Ecclesiastes 6
1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is abundant with man:
I have observed another evil here on earth, and it has a great impact on humanity.
2 a man to whom God shall give wealth, and substance, and honor, and he wants nothing for his soul of all things that he shall desire, yet God shall not give him power to eat of it, for a stranger shall devour it: this is vanity, and an evil infirmity.
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, yes, however abundant the days of his years shall be, yet [if] his soul shall not be satisfied with good, and also he have no burial; I said, An untimely birth 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 vanity, and departs in darkness, and his name shall be covered in darkness.
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 Moreover he has not seen the sun, nor known rest: there is [no more rest] to this one than another.
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 Though he has lived to the return of a thousand years, yet he has seen no good: do not all go 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 labor of a man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite shall not be satisfied.
Everyone works so they can live, but they're never satisfied.
8 For [what] advantage has the wise man over the fool, since [even] the poor knows how to walk in the direction of 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 The sight of the eyes is better than that which wanders in soul: this is also vanity, and waywardness 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 If anything has been, its name has already been called: and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him who is stronger than he.
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 For there are many things which increase vanity.
For the more words you use, the harder it is to make sense. So what's the point?
12 What advantage has a man? for who knows [what is] good for a man in his life, [during] the number of the life of the days of his vanity? and he has spent them as a shadow; for who shall tell a man 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?
