^1–26I looked long and hard at what goes on around here, and let me tell you, things are bad. And people feel it. There are people, for instance, on whom God showers everything—money, property, reputation—all they ever wanted or dreamed of. And then God doesn’t let them enjoy it. Some stranger comes along and has all the fun. It’s more of what I’m calling smoke. A bad business.

^3–5Say a couple have scores of children and live a long, long life but never enjoy themselves—even though they end up with a big funeral! I’d say that a stillborn baby gets the better deal. It gets its start in a mist and ends up in the dark—unnamed. It sees nothing and knows nothing, but is better off by far than anyone living.

⁶Even if someone lived a thousand years—make it two thousand!—but didn’t enjoy anything, what’s the point? Doesn’t everyone end up in the same place?

⁷We work to feed our appetites;

Meanwhile our souls go hungry.

^8–9So what advantage has a sage over a fool, or over some poor wretch who barely gets by? Just grab whatever you can while you can; don’t assume something better might turn up by and by. All it amounts to anyway is smoke. And spitting into the wind.

¹⁰Whatever happens, happens. Its destiny is fixed.

You can’t argue with fate.

^11–12The more words that are spoken, the more smoke there is in the air. And who is any better off? And who knows what’s best for us as we live out our meager smoke-and-shadow lives? And who can tell any of us the next chapter of our lives?

Don’t Take Anything for Granted

¹7A good reputation is better than a fat bank account.

Your death date tells more than your birth date.

²You learn more at a funeral than at a feast—

After all, that’s where we’ll end up. We might discover something from it.

³Crying is better than laughing.

It blotches the face but it scours the heart.

⁴Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving.

Fools waste their lives in fun and games.

⁵You’ll get more from the rebuke of a sage

Than from the song and dance of fools.

⁶The giggles of fools are like the crackling of twigs

Under the cooking pot. And like smoke.

⁷Brutality stupefies even the wise

And destroys the strongest heart.

⁸Endings are better than beginnings.

Sticking to it is better than standing out.

⁹Don’t be quick to fly off the handle.

Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head.

¹⁰Don’t always be asking, “Where are the good old days?”

Wise folks don’t ask questions like that.

^11–12Wisdom is better when it’s paired with money,

Especially if you get both while you’re still living.

Double protection: wisdom and wealth!

Plus this bonus: Wisdom energizes its owner.

¹³Take a good look at God’s work.

Who could simplify and reduce Creation’s curves and angles

To a plain straight line?

¹⁴On a good day, enjoy yourself;

On a bad day, examine your conscience.

God arranges for both kinds of days

So that we won’t take anything for granted.

Stay in Touch with Both Sides

^15–17I’ve seen it all in my brief and pointless life—here a good person cut down in the middle of doing good, there a bad person living a long life of sheer evil. So don’t knock yourself out being good, and don’t go overboard being wise. Believe me, you won’t get anything out of it. But don’t press your luck by being bad, either. And don’t be reckless. Why die needlessly?

¹⁸It’s best to stay in touch with both sides of an issue. A person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality, not just a piece of it.

¹⁹Wisdom puts more strength in one wise person

Than ten strong men give to a city.

²⁰There’s not one totally good person on earth,

Not one who is truly pure and sinless.

^21–22Don’t eavesdrop on the conversation of others.

What if the gossip’s about you and you’d rather not hear it?

You’ve done that a few times, haven’t you—said things

Behind someone’s back you wouldn’t say to his face?

How to Interpret the Meaning of Life

^23–25I tested everything in my search for wisdom. I set out to be wise, but it was beyond me, far beyond me, and deep—oh so deep! Does anyone ever find it? I concentrated with all my might, studying and exploring and seeking wisdom—the meaning of life. I also wanted to identify evil and stupidity, foolishness and craziness.

^26–29One discovery: A woman can be a bitter pill to swallow, full of seductive scheming and grasping. The lucky escape her; the undiscerning get caught. At least this is my experience—what I, the Quester, have pieced together as I’ve tried to make sense of life. But the wisdom I’ve looked for I haven’t found. I didn’t find one man or woman in a thousand worth my while. Yet I did spot one ray of light in this murk: God made men and women true and upright; we’re the ones who’ve made a mess of things.

¹8There’s nothing better than being wise,

Knowing how to interpret the meaning of life.

Wisdom puts light in the eyes,

And gives gentleness to words and manners.

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