I tested laughter, pleasure, wine, and folly; I asked what any joy could truly do. I built great houses, planted many vineyards, Made gardens, pools, and orchards rich with fruit. I gathered servants, cattle, silver, singers; I became greater than the kings before me. Whatever my eyes desired, I did not withhold; My heart received the wages of its labor. Then I turned and looked at everything I fashioned; Still it was vapor, chasing after wind. Nothing lasting rose from all my striving; Nothing under heaven could be held. Wisdom sees more clearly than our folly, As daylight leads us farther than the dark. Yet one ending waits for wise and foolish; Both are carried toward the same forgotten dust. So I hated labor I must leave behind me, For another may inherit what I built, Whether that heir is wise or careless; All my anxious nights cannot control it. There is no better gift than honest eating, Drinking, and receiving joy within our work. This enjoyment does not rise from human grasping; It comes as mercy from the hand of God.