Ecclesiastes 6
1 Also another yuel is, which Y siy vndur the sunne; and certis it is oft vsid anentis men.
There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind:
2 A man is, to whom God yaf richessis, and catel, and onour; and no thing failith to his soule of alle thingis which he desirith; and God yyueth not power to hym, that he ete therof, but a straunge man shal deuoure it. This is vanyte, and a greet wretchidnesse.
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.
3 If a man gendrith an hundrid fre sones, and lyueth many yeris, and hath many daies of age, and his soule vsith not the goodis of his catel, and wantith biriyng; Y pronounce of this man, that a deed borun child is betere than he.
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.
4 For he cometh in veyn, and goith to derknessis; and his name schal be don a wei bi foryetyng.
For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity.
5 He siy not the sunne, nether knew dyuersyte of good and of yuel;
The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man,
6 also thouy he lyueth twei thousynde yeeris, and vsith not goodis; whether alle thingis hasten not to o place?
even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?
7 Al the trauel of a man is in his mouth, but the soule of hym schal not be fillid with goodis.
All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.
8 What hath a wijs man more than a fool? and what hath a pore man, no but that he go thidur, where is lijf?
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?
9 It is betere to se that, that thou coueitist, than to desire that, that thou knowist not; but also this is vanyte, and presumpcioun of spirit.
Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
10 The name of hym that schal come, is clepid now, and it is knowun, that he is a man, and he mai not stryue in doom ayens a strongere than hym silf.
Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.
11 Wordis ben ful manye, and han myche vanyte in dispuytinge.
For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?
12 What nede is it to a man to seke grettere thingis than hym silf; sithen he knowith not, what schal bifalle to hym in his lijf, in the noumbre of daies of his pilgrimage, and in the tyme that passith as schadowe? ether who may schewe to hym, what thing vndur sunne schal come aftir hym?
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?
