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Na ka tahuri ahau, a ka titiro ki nga tukinotanga katoa e mahia nei i raro i te ra: na ko nga roimata o te hunga i tukinotia, kahore hoki o ratou kaiwhakamarie; a he kaha kei te ringa o o ratou kaitukino, otiia kahore o ratou kaiwhakamarie.

Na, ko taku whakamoemiti ki te hunga mate kua mate noa ake, nui atu i taku ki te hunga ora e ora nei.

Engari ia pai atu i a raua te tangata kahore ano i whanau noa, kahore ano i kite noa i te mahi he e mahia nei i raro i te ra.

Na ka kite ahau i te mauiui katoa, i nga mahi tohunga katoa, he mea hoki tenei e hae ai te tangata ki tona hoa. He horihori ano hoki tenei, a he whai kau i te hau.

Ko te wairangi, kei te kotui i ona ringa, a kainga ana e ia ona kikokiko ake.

He pai ke te ringa ki i runga i te ata noho, i nga ringa ki e rua, ki te mea he ruha, he whai noa i te hau.

Katahi ahau ka tahuri, a ka kite i te horihori i raro i te ra.

He tangata tera, ko ia anake, kahore hoki ona tokorua; ae ra, kahore ano hoki ana tama, ona tuakana, teina ranei; heoi kahore he mutunga o tana mahi katoa, e kore ano hoki ona kanohi e makona i nga taonga. Na ka mea ia, Ki a wai toku whakaaro i a hau ka mahi nei, ka whakatiki nei i toku wairua ki te pai? He horihori ano tenei, he raruraru kino.

Erangi te tokorua i te kotahi; no te mea ka whiwhi raua ki te utu pai i ta raua mahi.

10 Ki te hinga hoki tetahi, ma tona hoa ia e whakaara: aue, te mate mo te kotahi, ina hinga, ki te kahore te whakatokorua hei whakaara i a ia!

11 Ki te takoto tahi ano nga tokorua, ka mahana raua; he tangata kotahi ia, ma te aha ka mahana ai tona kotahi?

12 Ki te kaha tetahi i a ia kotahi nei, ka maia te tokorua ki a ia; e kore hoki te aho takitoru e motu wawe.

13 Pai ake te tamaiti rawakore, whakaaro nui i te kingi kua koroheketia, kua wairangi, kua kore nei ona mohio ki te whakarongo ina whakatupatoria.

14 I puta mai hoki tera i roto i te whare herehere, hei kingi; ae ra, ahakoa i roto i tona whenua i kingi ai, i whanau rawakore mai ia.

15 I kite ahau i te hunga ora katoa e haere nei i raro i te ra, kei te tama ratou, kei te tuarua, kua tu nei i te tunga o tera.

16 Kahore he mutunga o te iwi katoa, ara o te hunga ko ia nei to ratou ariki; na e kore o muri iho i a ia e koa ki a ai. He pono, he horihori ano hoki tenei a he whai kau i te hau.

Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness

Again I looked and saw all the oppression(A) that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
    and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
    and they have no comforter.(B)
And I declared that the dead,(C)
    who had already died,
are happier than the living,
    who are still alive.(D)
But better than both
    is the one who has never been born,(E)
who has not seen the evil
    that is done under the sun.(F)

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.(G)

Fools fold their hands(H)
    and ruin themselves.
Better one handful with tranquillity
    than two handfuls with toil(I)
    and chasing after the wind.

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(J) 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!

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Advancement Is Meaningless

13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. 14 The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. 15 I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. 16 There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.