I said in my heart, ‘God shall judge the Righteous and the Wicked:
there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.’ And moreover
I saw under the Sun, the place of Judgment, that Wickedness was
there; and the place of Righteousness, that iniquity was there. All go
unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who
knows the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast
that goes downward to the Earth? Wherefore I perceive that there is
nothing better, than that a Man should rejoice in his own works; for
that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall come
after him? So I, King Solomon returned, and considered the oppressions
that are done under the Sun: and behold, the tears of such as
were oppressed, they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors,
there was power; but they had no comforter.
Keep your foot when you go to the House of God, and be more ready
to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that
they do evil. Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be
hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in Heaven and you
upon Earth. Therefore let your words be few; because a dream comes
through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by the
multitude of words. Suffer not your mouth to cause your flesh to sin;
neither say before the Angel, that it was an error: wherefore should
God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?
When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what
good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them
with their eyes? As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall
he return to go, as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour,
which he may carry away in his hands.
Yea, though he lives a thousand years twice told, yet has he seen no
good: do not all go to one place? All the labour of a Man is for his
mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For what has the wise more
than the fool? What has the poor, that knows to walk before the living?
For who knows what is good for a Man in this life; the days of his
vain life which he spends as a shadow? For who can tell a Man what
shall be after him under the Sun? All things have I seen in the days
of my vanity: There is a Just Man that perishes in his righteousness,
and there is a Wicked Man that prolonged his life in his wickedness.
Therefore, be not overly righteous; neither make your self overly wise:
why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be
foolish: why should you die before your time? Wisdom strengthens
the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better
off than a dead lion! For the living know that they will die, but
the dead, know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the
memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy
have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything
that happens under the Sun. Go, eat your food with gladness,
and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors
what you do. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days
of this life that God has given you under the Sun. For this is your lot
in life, and in your toilsome labor under the Sun. Whatever your hand
finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are
going, there is neither working or planning, nor knowledge or wisdom.
So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better
for a Man under the Sun, than to eat, drink and be glad. Then joy will
accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him
under the Sun.