Ecclesiastes 2:17-26

Modern English Version

¹⁷ And I began to hate life for the labor that was done under the sun was contemptible to me, for all of this was vanity and chasing the wind. ¹⁸ And I despised all the toil in which I labored under the sun, which I will give up to the man who comes after me. ¹⁹ And who knows if this man will be wise or a fool? Yet he will gain power over every labor that I have toiled and my use of wisdom under the sun. Also this is vanity. ²⁰ So I turned to give my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun. ²¹ For there is a man who labors with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet to a man who did not labor for this, he leaves it as his inheritance. This also is vanity and a great distress. ²² For what becomes of a man with all his labor and with the striving in his heart that he toils under the sun? ²³ For all his days are sorrowful, and his work is a vexation; even at night his heart finds no rest. Also this is fleeting.

²⁴ There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in his labor. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can even eat or have enjoyment more so than I?^{[a] 26} For to a man who is pleasing before Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting to give him who is pleasing before God. Also this is vanity and chasing the wind.