[1] Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. [2] So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. [3] But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun. [4] Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless-like chasing the wind. [5] "Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin." [6] And yet, "Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind." [7] I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. [8] This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, "Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?" It is all so meaningless and depressing. [9] Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. [10] If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. [11] Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? [12] A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. [13] It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. [14] Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison. [15] But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him. [16] Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless-like chasing the wind.
