Ecclesiastes 2:18–26

¹⁸Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because ^rI must leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. ²¹For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his ⁸heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ^22sFor what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? ²³For all his days are ^tsorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.

^24uNothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. ²⁵For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, ⁹more than I? ²⁶For God gives ^vwisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that ^whe may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.