1 ⁿThere is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man ^oto whom ^pGod gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he ^qlacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God ^rdoes not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity;¹ it is a grievous evil. 3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that ^sthe days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s ^tgood things, and he also has no ^uburial, I say that ^va stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. 5 Moreover, it has not ^wseen the sun or known anything, yet it finds ^xrest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy² no good—do not all go to the one place?

7 ^yAll the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.³ 8 For what advantage has the wise man ^zover the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better ^ais the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is ^bvanity and a striving after wind.

10 Whatever has come to be has ^calready been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to ^ddispute with one stronger than he. 11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? 12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his ^evain⁴ life, which he passes like ^fa shadow? For who can tell man what will be ^gafter him under the sun?