1 - Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed - and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors - and they have no comforter.
2 - And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.
3 - But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
4 - And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person's envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
5 - Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves.
6 - Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
7 - Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
8 - There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless - a miserable business!
9 - Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
10 - If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
11 - Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
12 - Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
13 - Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.
14 - The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom.
15 - I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king's successor.
16 - There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.