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Here are postings (I may tire of posting them all, or you'll just get tired of reading them)...of the feelings and thinking of Solomon.

1.
Everything is meaningless. Utterly meaningless.
What do people get for all their hard work? Generations come and go, but nothing really changes. The sun rises and sets and hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere. The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea. Everything is so weary and tiresome. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
 
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2.
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. What can you point to that is new? How do you know it didn't already exist long ago? We don't remember what happened in those former times. And in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
 
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3.
I was King, and I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done in the world. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. Everything under the sun is meaningless, like chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be righted. What is missing cannot be recovered. I said to myself, "Look, I am wiser than any of the kings before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them." So I worked hard to distinguish wisdom from foolishness. But now I realize that even this was like chasing the wind. For the greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
 
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4.
So I said to myself, "Come now, let's give pleasure a try. Let's look for the 'good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless. "It is silly to be laughing all the time," I said. "What good does it do to seek only pleasure?" After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. While still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I hoped to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
 
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5.
I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and planting beautiful vineyards. I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned great herds and flocks, more than any of the kinds before me. I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kinds and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire. But it was all like chasing the wind.
 
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6.
So I became greater than any of the kings who ruled before me. And with it all, I remained clear-eyed so that I could evaluate all these things. Anything I wanted, I took. I did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work, an additional reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless. There is nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
 
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Here are continued postings (I may tire of posting them all, or you'll just get tired of reading them)...of the feelings and thinking of Solomon.

7.
So I continued to compare wisdom and folly, and anyone else would come to the same conclusions I did. Wisdom is of more value than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. For the wise person sees while the fool is blind. Yet I saw that wise and foolish people share the same fate. Both of them die. Just as the fool will die, so will I. So of what value is all my wisdom? Then I said to myself, "This is all so meaningless." For the wise person and the fool both die, and in the days to come, both will be forgotten. So now I hate life because everything done here under the sun is so irrational. Everything is meaningless, like chasing the wind. I am disgusted that I must leave the fruits of my hard works to others. And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? And yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work. How meaningless!
..... So I turned in despair from hard work. It was not the answer to my search for satisfaction in this life. For though I do my work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, I must leave everything I gain to people who haven't worked to earn it. This is not only foolish but highly unfair.
 
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8.
So, what do people get for all their hard work? Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night they cannot rest. It is all utterly meaningless.
..... So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that this pleasure is from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. Even this, however, is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
 
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If you are not familiar with the previous writings of Solomon, you most likely will say,
"Hey, I read this one somewhere," to what follows:


9.
There is a time for everything,
...a season for every activity under
.....heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
...A time to plant and a time to
.....harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
...A time to tear down and a time to
.....rebuild.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
...A time to grieve and a time to
.....dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to
.....gather stones.
...A time to embrace and a time to
.....turn away.
A time to search and a time to lose.
...A time to keep and a time to throw
.....away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
...A time to be quiet and a time to
.....speak up.
A time to love and a time to hate.
...A time for war and a time for peace.
 
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... continuing along...

10.
What do people really get for all their hard work? I have thought about this in connection with the various kinds of work God has given people to do. God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planned eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. So I concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
.....And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose in this is that people should fear him. Whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past. For God calls each event back in its turn.
 
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11.
I also noticed that throughout the world there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt. I said to myself, "In due season God will judge every one, both good and bad, for all their deeds."
..... Then I realized that God allows people to continue in their sinful ways so he can test them. That way, they can see for themselves that they are no better than animals. For humans and animals both breathe the same air, and both die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless. Both go to the same place, the dust from which they came and to which they must return.
 
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If you're wondering just how long ago was this Solomon fellow living, you'll have to chalk-up 3000 years ago. Give or take a couple decades.
Continuing...


12.
Who can prove that the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward into the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why they are here! No one will bring them back from death to enjoy life in the future.
.....Again I observed all the oppression that takes place in our world. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and the victims are helpless. So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. And most fortunate of all are those who were never born. For they have never seen all the evil that is done in our world
 
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13.
Then I observed that most people are motivated to success by their envy of their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless like chasing the wind. Foolish people refuse to work and almost starve. They feel it is better to be lazy and barely survive than to work hard, especially when in the long run everything is so futile.
.....I observed yet another example of meaningless in our world. This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, "Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?" It is all so meaningless and depressing.
 
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14.
Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one, they get a better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble. And on a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other. But how can one be warm alone. A person standing alone can be attached and defeated. but two can stand back to back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
..... It is better to be a poor but wise youth than to be an old and foolish king who refuses advice. Such a youth could come from prison and succeed. He might even become king, though he was born in poverty. Everyone is eager to help such a youth, even to help him take the throne. He might become the leader of millions and be very popular. But then the next generation grows up and rejects him! So again, it is all meaningless, like chasing the wind.
 
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15.
As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut! Don't be a fool who doesn't realize that mindless offerings to God are evil. And don't make rash promises to God, for he is in heaven, and you are only here on earth. So let your words be few.
.....Just as being too busy gives you nightmares, being a fool makes you a blabber-mouth.
.....So when you make a promise to God, don't delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to promise something that you don't follow through on. In such cases, your mouth is making you sin. And don't defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry and he might wipe out everything you have achieved
.....Dreaming all the time instead of working is foolishness. And there is ruin in a flood of empty words. Fear God instead.
 
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