¹There is a tragedy that I have seen under the sun. It is a terrible one for mortals. ²God gives one person riches, wealth, and honor so that he doesn’t lack anything he wants. Yet, God doesn’t give him the power to enjoy any of them. Instead, a stranger enjoys them. This is pointless and is a painful tragedy.

³Suppose a rich person wasn’t satisfied with good things ⸤while he was alive⸥ and didn’t even get an honorable burial ⸤after he died⸥. Suppose he had a hundred children and lived for many years. No matter how long he would have lived, it ⸤still⸥ would have been better for him to have been born dead. ⁴A stillborn baby arrives in a pointless birth and goes out into the darkness. The darkness then hides its name. ⁵Though it has never seen the sun or known anything, the baby finds more rest than the rich person. ⁶Even if the rich person lives two thousand years without experiencing anything good—don’t we all go to the same place?

More Pointless Challenges

⁷Everything that people work so hard for goes into their mouths, but their appetite is never satisfied.

⁸What advantage does a wise person have over a fool? What advantage does a poor person have in knowing how to face life?

⁹It is better to look at what is in front of you than to go looking for what you want. Even this is pointless. ⸤It’s like⸥ trying to catch the wind.

¹⁰Whatever has happened ⸤in the past⸥ already has a name. Mortals are already known for what they are. Mortals cannot argue with the one who is stronger than they.

¹¹The more words there are, the more pointless they become. What advantage do mortals gain from this? ¹²Who knows what may be good for mortals while they are alive, during the brief, pointless days they live? Mortals pass by like a shadow. Who will tell them about their future under the sun?

7TH CHAPTER

Proverbs about Life

¹A good name is better than expensive perfume, and the day you die is better than the day you’re born. ²It is better to go to a funeral than to a banquet because that is where everyone will end up. Everyone who is alive should take this to heart! ³Sorrow is better than laughter because, in spite of a sad face, the heart can be joyful. ⁴The minds of wise people think about funerals, but the minds of fools think about banquets.

⁵It is better to listen to wise people who reprimand you than to fools who sing your praises. ⁶The laughter of a fool is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot. Even this is pointless.

⁷Oppression can turn a wise person into a fool, and a bribe can corrupt the mind.

⁸The end of something is better than its beginning. It is better to be patient than arrogant.

⁹Don’t be quick to get angry, because anger is typical of fools. ¹⁰Don’t ask, “Why were things better in the old days than they are now?” It isn’t wisdom that leads you to ask this!

Wisdom Gives Life

¹¹Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. It is an advantage to everyone who sees the sun. ¹²Wisdom protects us just as money protects us, but the advantage of wisdom is that it gives life to those who have it.

¹³Consider what God has done! Who can straighten what God has bent?

A Truth for Every Situation

¹⁴When times are good, be happy. But when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one time as well as the other so that mortals cannot predict their future.

Mortals Don’t Get What They Deserve

¹⁵I have seen it all in my pointless life:

Righteous people die in spite of being righteous.

Wicked people go on living in spite of being wicked.

¹⁶Don’t be too virtuous, and don’t be too wise. Why make yourself miserable? ¹⁷Don’t be too wicked, and don’t be a fool. Why should you die before your time is up? ¹⁸It’s good to hold on to the one and not let go of the other, because the one who fears God will be able to avoid both extremes.

The Advantages of Wisdom

¹⁹Wisdom will help a wise person more than ten rulers can help a city. ²⁰Certainly, there is no one so righteous on earth that he always does what is good and never sins.

²¹Don’t take everything that people say to heart, or you may hear your own servant cursing you. ²²Your conscience knows that you have cursed others many times.

²³I used wisdom to test all of this. I said, “I want to be wise, but it is out of my reach.” ²⁴Whatever wisdom may be, it is out of reach. It is deep, very deep. Who can find out what it is? ²⁵I turned my attention to study, to explore, and to seek out wisdom and the reason for things. I learned that wickedness is stupid and foolishness is madness.

²⁶I find that a woman whose thoughts are ⸤like⸥ traps and snares is more bitter than death itself. Even her hands are ⸤like⸥ chains. Whoever pleases God will escape her, but she will catch whoever continues to sin.

²⁷The spokesman said, “This is what I’ve found: I added one thing to another in order to find a reason for things. ²⁸I am still seeking a reason for things, but have not found any. I found one man out of a thousand who had it, but out of all these I didn’t find one woman. ²⁹I have found only this: God made people decent, but they looked for many ways ⸤to avoid being decent⸥.”

8TH CHAPTER

¹Who is really wise? Who knows how to explain things? Wisdom makes one’s face shine, and it changes one’s grim look.

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