Study Desk

Generations come, generations go, but the earth remains forever.

I said to myself, "Come now, I will test myself with pleasure and enjoying good things"; but this too was pointless.

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

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.

For to the man who is good from [God's] viewpoint he gives wisdom, knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of collecting and accumulating things to leave to him who is good from God's viewpoint. This too is pointless and feeding on wind.

He has made everything suited to its time; also, he has given human beings an awareness of eternity; but in such a way that they can't fully comprehend, from beginning to end, the things God does.

That which was is here already; and that which will be has already been, but God seeks out what people chase after.

But I turned away and thought about all the kinds of oppression being done under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them. The power was on the side of their oppressors, and they had no one to comfort them.

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.

the situation in which a solitary individual without a companion, with neither son nor brother, keeps on working endlessly but never has enough wealth. "For whom" [he should ask], "am I working so hard and denying myself pleasure?" This too is truly pointless, a sorry business.

Again, if two people sleep together, they keep each other warm; but how can one person be warm by himself?

Moreover, an attacker may defeat someone who is alone, but two can resist him; and a three-stranded cord is not easily broken.

Better a youth who is poor but wise than a king who is old but foolish, no longer willing to listen to advice.

But the greatest advantage to the country is when the king makes himself a servant to the land.

The sleep of a working man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the overfullness of the rich won't let them sleep at all.

class="poetry"> Don't speak impulsively — don't be in a hurry to give voice to your words before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth; so let your words be few. For nightmares come from worrying too much; and a fool, when he speaks, chatters too much. If you make a vow to God, don't delay in discharging it. For God takes no pleasure in fools, so discharge your vow! Better not to make a vow than to make a vow and not discharge it. Don't let your words make you guilty, and don't tell the temple official that you made the vow by mistake. Why give God reason to be angry at what you say and destroy what you have accomplished? For [this is what happens when there are too] many dreams, aimless activities and words. Instead, just fear God! If you see the poor oppressed, rights violated and justice perverted in the province, don't be surprised; for a high official has one higher watching him, and there are others above them. But the greatest advantage to the country is when the king makes himself a servant to the land. The lover of money never has enough money; the lover of luxury never has enough income. This too is pointless. When the quantity of goods increases, so does the number of parasites consuming them; so the only advantage to the owner is that he gets to watch them do it. The sleep of a working man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the overfullness of the rich won't let them sleep at all. Here is a gross evil which I have seen under the sun: the owner of wealth hoards it to his own hurt. Due to some misfortune, the wealth turns to loss; and then if he has fathered a son, he has nothing to leave him. Just as he came from his mother's womb, so he will go back naked as he came, and for his efforts he will take nothing that he can carry away in his hand. This too is a gross evil, that in every respect as he came, so will he go; thus what profit does he have after toiling to earn the wind? All his life he eats in darkness, in frustration, in sickness and in anger. This is what I have seen to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, drink and enjoy the good that results from all his work that he engages in under the sun for all the days of his life that God has given him, for this is his allotted portion. Also, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, along with the power to enjoy it, so that he takes his allotted portion and finds pleasure in his work — this is a gift of God; for he will not brood over the fact that his life is short, since God keeps him occupied with what will bring him joy.

the case in which God gives someone riches, wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing that he wants; but God does not give him the power to enjoy them, and some stranger gets to enjoy them — this is meaningless, evil, sick.

Suppose a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that he has a long life, but he fails to enjoy himself; then, even if he were to [live indefinitely and therefore] never be buried, I say that it would be better to be born dead.

The thoughts of the wise are in the house of mourning, but the thoughts of fools are in the house of pleasure.

But oppression can make a wise man stupid; also a gift can destroy understanding.