1 Here is another misfortune that I have seen under the sun, and it [is] prevalent among humankind.
2 God gives a man wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; yet God does not enable him to enjoy it--instead someone else ends up enjoying it. This [is] vanity--indeed, it [is] a grievous ill!
3 Even if a man fathers a hundred [children] and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, if his heart is not satisfied with {his prosperity} and {he does not receive a proper burial}, I deem the stillborn better than him.
4 For he comes into vanity and departs into darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness.
5 He has neither seen nor known the sun, yet he has more rest than him.
6 Even if a man lives a thousand years twice, if he does not enjoy {prosperity}, {both suffer the same fate}!
8 So do the wise [really] have an advantage over fools? {Can the poor [really] gain anything by knowing how to act in front of others}?
9 {Better to be content with what your eyes see than for your soul to constantly crave more}. This also [is] vanity and chasing wind!
10 Whatever is--it was already determined, {what will be--it has already been decided}. As for man, he cannot argue against what is more powerful than him.
11 {Increasing words only multiplies futility}, how does that profit anyone?
12 For who knows what [is] good for a man in his life during the few days of his fleeting life, which are fleeting as a shadow? For who can tell anyone what will happen {in the future} under the sun?