² And I declared that the dead,^(A)
    who had already died,
are happier than the living,
    who are still alive.^(B)

¹¹ “Why did I not perish at birth,
    and die as I came from the womb?^(A)
12 Why were there knees to receive me^(B)
    and breasts that I might be nursed?
¹³ For now I would be lying down^(C) in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest^(D)
14 with kings and rulers of the earth,^(E)
    who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,^(F)
15 with princes^(G) who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.^(H)
16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,^(I)
    like an infant who never saw the light of day?^(J)
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,^(K)
    and there the weary are at rest.^(L)
18 Captives^(M) also enjoy their ease;
    they no longer hear the slave driver’s^(N) shout.^(O)
19 The small and the great are there,^(P)
    and the slaves are freed from their owners.

²⁰ “Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,^(Q)
21 to those who long for death that does not come,^(R)
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,^(S)
22 who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?^(T)
23 Why is life given to a man
    whose way is hidden,^(U)
    whom God has hedged in?^(V)
24 For sighing^(W) has become my daily food;^(X)
    my groans^(Y) pour out like water.^(Z)
25 What I feared has come upon me;
    what I dreaded^(AA) has happened to me.^(AB)
26 I have no peace,^(AC) no quietness;
    I have no rest,^(AD) but only turmoil.”^(AE)

⁵ For the living know that they will die,
    but the dead know nothing;^(A)
they have no further reward,
    and even their name^(B) is forgotten.^(C)
6 Their love, their hate
    and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
    in anything that happens under the sun.^(D)