For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will soon be forgotten. And how the wise and the fool alike die!

Because all his days his activity is painful and irritating; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is futility.

Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

But it will not go well for the evil person and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.

So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a person under the sun except to eat, drink, and be joyful, and this will stand by him in his labor throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your futile life which He has given you under the sun, all the days of your futility; for this is your reward in life and in your work which you have labored under the sun.

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.

Indeed, if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

Remember God in Your Youth

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years approach when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;