¹⁴ I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Seek God in Early Life

² A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, ^(A)so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; ^(B)yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil ^[a]affliction.

¹⁸ Here is what I have seen: ^(A)It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; ^(B)for it is his ^[a]heritage.

The Vanity of Selfish Toil

⁴ Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹² I know that nothing is ^(A)better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³ and also that ^(B)every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

^22 (A)For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? ²³ For all his days are ^(B)sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.

^24 (C)Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.