Ecclesiastes 2:17-23

New American Standard Bible 1995

¹⁷ So I ^(A)hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ^[a]grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

The Futility of Labor

¹⁸ Thus I hated ^(B)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^(C)leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^(D)a fool? Yet he will have ^[b]control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ^(E)vanity. ²⁰ Therefore I ^[c]completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. ²¹ When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and ^(F)skill, then he ^(G)gives his ^[d]legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. ²² For what does a man get in ^(H)all his labor and in ^[e]his striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³ Because all his days his task is painful and ^(I)grievous; even at night his ^[f]mind ^(J)does not rest. This too is vanity.