¹On üks õnnetus, mida ma nägin päikese all, ja see lasub raskesti inimeste peal:

¹There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is frequent among men:

²Jumal annab mehele rikkust ja vara ja au, nõnda et ta hingel ei puudu midagi kõigest sellest, mida ta himustab, ometi ei luba Jumal teda ennast seda nautida, vaid seda naudib keegi võõras. See on tühi töö ja tõsine kannatus!

²one to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honour, and he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and a sore evil.

³Kuigi mehele sünniks sada last ja ta elaks palju aastaid, nõnda et ta aastate päevi oleks rohkesti, aga ta hing ei oskaks oma hüvest rahuldust tunda, siis ma ütleksin, et nurisünnitis on õnnelikum kui tema.

³If a man beget a hundred [sons], and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, but his soul be not filled with good, and also he have no burial, I say an untimely birth is better than he.

⁴Sest see tuleb olematusest ja läheb pimedusse, ja pimedus peidab ta nime.

⁴For it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness;

⁵Ta pole päikest näinud ega tundnud, ja temale ei saa osaks isegi mitte matust - ometi on tal rohkem rahu kui tollel.

⁵moreover it hath not seen nor known the sun: this hath rest rather than the other.

⁶Isegi kui ta elaks kaks korda tuhat aastat, head ta siiski ei näe - jah, eks kõik lähe ühte paika!

⁶Yea, though he live twice a thousand years, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?

⁷Kogu inimese vaev on ta oma suu tarvis, ja ometi ei saa isu täis!

⁷All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.

⁸Sest mis kasu on albiga võrreldes targal, ja mis on kannatajal sellest, et ta oskab elada elavate ees?

⁸For what advantage hath the wise above the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?

⁹Parem on see, mis silmaga on näha, kui rahuldamata himu. Seegi on tühi töö ja vaimunärimine!

⁹Better is the seeing of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this also is vanity and pursuit of the wind.

¹⁰Mis sünnib, on juba ammu määratud; ja on teada, et ta on inimene, ja ei suuda vaielda sellega, kes on temast vägevam.

¹⁰That which is hath already been named; and what man is, is known, and that he cannot contend with him that is mightier than he.

¹¹Sest mida rohkem on sõnu, seda rohkem on tühisust. Mis kasu on inimesel sellest?

¹¹For there are many things that increase vanity: what is man advantaged?

¹²Sest kes teab, mis on inimesele hea siin elus, tema tühise elu üürikesil päevil, mida ta veedab varjuna? Sest kes ütleb inimesele, mis pärast teda sünnib päikese all?

¹²For who knoweth what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell man what shall be after him under the sun?