¹⁸ I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” ^19 (A)For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. ²⁰ All go to one place: ^(B)all are from the dust, and all return to dust. ^21 (C)Who^[a] knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? ^22 (D)So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for ^(E)that is his ^[b]heritage. ^(F)For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Assurance of the Resurrection

5 For we know that if ^(A)our earthly ^[a]house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house ^(B)not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this ^(C)we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our ^[b]habitation which is from heaven, ³ if indeed, ^(D)having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, ^(E)but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also ^(F)has given us the Spirit as ^[c]a guarantee.

⁶ So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷ For ^(G)we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, yes, ^(H)well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.