^18 [a]I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts. ¹⁹ For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one ^[b]breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity. ²⁰ All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. ²¹ Who knoweth the spirit ^[c]of man, ^[d]whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goeth downward to the earth? ²² Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him back to see what shall be after him?