Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

There is one alone, without [a]companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his (A)eye satisfied with riches.
But (B)he never asks,
“For whom do I toil and deprive myself of (C)good?”
This also is vanity and a [b]grave misfortune.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. a second
  2. Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. evil task

Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content(A) with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

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