17. So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me;for all the benefits of wisdom are futile – like chasing the wind.
18. So I loathed all the fruit of my effort,for which I worked so hard on earth,because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.
19. Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool?Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my laborfor which I worked so wisely on earth!This also is futile!
20. So I began to despair about all the fruit of my laborfor which I worked so hard on earth.
21. For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill;however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritanceto someone else who did not work for it.This also is futile, and an awful injustice!
22. What does a man acquire from all his laborand from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?