Ecclesiastes 6
1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it [is] great on man:
There is also another evil, which I have seen under the sun, and, indeed, it is frequent among men.
2 A man to whom God giveth wealth, and riches, and honour, and there is no lack to his soul of all that he desireth, and God giveth him not power to eat of it, but a stranger eateth it; this [is] vanity, and it [is] an evil disease.
It is a man to whom God has given wealth, and resources, and honor; and out of all that he desires, nothing is lacking to his life; yet God does not grant him the ability to consume these things, but instead a man who is a stranger will devour them. This is emptiness and a great misfortune.
3 If a man doth beget a hundred, and live 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 hath not had a grave, I have said, 'Better than he [is] the untimely birth.'
If a man were to produce one hundred children, and to live for many years, and to attain to an age of many days, and if his soul were to make no use of the goods of his resources, and if he were lacking even a burial: concerning such a man, I declare that a miscarried child is better than he.
4 For in vanity he came in, and in darkness he goeth, and in darkness his name is covered,
For he arrives without a purpose and he continues on into darkness, and his name shall be wiped away, into oblivion.
5 Even the sun he hath not seen nor known, more rest hath this than that.
He has not seen the sun, nor recognized the difference between good and evil.
6 And though he had lived a thousand years twice over, yet good he hath not seen; to the same place doth not every one go?
Even if he were to live for two thousand years, and yet not thoroughly enjoy what is good, does not each one hurry on to the same place?
7 All the labour of man [is] for his mouth, and yet the soul is not filled.
Every labor of man is for his mouth, but his soul will not be filled.
8 For what advantage [is] to the wise above the fool? What to the poor who knoweth to walk before the living?
What do the wise have which is more than the foolish? And what does the pauper have, except to continue on to that place, where there is life?
9 Better [is] the sight of the eyes than the going of the soul. This also [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
It is better to see what you desire, than to desire what you cannot know. But this, too, is emptiness and a presumption of spirit.
10 What [is] that which hath 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.
Whoever shall be in the future, his name has already been called. And it is known that he is a man and that he is not able to contend in judgment against one who is stronger than himself.
11 For there are many things multiplying vanity; what advantage [is] to man?
There are many words, and many of these, in disputes, hold much emptiness.
12 For who knoweth what [is] good for a man in life, the number of the days of the life of his vanity, and he maketh them as a shadow? for who declareth to man what is after him under the sun?
Why is it necessary for a man to seek things that are greater than himself, when he does not know what is advantageous for himself in his life, during the number of the days of his sojourn, and while time passes by like a shadow? Or who will be able to tell him what will be in the future after him under the sun?
