1There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity.
3A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead.
7All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough.
9Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
10Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.
11The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they?
12In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone?