THERE is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
THERE is another evil which I have observed in this work-day world, and a common one is it upon mankind:
VI. (1.) There is (exists) an evil which I have seen under the sun, and common (literally ‘much’) it is (feminine emphatic) over the man (i.e. mankind in general).
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
one who has appointed to him by the Almighty riches, possessions, and honour, and there is nothing lacking to him which he could possibly desire; and yet the Almighty Himself does not allow him to have any enjoyment of it; but some stranger or other enjoys it. This is an instance of evanescence, and an infirmity which is indeed an evil.
(2) A man (איש, not אדם, for it is equivalent to our ‘one’ indefinitely), which gives to him (emphatic) the Deity (one to whom the Deity gives, that is) riches, and possessions (chapter v. 19), and honour, and he is not lacking to his soul of all which he desires (the expression is peculiar, and is designed to bring into prominence the fact that to this person nothing at all is lacking; as we say, ‘he wants for nothing’) and not causes to him power, does the Deity to eat (in the usual sense of ‘enjoy’ or ‘use’) from it, for a man (again איש, ‘one’), a stranger, eats it (equivalent to ‘some stranger or another really enjoys it’). This is vanity and sickness, which is an evil, (indeed) it is.