ECCLESIASTES 2 .12-20

12. And I turned myself again to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly; for what shall the man do that comes after the king? -- but that which has already been done.

13. And I saw that wisdom excels folly, as light excels darkness.

14. The wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walks in darkness; but I myself also perceived that one event happens to them all.

15. And I said in my heart, As it happens to the fool so will it happen even to me; and why was I then so wise? Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

16. For there shall be no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool forever; because everything is already forgotten in the days which come. And how dies the wise even as the fool?

17. And I hated life; for the work that is wrought under the sun was grievious unto me; for all is vanity and pursuit of the wind.

18. And I hated all my labour wherewith I had been toiling under the sun, because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

19. And who knows whether he will be a wise [man] or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour at which I have laboured, and wherein I have been wise under the sun. This also is vanity {It isn’t right!].

20. Then I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour wherewith I had laboured under the sun {so I came to regret that I had worked so hard].

Solomon now begins to assess the outcomes of his lengthy experiment in living, using his wisdom and massive intellect to analyze his experiences and draw out conclusions.

First of all, he observes, although the outcome was unsatisfactory, it was not for want of trying, and no human being could possibly experience more of life and its pleasures than he had done (verse 12). Consequently, any other person repeating his experiment in any age, would end up with the same empty and un-satisfying result. Can we accept that inspired lesson, or do we think that we are somehow different?

Solomon then observes, however, that even so the wise man has a superior quality of life and suffers less pain than the fool -- because the wise man acquires knowledge and plans his life, whereas the fool stumbles along like a man in the dark, suffering the inevitable and automatic consequences of his ignorance and stupidity.

Nevertheless, in the end, frustratingly, the wise man must also die, like the fool, and all he has Accumulated and Acquired for himself will be given to somebody else. As a result, the Koheleth came to regret that he had worked so hard on his projects – and it is still said that, likewise, no wealthy business tycoon, lying on his death bed, every regrets not spending more time at the office rather than with his family!

Such was the Koheleth's self-centred acquisitive obsession, that he then hated life -- because the thought that his great work would benefit somebody who did not deserve it caused his heart to despair (verse 20), and possibly become suicidal.