Ecclesiastes 6
1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it [is] great on man:
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is hard on men;
2 A man to whom God gives wealth, and riches, and honor, and there is no lack to his soul of all that he desires, and God does not give him power to eat of it, but a stranger eats it; this [is] vanity, and it [is] an evil disease.
A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease.
3 If a man begets one hundred, and lives many years, and is great, because they are the days of his years, and his soul is not satisfied from the goodness, and also he has not had a grave, I have said, “Better than he [is] the untimely birth.”
If a man has a hundred children, and his life is long so that the days of his years are great in number, but his soul takes no pleasure in good, and he is not honoured at his death; I say that a birth before its time is better than he.
4 For in vanity he came in, and in darkness he goes, and in darkness his name is covered,
In wind it came and to the dark it will go, and with the dark will its name be covered.
5 even the sun he has not seen nor known, more rest has this than that.
Yes, it saw not the sun, and it had no knowledge; it is better with this than with the other.
6 And though he had lived one thousand years twice over, yet he has not seen good; does not everyone go to the same place?
And though he goes on living a thousand years twice over and does not see good, are not the two going to the same place?
7 All the labor of man [is] for his mouth, And yet the soul is not filled.
All the work of man is for his mouth, and still he has a desire for food.
8 For what advantage [is] to the wise above the fool? What to the poor who knows to walk before the living?
What have the wise more than the foolish? and what has the poor man by walking wisely before the living?
9 Better [is] the sight of the eyes than the going of the soul. This [is] also vanity and distress of spirit.
What the eyes see is better than the wandering of desire. This is to no purpose and a desire for wind.
10 What [is] that which has been? Already is its name called, and it is known that it [is] man, And he is not able to contend with him who is stronger than he.
That which is, has been named before, and of what man is there is knowledge. He has no power against one stronger than he.
11 For there are many things multiplying vanity; What advantage [is] to man?
There are words without number for increasing what is to no purpose, but what is man profited by them?
12 For who knows what [is] good for a man in life, the number of the days of the life of his vanity, and he makes them as a shadow? For who declares to man what is after him under the sun?
Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?
