2. Laughing and having fun is mad. What good does it do?
3. I wanted to find out what was best for us during the short time we have on this earth. So I decided to make myself happy with wine and find out what it means to be foolish, without really being foolish myself.
4. I did some great things. I built houses and planted vineyards.
5. I had flower gardens and orchards full of fruit trees.
6. And I had pools where I could get water for the trees.
7. I owned slaves, and their sons and daughters became my slaves. I had more sheep and goats than anyone who had ever lived in Jerusalem.
8. Foreign rulers brought me silver, gold, and precious treasures. Men and women sang for me, and I had many wives who gave me great pleasure.
9. I was the most famous person who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was very wise.
10. I got whatever I wanted and did whatever made me happy. But most of all, I enjoyed my work.
11. Then I thought about everything I had done, including the hard work, and it was simply chasing the wind. Nothing on earth is worth the trouble.
12. I asked myself, “What can the next king do that I haven't done?” Then I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and stupidity.
13. And I discovered that wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
14. Wisdom is like having two good eyes; foolishness leaves you in the dark. But wise or foolish, we all end up the same.