I thought to myself, "What happens to fools is going to happen to me, too. So what have I gained from being so wise?" "Nothing," I answered, "not a thing."

I told myself, "I have become a great man, far wiser than anyone who ruled Jerusalem before me. I know what wisdom and knowledge really are."

I was determined to learn the difference between knowledge and foolishness, wisdom and madness. But I found out that I might as well be chasing the wind.

I told myself, "God is going to judge the righteous and the evil alike, because every thing, every action, will happen at its own set time."

I decided that God is testing us, to show us that we are no better than animals.

They say to themselves, "We will never fail; we will never be in trouble."

Fools say to themselves, "There is no God!" They are all corrupt, and they have done terrible things; there is no one who does what is right.

When you said, "Come worship me," I answered, "I will come, LORD."

I felt secure and said to myself, "I will never be defeated."

You were good to me, LORD; you protected me like a mountain fortress. But then you hid yourself from me, and I was afraid.

Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself !'

They said to one another, "Come on! Let's make bricks and bake them hard." So they had bricks to build with and tar to hold them together.

They said, "Now let's build a city with a tower that reaches the sky, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth."

Let us go down and mix up their language so that they will not understand each other."

The king said, "Go to the king of Israel and take this letter to him." So Naaman set out, taking thirty thousand pieces of silver, six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of fine clothes.

"Here is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge around it, break down the wall that protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down.

Now listen to me, you that say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to a certain city, where we will stay a year and go into business and make a lot of money."

And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you!

So I am convinced that we should enjoy ourselves, because the only pleasure we have in this life is eating and drinking and enjoying ourselves. We can at least do this as we labor during the life that God has given us in this world.

Young people, enjoy your youth. Be happy while you are still young. Do what you want to do, and follow your heart's desire. But remember that God is going to judge you for whatever you do.

The LORD has given me understanding, and I have not rebelled or turned away from him.

All of you that plot to destroy others will be destroyed by your own plots. The LORD himself will make this happen; you will suffer a miserable fate.

"There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day.

and in Hades, where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side.

Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter.

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them.

Give her as much suffering and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. For she keeps telling herself: 'Here I sit, a queen! I am no widow, I will never know grief !'

Because of this, in one day she will be struck with plagues--- disease, grief, and famine. And she will be burned with fire, because the Lord God, who judges her, is mighty."