I the teacher was king over Israel
I devoted myself to study and explore
By wisdom all that is done under heaven
What a heavy burden God has laid on men
I have seen all the things that are done
Under the sun, a chasing after the wind
What is twisted cannot be straightened
What is lacking cannot be counted
I applied myself to the understanding
Of wisdom and also of madness and folly
But I learned that this too
Is a chasing of the wind
What is twisted cannot be straightened

What is lacking cannot be counted
With much wisdom comes much sorrow
The more knowledge the more grief
I denied myself nothing
My eyes desired
I refused my heart no pleasure
My heart took delight in all my work
And this was the reward for my labor
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
And what I had toiled to achieve
Everything was a chasing of the wind
The fate of the fool will overtake me
What then do I gain by being wise
For the wise man like the fool
Will not be long remembered
In the days to come both will be forgotten
Like the fool, the wise man too must die
I the teacher was king over Israel
I devoted myself to study and explore