Ecclesiastes 2:18-23

Legacy Standard Bible

The Vanity of Labor

¹⁸ Thus I hated ^(A)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^(B)leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^(C)a man of simpleminded folly? Yet he will have ^[a]power over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored and for which I have acted wisely under the sun. This too is ^(D)vanity. ²⁰ Therefore I turned my heart to despair of all my labor for which I had labored under the sun. ²¹ When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and ^(E)skill, then he ^(F)gives his portion to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. ²² For what does a man get in ^(G)all his labor and in the striving of his heart with which he labors under the sun? ²³ Because all his days his endeavor is painful and ^(H)vexing; even at night his heart ^(I)does not lie down. This too is vanity.