1There is an evil which I have seen under the sun , and it is heavy upon men : 2a man to whom God giveth riches , wealth , and honor , so that he lacketh nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but an alien eateth it ; this is vanity , and it is an evil disease . 3If a man beget a hundred children , and live many years , so that the days of his years are many , but his soul be not filled with good , and moreover he have no burial ; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he : 4for it cometh in vanity , and departeth in darkness , and the name thereof is covered with darkness ; 5moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it ; this hath rest rather than the other : 6yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet enjoy no good , do not all go to one place ?
The Inevitability of Death
7All the labor of man is for his mouth , and yet the appetite is not filled . 8For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool ? or what hath the poor man , that knoweth how to walk before the living ? 9Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire : this also is vanity and a striving after wind .
The Enigma of Life's Experiences
10Whatsoever hath been , the name thereof was given long ago; and it is known what man is ; neither can he contend with him that is mightier than he . 11Seeing there are many things that increase vanity , what is man the better ? 12For who knoweth what is good for man in his life , all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow ? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun ?