1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—

and they have no comforter;

power was on the side of their oppressors—

and they have no comforter.

2 And I declared that the dead,

who had already died,

are happier than the living,

who are still alive.

3 But better than both

is the one who has never been born,

who has not seen the evil

that is done under the sun.

4 And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

5 Fools fold their hands

and ruin themselves.

6 Better one handful with tranquillity

than two handfuls with toil

and chasing after the wind.

1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. 2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. 3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. 6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

1 Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. 2 So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. 3 But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.

4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

5 “Fools fold their idle hands,

leading them to ruin.”

6 And yet,

“Better to have one handful with quietness

than two handfuls with hard work

and chasing the wind.”

1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun:

And look! The tears of the oppressed,

But they have no comforter—

On the side of their oppressors there is power,

But they have no comforter.

2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,

More than the living who are still alive.

3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,

Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

5 The fool folds his hands

And consumes his own flesh.

6 Better a handful with quietness

Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

1 Again I saw all the people who were mistreated here on earth.

I saw their tears

and that they had no one to comfort them.

Cruel people had all the power,

and there was no one to comfort those they hurt.

2 I decided that the dead

are better off than the living.

3 But those who have never been born

are better off still;

they have not seen the evil

that is done here on earth.

4 I realized the reason people work hard and try to succeed: They are jealous of each other. This, too, is useless, like chasing the wind.

5 Some say it is foolish to fold your hands and do nothing,

because you will starve to death.

6 Maybe so, but I say it is better to be content

with what little you have.

Otherwise, you will always be struggling for more,

and that is like chasing the wind.

1 Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and, behold, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. 2 Wherefore I praised the dead that have been long dead more than the living that are yet alive; 3 yea, better than them both did I esteem him that hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

4 Then I saw all labor and every skilful work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. 5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. 6 Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and striving after wind.

1 And I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors was power, and they had no comforter. 2 Then I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive; 3 and more fortunate than both is he who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

4 And I saw all labour, and all success of work, that it is man’s jealousy of his neighbour. This also is vanity and pursuit of the wind. 5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. 6 Better is a handful with quietness, than both hands full with labour and pursuit of the wind.

1 Next, I turned to look at all the acts of oppression that make people suffer under the sun. Look at the tears of those who suffer! No one can comfort them. Their oppressors have ⸤all⸥ the power. No one can comfort those who suffer. 2 I congratulate the dead, who have already died, rather than the living, who still have to carry on. 3 But the person who hasn’t been born yet is better off than both of them. He hasn’t seen the evil that is done under the sun. 

4 Then I saw that all hard work and skillful effort come from rivalry. Even this is pointless. ⸤It’s like⸥ trying to catch the wind. 5 A fool folds his hands and wastes away. 6 One handful of peace and quiet is better than two handfuls of hard work and of trying to catch the wind. 

1 Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. 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 admired the dead, 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, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

4 I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to a man’s jealousy of his friend. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

5 The fool folds his arms

and consumes his own flesh.

6 Better one handful with rest

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

1 Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power—with no one to comfort them. 2 And I thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; 3 but better than both is the one who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.

5 Fools fold their hands

and consume their own flesh.

6 Better is a handful with quiet

than two handfuls with toil,

and a chasing after wind.

1 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!

2 So I deemed the dead who have already died

more fortunate than the living who are still alive.

3 But better off than both of them is the one who has not yet been born

and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

4 I also realized that all of the toil and all of the skillful work that is done—it is envy between one man and another. This also is vanity and chasing wind!

5 The fool refuses to work with his hands,

so he has nothing to eat except his own skin!

6 Better is one handful with peace

than two fists full with toil and chasing wind.

1 I looked and saw how much people were suffering on this earth.

I saw the tears of those who are suffering.

They don’t have anyone to comfort them.

Power is on the side of those who beat them down.

Those who are suffering don’t have anyone to comfort them.

2 Then I announced that those

who have already died

are happier than those

who are still alive.

3 But someone who hasn’t been born yet

is better off than the dead or the living.

That’s because he hasn’t seen the evil things

that are done on earth.

4 I also saw that man works hard and accomplishes a lot. But he does it only because he wants what his neighbor has. That doesn’t have any meaning either. It’s like chasing the wind.

5 A foolish person folds his hands and doesn’t work.

And that destroys him.

6 One handful with peace and quiet

is better than two handfuls with hard work.

Working too hard is like chasing the wind.

1 Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them.

2 So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living.

3 But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

4 I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind.

5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.

6 One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.