1There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent among men--
2a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.
3If a man fathers a hundred [children] and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a [proper] burial, [then] I say, 'Better the miscarriage than he,
4for it comes in futility and goes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity.
5'It never sees the sun and it never knows [anything]; it is better off than he.
6'Even if the [other] man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things-- do not all go to one place?'
7All a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.
8For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What [advantage] does the poor man have, knowing [how] to walk before the living?
9What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.
10Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is.
11For there are many words which increase futility. What [then] is the advantage to a man?
12For who knows what is good for a man during [his] lifetime, [during] the few years of his futile life? He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?