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There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity.
The Futility of Life
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent among men —
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent among men —
God 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.
a 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.
A 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.
If 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,
His birth would have been meaningless, and he would have ended in darkness. He wouldn’t even have had a name,
for it comes in futility and goes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity.
and 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.
“It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; it is better off than he.
He 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?
“Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things — do not all go to one place?”
All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough.
All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.
So 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?
For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living?
Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless — like chasing the wind.
What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.
The Future — Determined and Unknown
Everything 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.
Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is.
The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they?
For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man?
In 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?
For 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?