Ecclesiastes 2:17-23

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17 So I ^ahated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ¹grievous to me; because everything is vanity and striving after wind.

The Vanity of Labor

18 Thus I hated ^aall the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^bleave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^aa man of simpleminded folly? Yet he will have ¹power over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored and for which I have acted wisely under the sun. This too is ^bvanity. 20 Therefore I turned my heart to despair of all my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and ^askill, then he ^bgives his portion to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what does a man get in ^aall his labor and in the striving of his heart with which he labors under the sun? 23 Because all his days his endeavor is painful and ^avexing; even at night his heart ^bdoes not lie down. This too is vanity.