Ecclesiastes 6
1There
is an evil
that I have
seen
under the sun,
and it lies
heavy on mankind:
to whom
God gives wealth,
possessions,
and honor,
so that he
lacks nothing
of all that he desires,
yet God
does not give
him power
to enjoy them,
but a stranger enjoys them.
This is vanity;
it is
a grievous evil. 3If a man
fathers a hundred children
and lives many years,
so that the days
of his years
are many,
but his soul
is not satisfied
with life's good things,
and he also has
no burial,
I say that a stillborn child
is better off
than he. 4For it comes
in vanity and goes
in darkness,
and in darkness
its name is covered. 5Moreover,
it has
not seen the sun
or known anything,
yet it finds rest
rather than he 6Even though
he should live
a thousand years twice over,
yet enjoy[a] no good
--do not
all go
to the one place? 7All the toil
of man is for his mouth,
yet his appetite
is not satisfied.[b] 8For what advantage
has the wise man
over the fool?
And what does
the poor man have
who knows how to
conduct himself
before the living? 9Better
is the sight
of the eyes
than the wandering
of the appetite:
this also is
vanity and
a striving after wind. 10Whatever has come
to be
has already been named,
and it is known
what man is,
and that he is
not able to dispute
with one stronger
than he. 11The more words,
the more vanity,
and what is the advantage
to man? 12For who knows
what is good
for man
while he lives
the few days of his vain life,
which he passes
like a shadow?
For who can tell
man what will be
after him
under the sun?