יֵשׁ רָעָה אֲשֶׁר רָאִיתִי תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ וְרַבָּה הִיא עַל־הָאָדָם

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, in this world, and it is widespread among men, a pervasive phenomenon:

אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִתֶּן־לוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים עֹשֶׁר וּנְכָסִים וְכָבוֹד וְאֵינֶנּוּ חָסֵר לְנַפְשׁוֹ מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר־יִתְאַוֶּה וְלֹא־יַשְׁלִיטֶנּוּ הָאֱלֹהִים לֶאֱכֹל מִמֶּנּוּ כִּי אִישׁ נָכְרִי יֹאכְלֶנּוּ זֶה הֶבֶל וָחֳלִי רָע הוּא

A man to whom God gives wealth, property, and honor, and he lacks nothing for himself from anything that he desires. This person has unlimited potential to live a good life, but God does not grant him the opportunity to consume it, as he dies before he can fulfill his dreams and ambitions, and rather, a stranger will consume it, reaping the benefit of his achievements. That is futility, and it is a grave illness.

אִם־יוֹלִיד אִישׁ מֵאָה וְשָׁנִים רַבּוֹת יִחְיֶה וְרַב שֶׁיִּהְיוּ יְמֵי־שָׁנָיו וְנַפְשׁוֹ לֹא־תִשְׂבַּע מִן־הַטּוֹבָה וְגַם־קְבוּרָה לֹא־הָיְתָה לּוֹ אָמַרְתִּי טוֹב מִמֶּנּוּ הַנָּפֶל

Kohelet presents another example of this same phenomenon: If a man begets one hundred children from many wives and lives many years, and the days of his years are numerous, more than average, but despite all of this goodness, his soul is not sated from the goodness, as he is unable to find satisfaction and enjoyment from his accomplishments and he continues to further pursuits, and moreover, he ultimately has no burial, since that person, despite his toil and achievements, might not receive a dignified burial, a fate common to many who traveled abroad in pursuit of greater wealth and then disappeared, I say: A stillborn is better than he. He would have been better off not being born.

כִּי בַהֶבֶל בָּא וּבַחֹשֶׁךְ יֵלֵךְ וּבַחֹשֶׁךְ שְׁמוֹ יְכֻסֶּה

For like a stillborn, he came in futility and will depart in darkness, and his name will be covered in darkness, and nothing will remain of it.

גַּם־שֶׁמֶשׁ לֹא־רָאָה וְלֹא יָדָע נַחַת לָזֶה מִזֶּה

This person comes into the world empty-handed, works hard, lives a long life, and fathers many offspring. Yet he ultimately dies in a foreign, distant land and leaves this world empty-handed, without benefiting from the fruit of his labor. In contrast, the non-viable newborn, even the sun he did not see and he did not know any hard toil or evil; therefore, there is more gratification for that non-viable newborn than for this wealthy person;

וְאִלּוּ חָיָה אֶלֶף שָׁנִים פַּעֲמַיִם וְטוֹבָה לֹא רָאָה הֲלֹא אֶל־מָקוֹם אֶחָד הַכֹּל הוֹלֵךְ

and even if he, that rich individual, had lived one thousand years twice, he would not have seen good, as he was so obsessed with acquiring more possessions and expanding his options he never settled down to enjoy his possessions. Doesn’t it all go to one place, the grave, and nothing remains from all that he amassed?

כָּל־־־עֲמַל הָאָדָם לְפִיהוּ וְגַם־הַנֶּפֶשׁ לֹא תִמָּלֵא

All the toil of man is for his mouth, in order to eat and sustain himself, but in actuality his soul too is not filled. In the majority of cases, one leaves this world without having satisfied even half his desires.

כִּי מַה־יּוֹתֵר לֶחָכָם מִן־הַכְּסִיל מַה לֶּעָנִי יוֹדֵעַ לַהֲלֹךְ נֶגֶד הַחַיִּים

For what advantage has the wise over the fool? Neither of them is immune from the rat race during their lives, or from inevitable death. Why should the knowing poor man, who is aware that his spirit will not be sated, go against life, rather than take action in the world on behalf of the living?

טוֹב מַרְאֵה עֵינַיִם מֵהֲלָךְ־נָפֶשׁ גַּם־זֶה הֶבֶל וּרְעוּת רוּחַ

Everything stated until this point indicates that better is the sight of the eyes, real life itself, than the pursuit of desire, yearning after what has not yet been achieved. That too, the clear perception of reality, is preferable, even though reality is futility and herding wind,

מַה־שֶּׁהָיָה כְּבָר נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ וְנוֹדָע אֲשֶׁר־הוּא אָדָם וְלֹא־יוּכַל לָדִין עִם שֶׁתַּקִּיף מִמֶּנּוּ

since that which was, its name was already called. Past events have already been imprinted upon the world, and they cannot be changed. It is known that he is a man, a mere mortal, and he is unable to contend with that which is mightier than he. Man cannot change reality, as it is more powerful than he.

כִּי יֵשׁ־דְּבָרִים הַרְבֵּה מַרְבִּים הָבֶל מַה־יֹּתֵר לָאָדָם

Since there are many matters, large and small, in the world, futility increases. The richer a person grows, the more he becomes preoccupied with worthless matters, and one who lives confronted with an overabundance of worthless matters will inevitably encounter incalculably more vanity. What remains for the person? What will be left to man from all this?

כִּי מִי־יוֹדֵעַ מַה־טּוֹב לָאָדָם בַּחַיִּים מִסְפַּר יְמֵי־חַיֵּי הֶבְלוֹ וְיַעֲשֵׂם כַּצֵּל אֲשֶׁר מִי־יַגִּיד לָאָדָם מַה־יִּהְיֶה אַחֲרָיו תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ

For who knows what is good for man in his life, the number of days of his life of futility that he renders meaningless like a shadow? For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun? Since no one knows what will endure after his death, one cannot determine what endeavor is worth undertaking.