⁵ You have made my days^(A) a mere handbreadth;
    the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,^(B)
    even those who seem secure.^[a]

¹¹ When you rebuke^(A) and discipline^(B) anyone for their sin,
    you consume^(C) their wealth like a moth^(D)—
    surely everyone is but a breath.^(E)

⁹ Surely the lowborn^(A) are but a breath,^(B)
    the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance,^(C) they are nothing;
    together they are only a breath.

⁴ They are like a breath;^(A)
    their days are like a fleeting shadow.^(B)

² “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”^(A)