Ecclesiastes 6
1 There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind:
There is also another evil, which I have seen under the sun, and, indeed, it is frequent among men.
2 God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.
It is a man to whom God has given wealth, and resources, and honor; and out of all that he desires, nothing is lacking to his life; yet God does not grant him the ability to consume these things, but instead a man who is a stranger will devour them. This is emptiness and a great misfortune.
3 A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
If a man were to produce one hundred children, and to live for many years, and to attain to an age of many days, and if his soul were to make no use of the goods of his resources, and if he were lacking even a burial: concerning such a man, I declare that a miscarried child is better than he.
4 For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity.
For he arrives without a purpose and he continues on into darkness, and his name shall be wiped away, into oblivion.
5 The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man,
He has not seen the sun, nor recognized the difference between good and evil.
6 even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?
Even if he were to live for two thousand years, and yet not thoroughly enjoy what is good, does not each one hurry on to the same place?
7 All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.
Every labor of man is for his mouth, but his soul will not be filled.
8 What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?
What do the wise have which is more than the foolish? And what does the pauper have, except to continue on to that place, where there is life?
9 Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
It is better to see what you desire, than to desire what you cannot know. But this, too, is emptiness and a presumption of spirit.
10 Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.
Whoever shall be in the future, his name has already been called. And it is known that he is a man and that he is not able to contend in judgment against one who is stronger than himself.
11 For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?
There are many words, and many of these, in disputes, hold much emptiness.
12 For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?
Why is it necessary for a man to seek things that are greater than himself, when he does not know what is advantageous for himself in his life, during the number of the days of his sojourn, and while time passes by like a shadow? Or who will be able to tell him what will be in the future after him under the sun?
