¹ Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun:

And look! The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter—
On the side of their oppressors there is power,
But they have no comforter.
² Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.
³ Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

The Vanity of Selfish Toil

⁴ Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
⁵ The fool folds his hands
And consumes his own flesh.
⁶ Better a handful with quietness
Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

⁷ Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:
⁸ There is one alone, without companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his eye satisfied with riches.
But he never asks,

“ For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?”
This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.

The Value of a Friend

⁹ Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
¹⁰ For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
¹¹ Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Popularity Passes Away

¹³ Better a poor and wise youth
Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.
¹⁴ For he comes out of prison to be king,
Although he was born poor in his kingdom.
¹⁵ I saw all the living who walk under the sun;
They were with the second youth who stands in his place.
¹⁶ There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king;
Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.