⁷ There you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and ^(A)rejoice in all ^[a]your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

¹² I know that there is ^(A)nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; ¹³ moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the ^(B)gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. And God has so worked, that people will ^[a](C)fear Him. ^15 (D)That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God ^[b]seeks what has passed by.

¹⁶ Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is ^(E)wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. ¹⁷ I said ^[c]to myself, “^(F)God will judge the righteous and the wicked,” for a ^(G)time for every matter and for every deed ^[d]is there. ¹⁸ I said ^[e]to myself regarding the sons of mankind, “God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as ^(H)animals, they to themselves.” ^19 (I)For the fate of the sons of mankind and the fate of animals ^[f]is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for mankind over animals, for all is futility. ²⁰ All go to the same place. All came from the ^(J)dust and all return to the dust. ²¹ Who knows that the ^(K)spirit of the sons of mankind ascends upward and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth? ²² I have seen that ^(L)nothing is better than when a person is happy in his activities, for that is his ^[g]lot. For who will bring him to see ^(M)what will occur after him?

¹⁸ Here is what I have seen to be ^(A)good and ^[a]fitting: to eat, to drink, and ^[b]enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few ^[c]years of his life which God has given him; for this is his ^[d](B)reward. ¹⁹ Furthermore, as for every person to whom ^(C)God has given riches and wealth, He has also ^(D)given him the opportunity to ^[e]enjoy them and to receive his ^[f]reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the ^(E)gift of God. ²⁰ For he will not often call to mind the ^[g]years of his life, because ^(F)God keeps ^[h]him busy with the joy of his heart.