1 When I next observed all the oppressions that take place under the sun, I saw the tears of the oppressed—and they have no one to comfort them. Their oppressors wield power—but they have no one to comfort them.
2 So I declare that the dead, who have already died, are more fortunate than the living, who are still alive.
3 But happier than both are those who have never existed, who haven’t witnessed the terrible things that happen under the sun.
4 I also observed that people work hard and become good at what they do only out of mutual envy. This too is pointless, just wind chasing.
5 Fools fold their hands and eat their own flesh.
6 But better is resting with one handfulthan working hard for two fistfuls and chasing after wind.
7 Next, I saw under the sun something else that was pointless: