17 I said in my heart, “Elohim judges the righteous and the wrong, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.”
18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the matter of the sons of men, Elohim selects them, so as to see that they themselves are beasts.”
19 For the event of the sons of men is also the event of beasts – one event befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Indeed, they all have one breath – man has no advantage over beasts. For all is futile.
20 All are going to one place – all came from the dust, and all return to dust.
21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, which goes down to the earth?
22 So I saw that man could do no better but to rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion. For who would bring him to see what shall be after him?