he’ll eat in darkness,

and in a lot of distress, as well as sickness and anger.

18 Listen, this is what I myself have discovered to be good:

It’s good for a person to eat and drink

and to see benefit in all the hard work that they’ll do ≈in this world

during the number of the days of their life that God has given @that person,

because that’s their allocation in life.

19 Also, each person who’s been given wealth and possessions by God and has been empowered

to eat from it

and to accept their allocation in life

and to enjoy their hard work:

that’s a gift from God.

20 Those people don’t retain a memory of each day that passed

because God keeps them full of internal happiness.

The Frustration of Desires

6 There’s a problem ≈in this world

and it ≈troubles people:

2 God gives wealth and possessions and prestige to someone,

and @that person ≈has access to everything they want,

but God doesn’t ≈allow them to enjoy it—

instead a foreigner will ≈get to enjoy it.

That’s totally pointless, and it’s ≈senseless and unfair.

3 If a man should father a hundred children

and live many years however ≈long his life might be,

but ≈he’s not satisfied in himself by his prosperity

and ≈he doesn’t have anywhere to be buried,

≈then I’d say that a stillborn child would have been better off than him,

4 because @that child came for no reason

and it went in darkness, and its name will be covered in darkness.

5 It didn’t even see the sun or know about it.

It’ll rest easier than that man will.

6 Even if @that man lived a thousand years twice over,

but ≈never saw good in anything,

aren’t they both going to ≈the same place?

7 All of humanity’s work is for their mouth,

≈but the inner cravings are never fulfilled.

8 ≈So what advantage does a wise >person have over a fool?

≡What advantage does a poor >person’s ≈knowledge give them over others?

9 ≈It’s better to enjoy what’s right there than to feed the imagination.

That’s also pointless and chasing after the wind.

The Future—Determined and Unknown

10 Everything that existed has already been named.

It’s known what humankind is

and that @humans can’t dispute with the one who’s stronger than them.

11 ≈Yes, many words just become more pointless.

What advantage is that to anyone?

12 Who knows what’s good for a person

for those pointless days that he/she lives?

The days pass by like a shadow

but who can tell anyone what will happen to them next ≈in this world?

7 A good reputation is better than expensive perfume,[ref]

and the day you die is more important than the day of your birth.

2 It’s better to go to a house where there’s mourning than to a house where there’s a party,

because death is the end of each person,

and those still alive should consider this in their hearts.

3 Laughter is better than grief

because a ≈serious face means that the mind is working.

4 Wise people ≈do their thinking at a funeral,

≈whereas foolish people prefer to spend time at a party.

5 It’s better to accept a rebuke from a wise person

than to listen to the songs from foolish people,

6 because the laughter of a fool

is like the crackling of burning thorn twigs under a cooking pot—

that’s also pointless.

7 Oppression drives a wise person insane,

and a bribe destroys a ≈person’s morals.

8 ≈Finishing something is better than starting it,

and ≈being patient is better than being proud.

9 Don’t be quick to get angry,[ref]

because anger ≈belongs in a fool’s toolbox.

10 Don’t ≈ask, “What was it about the old days that were better than these?”

because ≈that question doesn’t display wisdom.

11 Wisdom is good when you get an inheritance,

and it’s an advantage to ?≈those doing well.

12 Wisdom can protect us just like ≈money can,

≈but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

13 Look at God’s work:

who can straighten what he’s made crooked?

14 Be happy on a good day,

≈but on a day of problems, consider this:

God ≈caused one, as well as the other—

humanity can’t discover ≈what’s going to come next.

The Limits of Human Wisdom; The Riddles of Life

15 I’ve seen everything in my days of pointlessness:

There’s ≈godly people ≈dying despite doing everything right,

and there are wicked people ≈living long lives doing evil.

16 Don’t be highly righteous or overly wise—

Why go to the trouble of destroying yourself?

17 Don’t be very wicked and don’t be a fool—

why should you die when it’s not your time?

18 It’s good to take hold of @wisdom and don’t rest from @doing what is right,

because the godly person should continue with both of them.

19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise—

more than the ten most powerful men in the city.

20 ≈But yes, there’s no person on the earth who’s truly good,

only doing what is right and never disobeying.

21 Don’t give your attention to everything that people say,

otherwise you might hear your servant ≈speaking against you,

22 because you know how often you’ve belittled others yourself.

23 I tested all of that with wisdom.

I said, “Let me be wise,” but it ≈eluded me.

24 ≈It seemed far away

and deeper down than anyone can find.

25 I ≈changed my mind’s direction to try to learn and explore—

to search for wisdom and ≈to understand how things work,

and to ≈understand the foolishness of wickedness and how that leads to madness.

