¹⁸Nothing that I had worked for and earned meant a thing to me, because I knew that I would have to leave it to my successor, ¹⁹and he might be wise, or he might be foolish—who knows? Yet he will own everything I have worked for, everything my wisdom has earned for me in this world. It is all useless. ²⁰So I came to regret that I had worked so hard. ²¹You work for something with all your wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then you have to leave it all to someone who hasn’t had to work for it. It is useless, and it isn’t right! ²²You work and worry your way through life, and what do you have to show for it? ²³^*As long as you live, everything you do brings nothing but worry and heartache. Even at night your mind can’t rest. It is all useless.

²⁴^*The best thing anyone can do is to eat and drink and enjoy what he has earned. And yet, I realized that even this comes from God. ²⁵How else could you have anything to eat or enjoy yourself at all? ²⁶^*God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness to those who please him, but he makes sinners work, earning and saving, so that what they get can be given to those who please him. It is all useless. It is like chasing the wind.

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Cross references

*2.23: Job 5:7; 14:1
*2.24: Ec 3:13; 5:18; 9:7; Is 56:12; Lk 12:19; 1 Co 15:32
*2.26: Job 32:8; Pr 2:6