“Surely everyone goes around(A) like a mere phantom;(B)
    in vain they rush about,(C) heaping up wealth(D)
    without knowing whose it will finally be.(E)

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20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!(A) This very night your life will be demanded from you.(B) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’(C)

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”(D)

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26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom,(A) knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth(B) to hand it over to the one who pleases God.(C) This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

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14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.(A)

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31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.(A)

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13 Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God(A) and keep his commandments,(B)
    for this is the duty of all mankind.(C)

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14     or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
    there is nothing left for them to inherit.

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Cast all your anxiety on him(A) because he cares for you.(B)

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29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.

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Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?(A)
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,(B)
    and you will delight in the richest(C) of fare.

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“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.[a](A)
    “Everything is meaningless!(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 12:8 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 9 and 10

11 The more the words,
    the less the meaning,
    and how does that profit anyone?

12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days(A) they pass through like a shadow?(B) Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

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Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content(A) with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

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