Ecclesiastes 2:18-20

New American Standard Bible

The Futility of Labor

¹⁸ So I hated ^(A)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must ^(B)leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be wise or ^(C)a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ^(D)futility. ²⁰ Therefore I ^[a]completely despaired over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.