Ecclesiastes 2:13-23

13 I saw that wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
14 The eyes of a wise man see things clearly. A person who is foolish lives in darkness. But I finally realized that death catches up with both of them.
15 Then I thought, "What happens to a foolish person will catch up with me too. So what do I gain by being wise?" I said to myself, "That doesn't have any meaning either."
16 Like a foolish person, a wise man won't be remembered very long. In days to come, both of them will be forgotten. Like a person who is foolish, a wise man must die too!

Work Doesn't Have Any Meaning

17 So I hated life. That's because the work that is done on this earth made me sad. None of it has any meaning. It's like chasing the wind.
18 I hated everything I had worked for on earth. I'll have to leave all of it to someone who lives after me.
19 And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Either way, he'll take over everything on earth I've worked so hard for. That doesn't have any meaning either.
20 So I began to lose hope because of all of my hard work on this earth.
21 A man might use wisdom, knowledge and skill to do his work. But then he has to leave everything he owns to someone who hasn't worked for it. That doesn't have any meaning either. In fact, it isn't fair.
22 What does a man get for all of his hard work on earth? What does he get for all of his worries?
23 As long as he lives, his work is nothing but pain and sorrow. Even at night his mind can't rest. That doesn't have any meaning either.
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