16. I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.
17. I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”
18. I said to myself, “This happens concerning people, so that God may test them and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”
19. For the fate of people and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile.
20. All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.
21. Who knows if the spirit of people rises upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth?
22. I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?