1 I said in my heart, “Go now; let me test with mirth {simchah: celebratory joy} and see what is good.” And behold, this also is vanity {havel: fleeting vapor}.
2 I said of laughter, “It is mad {meholal: irrational judgment}.” And of mirth, “What does this accomplish {oseh: bring about}?”
3 I searched in my heart to cheer my flesh with wine {yayin: fermented grape beverage}, while my heart was guided by wisdom {chokhmah: practical discernment}, and to seize folly, until I might see what is good for the children of humanity to do under the heavens throughout the days of their lives.
4 I expanded my undertakings; I put up houses {batim: private dwellings} for myself; I established vineyards {keramim: cultivated vine plots} for myself.
5 I laid out gardens {gannot: cultivated plots} and orchards for myself, and in them I planted every kind of fruit tree {etz: woody plant cultivated for harvest}.
6 I made for myself pools of water to irrigate {lehashqot: supply water} from them a grove of sprouting {tsomeach: actively growing} trees.
7 I acquired male servants and female servants, and those born in my household {uvnei-bayit: household-born} were mine. I also had great livestock—cattle and sheep in abundance—more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem {yerushalayim: city of peace}.
8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold, and the treasured possessions {segullat: prized treasure} of kings and provinces; I provided for myself male and female singers, and the delights of humankind—many concubines {shiddah ve-shiddot: harem or instruments}.
9 So I rose to greatness and had more than all who were before me in Jerusalem {yerushalayim: ancient royal city}; yet my wisdom {chokhmah: skillful understanding} stayed with me.
10 And all that my eyes desired I did not withhold from them; I did not withhold my heart {lev: inner self} from any joy, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my portion {chelek: allotted share} from all my labor.
11 Then I reviewed all the works that my hands had done and the labor I had undertaken to perform—and behold, everything was vanity {hevel: fleeting vapor} and striving after wind, and there was no profit {yitron: lasting gain} under the sun.
12 And I turned, I myself, to observe wisdom {chokhmah: applied skill} and madness {holelot: reckless acts} and folly; for what can the man who follows the king do except what has already been done?
13 And I saw, I myself, that there is an advantage {yitron: superiority} to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness {choshekh: absence of illumination}.
14 The wise man has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness {choshekh: lack of awareness}; and I myself perceived that the same event will happen {yikreh: occur} to all of them.
15 I reflected within my heart, “The outcome{mikreh: destiny} that befalls the fool will befall me as well; therefore, why have I become wiser than others?” Then I spoke in my heart that this too is vanity{havel: fleeting vapor}.
16 For there is no remembrance {zikron: enduring memorial} of the wise man {chacham: person with insight} with the fool forever; for in the days to come all is forgotten. And how will the wise man die? Like the fool.
17 So I hated life {chayyim: extended existence}, because the labor performed under the sun was oppressive to me; for all is vanity {hevel: empty futility} and striving for wind.
18 I hated all my labor {amali: personal effort and toil} that I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to my successor {acharai: the inheritor who follows}.
19 And who can discern whether he will prove wise or foolish? Yet he will govern {yishlat: exercise of authority} over all my toil which I have undertaken and the wisdom I have displayed under the sun. This also is vanity {havel: fleeting futility}.
20 So I turned to cause my heart {libbi: inner self} to despair regarding all the labor {heamal: wearisome toil} that I had labored under the sun.
21 For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom, in knowledge, and in skill, yet to a man who has not labored with it he must leave it as his portion {khelqo: rightful share}. This also is vanity {hevel: fleeting vapor} and a great evil.
22 For what does a person gain from all his toil {amal: difficult labor} and from the striving {rayyon: focused pursuit} of his heart, as he labors under the sun?
23 For all his days are pains {makhʼōvîm: physical suffering} and his occupation yields grief; even at night his heart does not rest. This too is vanity {hēvel: fleeting vapor}.
24 There is nothing better for a man than to eat, drink, and let his soul {nefesh: life-essence} perceive goodness in his labor. Furthermore, I saw that it comes from the hand of God {Elohim, Provider of Sustenance}.
25 For who can eat {yochal: partake of blessings}, and who can have enjoyment {yachush: feel life's goodness}, apart from me?
26 For the one who is good in His sight, He has given wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and heaping up wealth to give to the one who is good before God {Elohim, Righteous Rewarder}. This also is vanity and a striving {re'ut: futile effort} after the wind.