1 There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon humankind:
2 There is one to whom God gives riches and property and honor, and who lacks nothing the heart could desire; yet God does not grant the power to partake of them, but a stranger devours them. This is vanity and a dire plague.
3 Should one have a hundred children and live many years, no matter to what great age, still if one has not the full benefit of those goods, I proclaim that the child born dead, even if left unburied, is more fortunate.
4 Though it came in vain and goes into darkness and its name is enveloped in darkness,
5 though it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet the dead child has more peace.
6 Should such a one live twice a thousand years and not enjoy those goods, do not both go to the same place?