^24 [a]There is ^(A)nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and have his soul see good in his labor. This also I have seen that it is ^(B)from the hand of God.

¹² I know that ^[a]there is ^(A)nothing better for them than to be glad and to do good in one’s lifetime; ¹³ moreover, that every man who eats and drinks and sees good in all his labor—it is the ^(B)gift of God.

¹⁸ Here is what I have seen to be ^(A)good, which is ^[a]beautiful: to eat, to drink, and to see good in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God has given him; for this is his ^(B)portion.

¹² For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few days of his vain life? He will make do with them like a ^(A)shadow. For who can tell a man ^(B)what will be after him under the sun?

¹⁵ So I laud gladness, for there is nothing good for ^(A)a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to ^[a]be merry, and this will join with him in his labor throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹³ The end of the matter, all that has been heard: ^(A)fear God and ^(B)keep His commandments, because this is the end of the matter for ^(C)all mankind.