Ecclesiastes 6
1 There is also another evil, which I have seen under the sun, and that frequent among men:
I have observed another evil here on earth, and it has a great impact on humanity.
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and honour, and his soul wanteth nothing of all that he desireth: yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but a stranger shall eat it up. This is vanity and a great misery.
God gives wealth, possessions, and honor to someone. They have everything they want. But God doesn't let them enjoy what they have. Instead somebody else does! This is hard to fathom, and is truly evil.
3 If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, and attain to a great age, and his soul make no use of the goods of his substance, and he be without burial: of this man I pronounce, that the untimely born is better than he.
A man could have one hundred children, and grow old, but it wouldn't matter how long his life was if he couldn't enjoy it and at the end receive a decent burial. I would say that a stillborn child would be better off than him.
4 For he came in vain, and goeth to darkness, and his name shall be wholly forgotten.
The way a stillborn child comes into the world and then leaves is painfully hard to understand—arriving and departing in darkness—and who he would have been is never known.
5 He hath not seen the sun, nor known the distance of good and evil:
He never saw the light of day or knew what it was like to live. Yet the child finds rest, and not this man.
6 Although he lived two thousand years, and hath not enjoyed good things: do not all make haste to one place?
Even if this man were to live a thousand years twice over he still wouldn't be happy. Don't we all end up in the same place—the grave?
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, but his soul shall not be filled.
Everyone works so they can live, but they're never satisfied.
8 What hath the wise man more than the fool? and what the poor man, but to go thither, where there is life?
So then, what real advantage do wise people have over those who are fools? And do poor people really gain anything in knowing how to behave in front of others?
9 Better it is to see what thou mayst desire, than to desire that which thou canst not know. But this also is vanity, and presumption of spirit.
Be happy with what you have instead of running after what you don't! But this is also hard to do, like running after the wind.
10 He that shall be, his name is already called: and it is known, that he is man, and cannot contend in judgment with him that is stronger than himself.
Everything that exists has already been described. Everyone knows what people are like, and that you can't win an argument with a superior.
11 There are many words that have much vanity in disputing.
For the more words you use, the harder it is to make sense. So what's the point?
12 What needeth a man to seek things that are above him, whereas he knoweth not what is profitable for him in his life, in all the days of his pilgrimage, and the time that passeth like a shadow? Or who can tell him what shall be after him under the sun?
Who knows what's best for us and our lives? During our short lives that pass like shadows we have many unanswered questions. And who can tell us what will happen when we're gone?
