But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed,(A) who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

The Loneliness of Wealth

I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another.(B) This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.[a](C)

The fool folds his arms(D)
and consumes his own flesh.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 4:4 Or a feeding on wind, or an affliction of spirit; also in vv. 6,16

But better than both
    is the one who has never been born,(A)
who has not seen the evil
    that is done under the sun.(B)

And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(C)

Fools fold their hands(D)
    and ruin themselves.

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