The Vanity of Toil

¹⁸ I hated ^(A)all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must ^(B)leave it to the man who will come after me,

^10 (A)According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled^[a] master builder I laid a ^(B)foundation, and ^(C)someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

²⁹ I ^(A)know that after my departure ^(B)fierce wolves will come in among you, ^(C)not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and ^(D)from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

²⁰ But God said to him, ^(A)‘Fool! ^(B)This night ^(C)your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ^(D)whose will they be?’

⁹ Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your ^(A)vain^[a] life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your ^(B)portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.

¹⁸ Behold, what I have seen to be ^(A)good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment^[a] in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his ^(B)lot.