1THERE is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men; 2There is a man to whom God has given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to eat of them; but a stranger eats it. This is vanity, and it is an evil disease. 3If a man beget a hundred children and live a multitude of years so that the days of his years are many, and his soul is not filled with good things, and also that he have no burial, I say that an untimely birth is better than he. 4For he comes in with vanity, and shall go into darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. 5Moreover he has not seen the sun, nor known anything, yet this one has more rest than the other. 6Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet he has seen no good; do not all go to one place?

7All the labor of a man is for his mouth, and yet his appetite is not filled. 8The wise man has an advantage over the fool. What! Does the poor man know how to go through life? 9Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire; this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

10That which has been before has already been named, and the nature of man is known, and he cannot contend in judgment with him that is stronger than himself. 11Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what advantage has man? 12For who knows what is good for man in his life, all the days of his vain life which he spends like a shadow? For who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?