Ecclesiastes 6
1 Here was an evil, I had seen under the sun, —and it is, common, among men:
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is hard on men;
2 A man to whom God giveth riches and gains and honour, so that nothing doth he lack for his soul—of all that he craveth, and yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but, a man unknown, eateth it, —this, was vanity, and, an incurable evil, it was.
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 Though a man should beget a hundred children, and live, many years, so that many should be the days of his years but, his own soul, should not be satisfied with the good, and he should not even have, a burial, I said, Better than he, is an 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 vain, it came in, and, in darkness, it departeth, —and, with darkness, its 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, it never saw, nor aught did it know, —more quietness, hath this than the other.
Yes, it saw not the sun, and it had no knowledge; it is better with this than with the other.
6 Even though one hath lived a thousand years twice told, yet, good, hath he not seen, —is it not, unto one place, that, all, are going?
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 toil of man, is for his mouth, —though, even the desire, is not satisfied!
All the work of man is for his mouth, and still he has a desire for food.
8 For what profit hath the wise man, over the dullard? What can, the poor man, know—so as 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 what the eyes behold, than the wandering of desire, —even this, was vanity, and a feeding on wind.
What the eyes see is better than the wandering of desire. This is to no purpose and a desire for wind.
10 Whatsoever one may be, long ago, was he called by his name, and it is known that it is—Son of Earth, —he cannot, therefore, contend with one 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 Seeing there are things in abundance which make vanity abound, what profit hath man?
There are words without number for increasing what is to no purpose, but what is man profited by them?
12 For who knoweth what is good for a man throughout his life, for the number of the days of his life of vanity, seeing he will make them, like a shadow, —for who can tell a man, what shall be 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?
