Ecclesiastes 6
JPS Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society, 1917)
Clementine Vulgate, 1598
1There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy upon men:
1[Est et aliud malum quod vidi sub sole, et quidem frequens apud homines:
2a man to whom God giveth riches, wealth, and honour, so that 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 it is an evil disease.
2vir cui dedit Deus divitias, et substantiam, et honorem, et nihil deest animæ suæ ex omnibus quæ desiderat; nec tribuit ei potestatem Deus ut comedat ex eo, sed homo extraneus vorabit illud: hoc vanitas et miseria magna est.
3If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul have not enough of good, and moreover he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he;
3Si genuerit quispiam centum liberos, et vixerit multos annos, et plures dies ætatis habuerit, et anima illius non utatur bonis substantiæ suæ, sepulturaque careat: de hoc ergo pronuntio quod melior illo sit abortivus.
4for it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and the name thereof is covered with darkness;
4Frustra enim venit, et pergit ad tenebras, et oblivione delebitur nomen ejus.
5moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath gratification rather than the other;
5Non vidit solem, neque cognovit distantiam boni et mali.
6yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, and enjoy no good; do not all go to one place?
6Etiam si duobus millibus annis vixerit, et non fuerit perfruitus bonis, nonne ad unum locum properant omnia?
7All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
7Omnis labor hominis in ore ejus; sed anima ejus non implebitur.
8For what advantage hath the wise more than the fool? or the poor man that hath understanding, in walking before the living?
8Quid habet amplius sapiens a stulto? et quid pauper, nisi ut pergat illuc ubi est vita?
9Better is the seeing of the eyes than the wandering of the desire; this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
9Melius est videre quod cupias, quam desiderare quod nescias. Sed et hoc vanitas est, et præsumptio spiritus.
10Whatsoever cometh into being, the name thereof was given long ago, and it is foreknown what man is; neither can he contend with Him that is mightier than he.
10Qui futurus est, jam vocatum est nomen ejus; et scitur quod homo sit, et non possit contra fortiorem se in judicio contendere.
11Seeing there are many words that increase vanity, what is man the better?
11Verba sunt plurima, multamque in disputando habentia vanitatem.]
12For who knoweth what is good for man in his life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
no verse 12 in this text
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