8All things are weary. A man cannot speak. The eye is not sated with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

The images suggest that the words of the wise may sting or hurt, which seems especially apt for Qohelet.

13The last word, all being heard: fear God and keep His commands, for that is all humankind.

7And light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.

19For food is set out for merriment and wine that gladdens the living. And money keeps everyone busy.

into feasting and drinking, but their overriding preoccupation is money—which, among other uses, pays the bills for the carousing.

These words initiate a series of prudential maxims on how to conduct one’s life in the face of the unpredictability of events and their deterministic character that is beyond human control.

They give themselves over to a life of irresponsible carousing at all times, again in contrast to the princes in the next verse. The implication is that a country ruled by a lackey will lose all sense of appropriate restraint and fall into a round of hedonistic merrymaking.

By introspection, we all recognize the ubiquitous impulse to be malicious, hence one is well advised not to eavesdrop on one’s servant’s conversation, for one is all too likely to hear distressing things.