Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun.m Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them. 2 So I commended the dead,n who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed,o who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

THE LONELINESS OF WEALTH

4 I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another.p This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.* q

5 The fool folds his armsr

and consumes his own flesh.s

6 Better one handful with rest

than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind.t

7 Again, I saw futility under the sun: 8 There is a person without a companion,E without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches.u “Who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself of good things?” This too is futile and a miserable task.