Ecclesiastes 2

The Preacher recounts his grand experiment: he denied himself no pleasure, built houses and gardens, amassed wealth, servants, and every delight, and became greater than all before him — yet found it all “vanity and a striving after wind.” Wisdom surpasses folly as light surpasses darkness, but the same death overtakes the wise and the fool, and all one’s labor must be left to another. His conclusion turns upward: there is nothing better than to eat, drink, and find enjoyment in one’s toil, “for apart from him who can have enjoyment?”