| New International Version | New Living Translation |
| 1I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: | 1There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity. |
| 2God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil. | 2God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy. |
| 3A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. | 3A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead. |
| 4It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. | 4His birth would have been meaningless, and he would have ended in darkness. He wouldn’t even have had a name, |
| 5Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man-- | 5and he would never have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man. |
| 6even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place? | 6He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment. And since he must die like everyone else—well, what’s the use? |
| 7Everyone's toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied. | 7All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough. |
| 8What advantage have the wise over fools? What do the poor gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before others? | 8So are wise people really better off than fools? Do poor people gain anything by being wise and knowing how to act in front of others? |
| 9Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. | 9Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind. The Future—Determined and Unknown |
| 10Whatever exists has already been named, and what humanity is has been known; no one can contend with someone who is stronger. | 10Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny. |
| 11The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone? | 11The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they? |
| 12For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone? | 12In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone? |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
|
    |