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: