15 Heb “surely, as an image man walks about.” The preposition prefixed to “image” indicates identity here. People go through life (Heb “man walks about”). “Walking” is here used as a metaphor for living. The point is that human beings are here today, gone tomorrow. They have no lasting substance and are comparable to mere images or ghosts.
16 Heb “Surely [in] vain they strive, he accumulates and does not know who gathers them.” The as it stands is syntactically awkward. The verb forms switch from singular (“walks about”) to plural (“they strive”) and then back to singular (“accumulates and does not know”), even though the subject (generic “man”) remains the same. Furthermore there is no object for the verb “accumulates” and no plural antecedent for the plural pronoun (“them”) attached to “gathers.” These problems can be removed if one emends the text from הֶבֶל יֶהֱמָיוּן (hevel yehemaun, “[in] vain they strive”) to הֶבְלֵי הָמוֹן (hevley hamon, “vain things of wealth”). This assumes a misdivision in the and a virtual dittography of vav (ו) between the mem and nun of המון. The present translation follows this emendation.
17 Heb “my hope, for you it [is].”

In other versions

Surely a man goes about as a shadow!

Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;

man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

My hope is in you.

“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;

in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth

without knowing whose it will finally be.

“But now, Lord, what do I look for?

My hope is in you.

Yes, a person goes about like a mere shadow.

Indeed, they rush around in vain,

gathering possessions

without knowing who will get them.

“Now, Lord, what do I wait for?

My hope is in you.

We are merely moving shadows,

and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.

We heap up wealth,

not knowing who will spend it.

And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?

My only hope is in you.

Surely a man walks about as a mere shadow;

surely in vain they bustle about.

He heaps up possessions but does not know who will gather them in.

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

My hope is for you.

Surely every man walketh in a vain shew:

Surely they are disquieted in vain:

He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

And now, Lord, what wait I for?

My hope is in thee.

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