“There is an evil
That I have seen under the sun.
It lies heavy upon humans.
God gives wealth.
God gives possessions.
God gives honor to people.
Thus they lack nothing of all that they desire.
Yet God does not enable them
To enjoy these things.
But a stranger enjoys them.
This is vanity.
It is a grievous illness.
If a man beget a hundred children,
If a man lives many years,
However many are the days of his years,
But he does not enjoy life’s good things,
If he has no burial,
I say
That a stillborn child is
Better off than he.
‘It comes into vanity.
It goes into darkness.
In darkness
Its name is covered.
Moreover it has not seen the sun
It does not know anything.
Yet it finds rest rather than him.’
Even though he should
Live a thousand years twice over,
Yet enjoy no good,
Do not all go to the one place?”
Qoheleth finds another evil under the sun in his pessimistic mood. What happens to those who have everything that they desire? Somehow they are not able to enjoy all their wealth. Instead a stranger seems to enjoy them. This is another useless vain thing, another grievous illness among us. Even if someone had 100 children and a long life, but cannot enjoy them, what is the point of all this? If he does not even get a burial, this wealthy person with a large family and a long life is no better off than a stillborn child. This is an amazing comparison. He maintains that the stillborn is better off because it lives in darkness with no name, never seeing the sun, or knowing anything, but finds a better rest than this old rich guy with the large family. Even though this person might live 2,000 years, he would not enjoy any good things. After all, the stillborn and this old guy, as well as everyone else, will end up in the same place, dead.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 