6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, a common burden that people bear:^{[a] 2} God gives somebody wealth, riches, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of everything that he craves, but God does not give him the opportunity to eat it. Instead, a stranger eats it. This is vapor, and a sickening evil.

³ A man may father a hundred children and live many years, but if his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, no matter how many days he lives, I say, “A stillborn baby is better off than he is.” ⁴ Why? Because that baby comes like a vapor and leaves in darkness, and its name gets covered in darkness. ⁵ The baby does not see the sun or know it,^[b] but it enjoys more peaceful rest than that man does, ⁶ even if that man would live a thousand years two times without enjoying good things. They all go to the same place, don’t they?

⁷ All of a man’s hard work is to feed his mouth, but his appetite^[c] never feels satisfied.

⁸ So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? What advantage does a poor man gain, who knows how to keep walking among the living?^{[d] 9} Better to have eyes that look at what is actually there than desires that roam. This too is vapor and chasing the wind.

¹⁰ Whatever exists already has its name,^[e] and it is already known what man is. He is not able to win in court against one who is stronger than he is.^[f]

¹¹ Yes, the more words,^[g] the more vapor. What advantage does a man have?

¹² For who knows what is good for a man in life, in the few days of his life, that vanishes like vapor, that passes like a shadow?^[h] Who will tell the man what will be after him, under the sun?