NET Bible
"So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth."
— Ecclesiastes 2:20, NET Bible
“Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.”
“Therefore I turned about to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor wherein I had labored under the sun. ”
“Therefore I began to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor in which I had labored under the sun.”
“Wherefore I left off and my heart renounced labouring anymore under the sun.”
“So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.”
“Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.”
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.
Futility of Being a Workaholic 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.
Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!
So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.
For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!
Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?
For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!