18So I hated all the hard work that I have done
under the sun,
which I shall bequeath to the person who will be after me.
19Who knows whether they’ll be a worldy-wise person or a fool?
But they’ll be master over all the work that I have done
and the wisdom that I’ve exercised
under the sun.
This too is mere-breath.
20So I myself turned round to letting my heart despair
about all the hard work that I have done
under the sun.
21Because a person may work hard
with worldly-wisdom,
with knowledge,
and with skill,
and they give their share from it to a person
who didn’t work hard for it.
This is also mere-breath,
and bad.
22Because what does the person have for all their hard work
and striving of heart,
with which they worked under the sun?
23Because all their days, their hard work is pain and vexation.
By night, too, their ‘heart’ doesn’t lie down.
This also is mere-breath.
Lord, you have given me so much,
I ask for one more thing –
a grateful heart.
George Herbert