The shocking claim that the dead are more fortunate than the living, and that the unborn who have never seen the evil done under the sun are even better off, represents a moment of profound pessimism. The logic follows from the previous verse: if the oppressed suffer with no relief, then escape from consciousness—whether through death or through never having been born—becomes preferable to continued existence. Yet this statement, however dark, testifies to Qohelet's moral sensitivity; the suffering of others moves him to despair about life itself.

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