26 I ≈learnt that a woman who ≈takes advantage of you ≈leads to more bitterness than death would be—

her heart is like a net and her hands become chains.

Any person that’s good in God’s ≈eyes would escape from her,

≈but an ungodly person would end up captured by her.

27 The leader has discovered that—

adding one thing to another to try to find ≈an explanation for everything.

28 I continually ≈tried to learn more, but I didn’t find it.

I found one special man out of a thousand

but I couldn’t find one such woman out of all of them.

29 This is the only ≈conclusion I came to:

God made humankind to ≈do good, but instead they’ve come up with many other kinds of schemes.

Obey the King and Enjoy Yourself

8 Who’s like the wise person and ≈understands what’s going on?

A person’s wisdom ≈makes their face lighten up

and ≈gives their face a certain firmness.

Obey the King; Obedience to the King

2 Follow the king’s orders

because of your promise to God.

3 Don’t rush away from the king’s presence

or take a stand on an evil matter

because whatever he wants to do, he’ll do.

4 A king’s word is authoritative—

who’ll ask him what he thinks he’s doing?

5 Those who follow commands will ≈stay out of trouble,

and a wise person will know ≈the right time and place for something

6 because there’s a time and a ≈right way to do everything,

≈otherwise humanity’s misery will be severe.

7 No one knows ≈what the future will bring

≈so no one can tell you ≈what will happen next.

8 Just as no person has control over the wind to be able to restrain it,

nor does anyone have authority over the day of &their death.

Just as no one can be discharged in the middle of a war,

nor can being wicked rescue you from your situation.

The Wicked and the Righteous

9 I saw all that and applied my mind to ≈everything that happens in this world.

≡I saw that sometimes a person can dominate ≈someone else to that person’s detriment.

God’s Ways Are Inscrutable

10 I’ve seen wicked >people being buried—

being carried out from a sacred place,

and what they’d done there in the city was just forgotten.

That’s also pointless.

11 When an evil activity isn’t quickly condemned,

then humanity will become totally determined to do evil.

12 Even if ≈an ungodly person does some evil thing a hundred times over and goes on to live a long time,

I know that things will go better ≈for those who respect and obey God.

13 It won’t go well for the wicked and what they do ≈won’t help them live longer

because they’ve shown no respect for God’s presence.

14 There’s something else strange that happens in this world:

when bad things happen to godly people

and when good things happen to evil people.

That’s also hard to understand.

15 Then I recommended enjoyment

because there’s nothing better for a person ≈in this world than to eat and drink and be cheery,

then @that attitude will be with them as they work

during the days of their life that God gives them ≈in this world.

16 So when I ≈set my mind on gaining wisdom

and observing all the business done on this earth,

because day and night there’s someone not sleeping,

17 and I saw everything that God does—

realising that humanity can’t discover everything that’s done ≈in this world—

they’ll try to discover it but fail.

Even if a wise person claimed to know,

they wouldn’t be able to discover it.

Death Comes to All; Take Life as It Comes; A Common Destiny for All

9 ≈Indeed I set my mind to examine all this

and concluded that godly and wise people and their work is in God’s hands.

Being loved or being hated, humankind doesn’t know what’s ahead of them.

2 We all have the same fate whether godly or wicked,

or good or pure or impure,

whether you sacrifice or not,

or you’re good or disobedient,

or you make a promise or you’re ≈the subject of a promise.

3 There’s evil in everything that’s done ≈in this world:

that same ≈final event for everyone.

Yes, humankind’s minds are full of evil and madness during their lifetimes,

and after that they join the dead.

4 ≈Anyone who’s joined to the living has hope,

because a dog that’s alive is better than a lion that’s dead,

5 because the living know that we’ll die

≈but the dead don’t know anything

and have no further reward because their memory is forgotten.

6 Their love and hatred and their envy will have already perished,

and they no longer have a part in everything that’s done ≈in this world.

7 So go and enjoy eating your food and drinking your wine

because God has already approved ≈what you’ve been doing.

8 Always let your clothes be clean and white,

and don’t ≈spare the use of lotion on your head.

9 Live together with the wife that you love

for all the length of your pointless life that you’re given ≈in this world,

because that’s your allocation in your life

and in the work that you’re doing ≈in this world.

10 Everything that you find to do, do it ≈well,

because in ≈the grave where you’ll be going,

there’s no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

11 I again saw ≈in this world

that the fastest >ones don’t always win the race,

the most powerful >side doesn’t always win the war,

wise >people don’t always have enough to eat,

intelligent >people don’t always get wealthy,

and people with understanding don’t always win favour,

because chance and timing affects them all.

12 ≈You see, humanity doesn’t know ≈when their time is about to be up:

just like a fish getting caught in a deadly net,

or birds that get caught in a trap,

so too people can get caught out when trouble suddenly hits them.