19 And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. 20 So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun. 21 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.
Ecclesiastes 2:19–21
Semantically similar passages
Ecclesiastes 2:10–12
10 Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 11 Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to ach…
Ecclesiastes 4:3–5
3 But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. 4 I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. 5 The fool folds his hands and consu…
Ecclesiastes 5:15–17
15 As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands. 16 This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind? 17 Moreo…
Ecclesiastes 6:1–2
1 There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind: 2 God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is f…
Ecclesiastes 2:14–16
14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both. 15 So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that t…
Ecclesiastes 1:13–15
13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the… 15 …
Ecclesiastes 8:13–15
13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow. 14 There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked m…
Ecclesiastes 2:25–26
25 For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment? 26 To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God.…
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