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the locusts, who have no king, yet they all march out in ranks;

and the spiders, which you can catch in your hand, yet they are in the king's palace.

All the rivers flow to the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers flow, there they keep on flowing.

yet when I applied myself to understanding wisdom and knowledge, as well as stupidity and folly, I came to see that this too was merely feeding on wind.

The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet the same fate awaits them all.

Who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the things I worked for and which demonstrated how wise I am under the sun. This too is pointless.

Here is a man whose work is done with wisdom, knowledge and skill; yet he has to leave it to someone who has put no work into it. This is not only pointless, but a great evil.

but happier than either of them is the one who has not yet been born, because he has not yet seen the evil things that are done under the sun.

True, he rose from prison to be king; yet, while ruling, he became poor.

The purpose of all toil is to fill the mouth, yet the appetite is never satisfied.

Better what the eyes can see than meandering desire. Yet this too is pointless and feeding on wind.

Yet another thing I observed under the sun is that races aren't won by the swift or battles by the strong, and that food doesn't go to the wise or wealth to the intelligent or favor to the experts; rather, time and chance rule them all.

Now there was found in it a man who was poor but wise, and by his wisdom he saved the city; yet afterwards, nobody remembered that poor man.

A fool keeps talking and talking, yet no one knows what the future will bring — can anyone tell a person what will happen after he's gone?

For if a person lives many years, let him take joy in them all; yet remembering that there will be many days of darkness, that all to come is futile.

when the doors to the streets are kept shut; when the noise from the grain-mill fades; when a person is startled by the chirp of a bird, yet their singing is hard to hear;

Yet the people do not turn to the one striking them, they don't seek Adonai -Tzva'ot.

lass="poetry"> The people living in darkness have seen a great light; upon those living in the land that lies in the shadow of death, light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice in your presence as if rejoicing at harvest time, the way men rejoice when dividing up the spoil. For the yoke that weighed them down, the bar across their shoulders, and their driver's goad you have broken as on the day of Midyan['s defeat]. For all the boots of soldiers marching and every cloak rolled in blood is destined for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on his shoulders, and he will be given the name Pele-Yo‘etz El Gibbor Avi-‘Ad Sar-Shalom [Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace], in order to extend the dominion and perpetuate the peace of the throne and kingdom of David, to secure it and sustain it through justice and righteousness henceforth and forever. The zeal of Adonai -Tzva'ot will accomplish this. Adonai sent a word to Ya‘akov, and it has fallen on Isra'el. All the people know it, Efrayim and the inhabitants of Shomron. But they say in pride, in the arrogance of their hearts, "The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with cut stone; the sycamore-fig trees have been chopped down, but we will replace them with cedars." So Adonai has raised up Retzin's foes against him and spurred on his enemies — Aram from the east, P'lishtim from the west; and they devour Isra'el with an open mouth. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens. Yet the people do not turn to the one striking them, they don't seek Adonai -Tzva'ot. Therefore Adonai will cut off Isra'el's head and tail, [tall] palm frond and [lowly] reed in a single day. The old and the honored are the head, while prophets teaching lies are the tail. For those leading this people lead them astray, and those led by them are destroyed. Therefore Adonai takes no joy in their young men and has no compassion on their orphans and widows; for everyone is ungodly and does evil, every mouth speaks foolishly. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens. For wickedness burns like fire, it devours briars and thorns; it sets the forest underbrush ablaze, with clouds of smoke whirling upward. The anger of Adonai -Tzva'ot is burning up the land; the people, too, are fuel for the fire — no one spares even his brother. The one on the right grabs but stays hungry, the one on the left eats but is unfilled. Everyone devours his own arm's flesh — M'nasheh devours Efrayim; and Efrayim, M'nasheh; while together they oppose Y'hudah. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens.

For the waters of Dimon are full of blood, yet I have worse in store for Dimon — a lion for those who escape from Mo'av and for those who remain in its land.

Yet gleanings will be left, as when beating an olive tree — two or three olives at the very top, four or five on its fruitful branches," says Adonai , the God of Isra'el.