Chronological Plan

¹The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

³What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

⁴A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

⁵The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it returns to the place where it rises.

⁶Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles.

⁷All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.

⁸All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.

⁹What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Can one say about anything, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them.

¹²I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

¹⁴I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said to myself, “See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁸For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.

¹I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile.

²I said about laughter, “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

³I explored with my mind the pull of wine on my body — my mind still guiding me with wisdom — and how to grasp folly, until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

⁴I increased my achievements. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.

⁵I made gardens and parks for myself and planted every kind of fruit tree in them.

⁶I constructed reservoirs for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees.

⁷I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house. I also owned livestock — large herds and flocks — more than all who were before me in Jerusalem.

⁸I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered male and female singers for myself, and many concubines, the delights of men.

⁹So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me.

¹⁰All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.

¹¹When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

¹²Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the king’s successor be like? He will do what has already been done.

¹³And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.

¹⁴The wise person has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.

¹⁵So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

¹⁶For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool?

¹⁷Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁸I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.

¹⁹And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

²⁰So I began to give myself over to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun.

²¹When there is a person whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a person who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.

²²For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

²³For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

²⁴There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,

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

²⁶For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven:

²a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot;

³a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build;

⁴a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;

⁵a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;

⁶a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away;

⁷a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak;

⁸a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹What does the worker gain from his struggles?

¹⁰I have seen the task that God has given the children of Adam to keep them occupied.

¹¹He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.

¹³It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.

¹⁴I know that everything God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of him.

¹⁵Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.

¹⁶I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.

¹⁷I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

¹⁸I said to myself, “This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”

¹⁹For the fate of the children of Adam and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile.

²⁰All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.

²¹Who knows if the spirits of the children of Adam go upward and the spirits of animals go downward to the earth?

²²I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

¹Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them.

²So I commended the dead, who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive.

³But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

⁴I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

⁵The fool folds his arms and consumes his own flesh.

⁶Better one handful with rest than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind.

⁷Again, I saw futility under the sun:

⁸There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “Who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself of good things?” This too is futile and a miserable task.

⁹Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.

¹⁰For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.

¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm?

¹²And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

¹³Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings.

¹⁴For he came from prison to be king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.

¹⁵I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow a second youth who succeeds him.

¹⁶There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to approach in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

²Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

³Just as dreams accompany much labor, so also a fool’s voice comes with many words.

⁴When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

⁵Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

⁶Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you, and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷For many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

⁸If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

⁹The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.

¹⁰The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

¹¹When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes?

¹²The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

¹³There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.

¹⁴That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed.

¹⁵As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.

¹⁶This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind?

¹⁷What is more, he eats in darkness all his days, with much frustration, sickness, and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen to be good: It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.

¹⁹Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God,

²⁰for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

¹Here is a tragedy I have observed under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity:

²God gives a person riches, wealth, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy.

³A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

⁴For he comes in futility and he goes in darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness.

⁵Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he.

⁶And if a person lives a thousand years twice, but does not experience happiness, do not both go to the same place?

⁷All of a person’s labor is for his stomach, yet the appetite is never satisfied.

⁸What advantage then does the wise person have over the fool? What advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others?

⁹Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁰Whatever exists was given its name long ago, and it is known what mankind is. But he is not able to contend with the one stronger than he.

¹¹For when there are many words, they increase futility. What is the advantage for mankind?

¹²For who knows what is good for anyone in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell anyone what will happen after him under the sun?