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15 I said to myself, “Why do I try to be wise when my fate is the same as that of the fool? This pursuit is fleeting too.” 16 Neither the wise nor the fool will be remembered for very long once they are gone. The wise dies, and the fool alike. All are forgotten in the future. 17 So I began to hate life itself because all that is done under the sun is so harsh and difficult. Life—everything about it—is fleeting; it’s like trying to pursue the wind.

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15 Then I said to myself,

“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
    What then do I gain by being wise?”(A)
I said to myself,
    “This too is meaningless.”
16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;(B)
    the days have already come when both have been forgotten.(C)
Like the fool, the wise too must die!(D)

Toil Is Meaningless

17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(E)

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