12. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy themselves in their lifetime.
13. Also when anyone eats and drinks, and finds satisfaction in all of his labor, it is the gift of God.
14. I know that everything that God does will endure forever. There is no adding to it or taking from it. God has made it so, that they will revere Him.
15. Whatever exists, has already been and whatever will be, has already been, but God recalls what has passed.
16. I have also seen under the sun: In the place of justice there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there was wickedness.
17. I said in my heart: “The righteous and the wicked, God will judge. For there is a time for every activity and for every deed.”
18. I also said in my heart, “As for the sons of man, God tests them so that they may see that they are but animals.”
19. For the destiny of humankind and the destiny of animals are one and the same. As one dies, so dies the other. Both have the same breath—a human has no advantage over an animal—both are fleeting.
20. Both go to one place. Both were taken from the dust, and both return to the dust.
21. Who knows that the spirit of the sons of man ascends upward and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?
22. So I perceived that nothing is better than for man to enjoy his works, because that is his portion. For who can bring him back to see what will be in the future?