¹⁵ Then I said in my heart, ^(A)“What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

⁸ For what advantage has the wise man ^(A)over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living?

¹⁴ I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is ^(A)vanity^[a] and a striving after wind.^[b]

¹⁶ For of the wise as of the fool there is ^(A)no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. ^(B)How the wise dies just like the fool!

The Vanity of Self-Indulgence

2 I ^(B)said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.^[a]

¹⁶ I said in my heart, “I have acquired great ^(A)wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”

¹² behold, ^(A)I now do according to your word. Behold, ^(B)I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.