Study Desk

So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.

Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!

So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.

God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.

I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

I also thought to myself, "It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.

For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.

So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?

So I again considered all the oppression that continually occurs on earth. This is what I saw: The oppressed were in tears, but no one was comforting them; no one delivers them from the power of their oppressors.

So I considered those who are dead and gone more fortunate than those who are still alive.

The fool folds his hands and does no work, so he has nothing to eat but his own flesh.

So I again considered another futile thing on earth:

Just as dreams come when there are many cares, so the rash vow of a fool occurs when there are many words.

Do not let your mouth cause you to sin, and do not tell the priest, "It was a mistake!" Why make God angry at you so that he would destroy the work of your hands?"

Just as there is futility in many dreams, so also in many words. Therefore, fear God!

When someone's prosperity increases, those who consume it also increase; so what does its owner gain, except that he gets to see it with his eyes?

This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor— instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.

So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?

For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns under a cooking pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This kind of folly also is useless.