¹⁸ I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” ^19 (A)For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. ²⁰ All go to one place: ^(B)all are from the dust, and all return to dust. ^21 (C)Who^[a] knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? ^22 (D)So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for ^(E)that is his ^[b]heritage. ^(F)For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Death Comes to All

9 For I ^[a]considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: ^(A)that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. ^2 (B)All things come alike to all:

³ This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.