¹So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

¹In obrnil sem se in sem videl vse stiskanje, kar se ga godi pod solncem; in glej, solze stiskanih, in niso imeli tolažitelja; in na strani njih tlačiteljev je bila moč in ni jim bilo tolažitelja.

²Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.

²Zato sem blagroval mrtve, ki so bili davno umrli, bolj nego žive, ki so še v življenju;

³Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

³in za srečnejšega nego oboje sem štel njega, ki ga še ni bilo, ki še ni videl zlega dejanja, ki se godi pod solncem.

⁴Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

⁴Tedaj sem videl ves trud in ves uspeh v delu, da zaradi tega zavidajo drug drugemu. Tudi to je ničemurnost in lovljenje vetra!

⁵The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

⁵Bedak sklepa roke in jé svoje lastno meso.

⁶Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

⁶Boljša je peščica s pokojem nego dve pesti, polni truda in lovljenja vetra.

⁷Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

⁷In obrnil sem se in sem videl ničemurnost pod solncem:

⁸There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

⁸Samec je in nima druga, tudi nima sina, ne brata, a mnogemu trudu njegovemu ni konca; pri vsem tem se ne nasitijo bogastva oči njegove. Ne misli: Za koga se trudim in kratim duši svoji dobro? Tudi to je ničemurnost in prehudo opravilo.

⁹Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

⁹Bolje je dvema nego enemu, ker imata dobro plačilo za svoj trud.

¹⁰For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

¹⁰Zakaj če padeta, vzdigne tovariš tovariša; ali gorje samemu, ko pade in nima druga, da bi ga vzdignil!

¹¹Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

¹¹Tudi kadar dva vkup ležita, se grejeta; a kako se hoče kdo zgreti, ko je sam?

¹²And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

¹²In če enega siloma napadejo, se dva v bran postavita; in trojna vrvica se ne raztrga lahko.

¹³Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

¹³Boljši ubog in moder deček nego star in bedast kralj, ki nima več toliko uma, da bi se dal posvariti.

¹⁴For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.

¹⁴Zakaj iz jetnišnice je prišel deček, da bi kraljeval, čeprav se je ubog rodil v kraljestvu njegovem.

¹⁵I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.

¹⁵Videl sem vse živeče, ki hodijo pod solncem, da so bili pri dečku, drugem, ki je imel stopiti na onega mesto;ni bilo konca vsemu tistemu ljudstvu, ki mu je bil na čelu; a potomci se ga ne bodo veselili. Res, tudi to je ničemurnost in lovljenje vetra.

¹⁶There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

¹⁶ni bilo konca vsemu tistemu ljudstvu, ki mu je bil na čelu; a potomci se ga ne bodo veselili. Res, tudi to je ničemurnost in lovljenje vetra.