But then I looked at all the things I had done. I thought about all the hard work I did. I decided it was all a waste of time! It was like trying to catch the wind. {\cf2\super [8]} There is nothing to gain from all the things we do in this life.
Ecclesiastes 1:3 - Easy To Read Version Do people really gain anything from all the hard work they do in this life? {\cf2\super [2]} \{No!\} Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? Amplified Bible - Classic Edition What profit does man have left from all his toil at which he toils under the sun? [Is life worth living?] American Standard Version (1901) What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun? Common English Bible What do people gain from all the hard work that they work so hard at under the sun? Catholic Public Domain Version What more does a man have from all his labor, as he labors under the sun? Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version What hath a man more of all his labour, that he taketh under the sun? |
But then I looked at all the things I had done. I thought about all the hard work I did. I decided it was all a waste of time! It was like trying to catch the wind. {\cf2\super [8]} There is nothing to gain from all the things we do in this life.
I began to hate all the hard work I had done. I had worked hard, but I saw that the people that live after me will get the things that I worked for. I will not be able to take those things with me.
Some other person will control everything I worked and studied for. And I don’t know if that person will be wise or foolish. This is also senseless.
What does a person really have after all his work and struggling in this life? {\cf2\super [12]}
And things are even better \{for people that die at birth! Why? Because\} they never saw the evil that is done in this world. {\cf2\super [20]}
That is very sad. He will leave the world the same way he came. So, what does a person gain from his “trying to catch the wind”?
I have seen that this is the best a person can do: A person should eat, drink, and enjoy the work he does during his short life on earth. God has given him these few days, and that is all he has.
Who knows what is best for a person during his short life on earth? His life passes like a shadow. No one can tell him what will happen later.
Wisdom is better if you also have property. Really, wise people {\cf2\super [32]} will get more than enough wealth.
I also saw a person doing a wise thing in this life. And it seemed very important to me.
Of all the things that happen in this life, the worst thing is that all people end the same way. But it is also very bad that people always think evil and foolish thoughts. And those thoughts lead to death.
After a person is dead, his love, hate, and jealousy are all gone. And dead people will never again share in the things that happen on earth.
Why waste your money on something\par that is not real food?\par Why should you work for something\par that does not really satisfy you?\par Listen very closely to me,\par and you will eat the good food.\par You will enjoy the food\par that satisfies your soul.\par
The Lord All-Powerful has decided that a fire will destroy everything that those people worked to build. All their work will be for nothing.
That person’s false god will not help him. Why? Because it is only a statue that some man covered with metal. It is only a statue. So the person that made it can’t expect it to help. That statue can’t even speak!
It is worth nothing for a person to have the whole world, if he loses his soul. A person could never pay enough to buy back his soul.
Earthly food spoils and ruins. So don’t work to get that kind of food. But work to get the food that stays good always and gives you life forever. The Son of Man {\cf2\super [87]} will give you that food. God the Father showed that he is with the Son of Man.”
to follow the leading of people like these, and any other person that works and serves with them.