(1) The words of Kohelethson of David, king in Jerusalem. (2) Utter futility!—said Koheleth—Utter futility! All is futile!
The translation of "hevel" is an interesting question - see Michael V. Fox in "Qohelet and its contradictions" and Choon-Leong Seow in the Anchor Bible commentary and their discussions. We cite here Robert Alter from his commentary
"Hevel, 'breath' or 'vapor,' is something utterly insubstantial and transient, and in this book suggests futility, ephemerality, and also, as Fox argues, the absurdity of existence."
(10) I withheld from my eyes nothing they asked for, and denied myself no enjoyment; rather, I got enjoyment out of all my wealth. And that was all I got out of my wealth. (11) Then my thoughts turned to all the fortune my hands had built up, to the wealth I had acquired and won—and oh, it was all futile and pursuit of wind; there was no real value under the sun!
Kohelet finding objectivity:
"The child’s situation is characterized by his finding himself cast into a universe which he has not helped to establish, which has been fashioned without him, and which appears to him as an absolute to which he can only submit. In his eyes, human inventions, words, customs, and values are given facts, as inevitable as the sky and the trees."
" With astonishment, revolt and disrespect the child little by little asks himself, “Why must I act that way? What good is it? And what will happen if I act in another way?” He discovers his subjectivity; he discovers that of others. And when he arrives at the age of adolescence he begins to vacillate because he notices the contradictions among adults as well as their hesitations and weakness. Men stop appearing as if they were gods, and at the same time the adolescent discovers the human character of the reality about him. Language, customs, ethics, and values have their source in these uncertain creatures. The moment has come when he too is going to be called upon to participate in their operation; his acts weigh upon the earth as much as those of other men. He will have to choose and decide. It is comprehensible that it is hard for him to live this moment of his history, and this is doubtless the deepest reason for the crisis of adolescence; the individual must at last assume his subjectivity."
- Simone de Beauvoir, "The Ethics of Ambiguity"
(13) I found that Wisdom is superior to folly
As light is superior to darkness; (14) A wise man has his eyes in his head, Whereas a fool walks in darkness. But I also realized that the same fate awaits them both. (15) So I reflected: “The fate of the fool is also destined for me; to what advantage, then, have I been wise?” And I came to the conclusion that that too was futile, (16) because the wise man, just lik the fool, is not remembered forever; for, as the succeeding days roll by, both are forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies, just like the fool!
Papyrus Chester Beatty IV:
"The doors of their chapels are undone,
Their ka-priests have gone.
Their tombstones are smeared with mud,
their tombs are forgotten,
but their names are read out on their scrolls,
written when they were young.
Being remembered makes them, to the limits of eternity...
A man is dead, his corpse is in the ground:
when all his family are laid in the earth,
It is writing that lets him be remembered,
in the mouth of the reciter of the formula...
Is there anyone here like Hordedef?
Is there another like Imhotep?
There is no family born for us like Neferty,
and Khety their leader.
Let me remind you of the name of Ptahemdjehuty
Khakheperraseneb.
Is there another like Ptahhotep?
Kaires too?...
They are gone, their names might be forgotten,
but writing lets them be remembered. "
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/literature/authorspchb.html
(12) Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for them is to enjoy themselves and do what is good in their lifetime;
"It is not what men devise that comes to pass,
But what God determines comes to pass.
Live, therefore, contentedly
And let what they give come of its own accord"
- The Maxims of Ptah-Hotep, from William Kelly Simpson "The Literature of Ancient Egypt"
"There was a peasant who farmed his plot of land
He loaded his harvest into a boat and towed it...
But meanwhile his wife and children had perished
On a lake infested at night by crocodiles"
The Man who was Weary of Life, from Simpson ibid
"He strives to attain the distinctiveness of an individual who represents not the species but himself, who bears a name identifying himself as an I who cannot be equated with the thou, who passes through this valley of tears only once in an eternity and who cannot be replaced or reproduced"
Family Redeemed, page 8