When they saw the chest was full of silver, the royal secretary ¹  and the high priest counted the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple and bagged it up. ² 

He carried away to Babylon all the items in God’s temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials.

Will your idle talk ¹  reduce people to silence, ²  and will no one rebuke ³  you when you mock? ⁴ 

For the music director; by David. Fools say to themselves, ²  “There is no God.” ³  They sin and commit evil deeds; ⁴  none of them does what is right. ⁵ 

Everyone rejects God; ¹  they are all morally corrupt. ²  None of them does what is right, ³  not even one!

Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. ¹  Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.” ² 

Everyone rejects God; ¹  they are all morally corrupt. ²  None of them does what is right, ³  not even one!

Men are nothing but a mere breath; human beings are unreliable. ¹  When they are weighed in the scales, all of them together are lighter than air. ² 

There is one who pretends to be rich ¹  and yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor ²  and yet possesses great wealth. ³ 

I thought to myself, ¹  “Come now, ²  I will try ³  self-indulgent pleasure ⁴  to see ⁵  if it is worthwhile.” ⁶  But I found ⁷  that it also is futile. ⁸ 

So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! ¹  Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively ²  wise?” ³  So I lamented to myself, ⁴  “The benefits of wisdom ⁵  are ultimately ⁶  meaningless!”

For all day long ¹  his work produces pain and frustration, ²  and even at night his mind cannot relax! ³  This also is futile!

There is no end to all the people ¹  nor to the past generations, ²  yet future generations ³  will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like ⁴  chasing the wind.

The one who loves money ¹  will never be satisfied with money, ²  he who loves wealth ³  will never be satisfied ⁴  with his ⁵  income. This also is futile.

It is better to be content with ¹  what the eyes can see ²  than for one’s heart always to crave more. ³  This continual longing ⁴  is futile – like ⁵  chasing the wind.

Not only that, ¹  but I have seen the wicked approaching ²  and entering the temple, ³  and as they left the holy temple, ⁴  they boasted ⁵  in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma. ⁶ 

Banish ¹  emotional stress ²  from your mind. ³  and put away pain ⁴  from your body; ⁵  for youth ⁶  and the prime of life ⁷  are fleeting. ⁸ 

Look, the sovereign Lord who commands armies ¹  is about to remove from Jerusalem ²  and Judah every source of security, including ³  all the food and water, ⁴ 

The Lord who commands armies told me this: ¹  “Many houses will certainly become desolate, large, impressive houses will have no one living in them. ² 

It will be as when one gathers the grain harvest, and his hand gleans the ear of grain. It will be like one gathering the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.