Ecclesiastes 2:17-26

¹⁷So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.

¹⁸Hate had I for all my work which I had done, because the man who comes after me will have its fruits.

¹⁹And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

²⁰So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.

²¹Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

²²What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?

²³All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose.

²⁴There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God.

²⁵Who may take food or have pleasure without him?

²⁶To the man with whom he is pleased, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of getting goods together and storing up wealth, to give to him in whom God has pleasure. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.