Ecclesiastes 2:17-25

English Standard Version

¹⁷ So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for ^(A)all is vanity and a striving after wind.

The Vanity of Toil

¹⁸ I hated ^(B)all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must ^(C)leave it to the man who will come after me, ¹⁹ and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰ So I ^(D)turned about and gave my heart up to despair ^(E)over all the toil of my labors under the sun, ²¹ because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²² What has a man from ^(F)all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? ²³ For ^(G)all his days are full of sorrow, and his ^(H)work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

^24 (I)There is nothing better for a person than that he should ^(J)eat and drink and find enjoyment^[a] in his toil. This also, I saw, is ^(K)from the hand of God, ²⁵ for apart from him^[b] who can eat or who can have enjoyment?