I looked again, and I saw all the oppression that occurs under the sun. {I saw the tears of the oppressed-- no one comforts them! Those who oppress them are powerful-- no one can comfort them}!

When prosperity increases, those who consume it increase. {So its owner gains nothing, except to see his wealth before it is spent}.

I saw all this as I applied my heart to all the deeds done under the sun: {sometimes those in authority harm others}.

Meanwhile, I saw the wicked being [honorably] buried, but those who came and went from the holy place were forgotten in the city, even though they had done so. This also [is] vanity!

Although the sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I also know that it will be good for those who fear God--because they fear {his presence}.

The same fate [comes] to everyone: to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and to the wicked, to the clean and to the unclean, to those who sacrifice and to those who do not sacrifice. As [with] the good [man], so also to the sinner; [as with] those who swear an oath, so [also] those who fear oaths.

When the guards of the house tremble, and the men of strength are bent; the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows see dimly.