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17 So I hated life. Everything that happens on the earth only brings me trouble. Nothing has any purpose. It is as useless as somebody who tries to catch the wind.

Work has no purpose

18 I thought about all the hard work that I have done here on the earth. When I die, all the things that I worked so hard to get will belong to the next king. So I hated all my hard work. 19 The next king may be a wise man, or he may be a foolish man. Nobody knows! But all the things that I used my wisdom and hard work to get will belong to him. All this has no purpose.

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Toil Is Meaningless

17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(A) 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.(B) 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish?(C) Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.

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