| International Standard Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1There exists another misfortune that I have observed on earth, and it is a heavy burden upon human beings: | 1There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind: |
| 2a man to whom God gives wealth, riches, and honor, so that he lacks none of his heart's desires—but God does not give him the capability to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger consumes them. This is pointless and a grievous affliction. | 2God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction. |
| 3A man might father a hundred children, and live for many years, so that the length of his life is long—but if his life does not overflow with goodness, and he doesn't receive a proper burial, I maintain that stillborn children are better off than he is, | 3A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. |
| 4because stillborn children arrive in pointlessness, leave in darkness, and their names are covered in darkness. | 4For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity. |
| 5Furthermore, though they never saw the sun nor learned anything, they are more content than the other. | 5The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man, |
| 6Even if he lives a thousand years twice over without experiencing the best—aren't all of them going to the same place? | 6even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place? |
| 7Every person works for his own self-interests, but his desires remain unsatisfied. | 7All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. |
| 8For what advantage has the wise person over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have in knowing how to face life? | 8What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others? |
| 9It is better to focus on what you can see than to meander after your self-interest; this also is pointless and a chasing after wind. | 9Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. |
| 10Whatever exists has been named already; people know what it means to be human— and a person cannot defeat one who is more powerful than he. | 10Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he. |
| 11Because many words lead to pointlessness, how do people benefit from this? | 11For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone? |
| 12Who knows what is best for people in this life, every day of their pointless lives that they pass through like a shadow? Who informs people on earth what will come along after them? | 12For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun? |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | The Berean Bible (Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2018 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. |
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