Ecclesiastes 6
1 est et aliud malum quod vidi sub sole et quidem frequens apud homines
I have seen something [else here] on this earth that troubles people.
2 vir cui dedit Deus divitias et substantiam et honorem et nihil deest animae eius ex omnibus quae desiderat nec tribuit ei potestatem Deus ut comedat ex eo sed homo extraneus vorabit illud hoc vanitas et magna miseria est
God enables some people to get a lot of money and possessions and to be honored; they have everything [LIT] that they want. But God [sometimes] does not allow them to continue to enjoy those things. Someone else gets them and enjoys them. That seems senseless and unfair.
3 si genuerit quispiam centum et vixerit multos annos et plures dies aetatis habuerit et anima illius non utatur bonis substantiae suae sepulturaque careat de hoc ego pronuntio quod melior illo sit abortivus
Someone might have 100 children and live for many years. But if he is not able to enjoy the things that he has acquired, and if he is not buried [properly after he dies], [I say that] a child that is dead when it is born is more fortunate.
4 frustra enim venit et pergit ad tenebras et oblivione delebitur nomen eius
That dead baby’s birth is meaningless; it does not even have a name. It goes directly to the place where there is only darkness.
5 non vidit solem neque cognovit distantiam boni et mali
It does not [live to] see the sun or know anything. But it finds more rest than rich people do [who are alive].
6 etiam si duobus milibus annis vixerit et non fuerit perfruitus bonis nonne ad unum locum properant omnia
Even if people could live for 2,000 years, if they do not enjoy the things that God gives to them, [it would have been better for them never to have been born]. [All people who live a long time] certainly [RHQ] all go to the same place— [to the grave].
7 omnis labor hominis in ore eius sed anima illius non impletur
People work hard to [earn enough money to buy] food to eat [MTY], but [often] they never get enough to eat.
8 quid habet amplius sapiens ab stulto et quid pauper nisi ut pergat illuc ubi est vita
So it seems that [RHQ] wise people do not receive more lasting benefits than foolish people do. And it seems that [RHQ] poor people do not benefit from knowing how to conduct their lives.
9 melius est videre quod cupias quam desiderare quod nescias sed et hoc vanitas est et praesumptio spiritus
It is better to enjoy the things that we already have [MTY] than to constantly want more things; continually wanting more things is [senseless], [like] the wind.
10 qui futurus est iam vocatum est nomen eius et scitur quod homo sit et non possit contra fortiorem se in iudicio contendere
All the things that exist [on the earth] have been given names. And everyone knows what people are like, [so] it is useless to argue with someone (OR, with God) who is stronger than we are.
11 verba sunt plurima multa in disputando habentia vanitatem
The more [that we] talk, the more [often we say things that are] senseless, so it certainly does not [RHQ] benefit us to talk a lot.
12 quid necesse est homini maiora se quaerere cum ignoret quid conducat sibi in vita sua numero dierum peregrinationis suae et tempore quo velut umbra praeterit aut quis ei poterit indicare quid post eum futurum sub sole sit
We live for only a short time; we disappear like [SIM] a shadow disappears [in the sunlight]. No one [RHQ] knows what is best for us while we are alive, and no one [RHQ] knows what will happen to us after we die [EUP].
