Study Desk

People can work hard using all their wisdom and knowledge and skill. But they will die and other people will get the things they worked for. They did not do the work, but they will get everything. That makes me very sad. It is also not fair and is senseless.

There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.

There is a time to look for something and a time to consider it lost. There is a time to keep things and a time to throw things away.

There is a time to love and a time to hate. There is a time for war and a time for peace.

I learned that the best thing for people to do is to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live.

So I said to myself, "God has planned a time for everything, and he has planned a time to judge everything people do. He will judge good people and bad people."

I decided that it is better for those who have died than for those who are still alive.

And it is even better for those who die at birth, because they never saw the evil that is done in this world.

So don't let your words cause you to sin. Don't say to the priest, "I didn't mean what I said." If you do this, God might become angry with your words and destroy everything you have worked for.

There is a very sad thing that I have seen happen in this life. People save their money for the future.

I have seen what is best for people to do on earth: They should eat, drink, and enjoy the work they have during their short time here. God has given them these few days, and that is all they have.

Who knows what is best for people during their short life on earth? Their life passes like a shadow. No one can tell them what will happen later.

I cannot understand why things are as they are. It is too hard for anyone to understand.

I studied and I tried very hard to find true wisdom. I tried to find a reason for everything. I did learn that it is foolish to be evil, and it is crazy to act like a fool.

The Teacher says, "I added all this together to see what answer I could find. I am still looking for answers, but I did find this: I found one good man in a thousand. But I did not find even one good woman.

I saw all this. I thought very hard about the things that happen in this world. I saw that people always struggle for the power to rule others, and this is bad for them.

I also saw great and beautiful funerals for evil people. While the people were going home after the funeral services, they said good things about the evil people who had died. This happened even in the same towns where the evil people had done many bad things. This is senseless.

Sometimes people are not immediately punished for the bad things they do. Their punishment is slow to come, and that makes other people want to do bad things too.

There is hope for those who are still alive—it does not matter who they are. But this saying is true: A living dog is better than a dead lion.

It is very bad for a country if the king is like a child. And it is very bad for a country if its rulers use all their time eating.