Ecclesiastes 2:23 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

And his travail, grief— And grief his employment. The second observation (the subject of which is riches, and which begins at the 18th verse), and the conclusion which flows from it, are so blended together that they cannot be easily disjoined. When a man dies, which, as was said before, must be the case of the wise as well as of the ignorant, the fruits of all his labour and industry fall into the hands of his heir, whether that heir inherit his predecessor's abilities or not. Thus, he who had no share in the trouble, labour, and solicitude, wherein you spent your days, and from which you seldom were free, not even in the time which is devoted to rest, comes to the enjoyment of what cost you so much; Ecclesiastes 2:18-19. Therefore, as far as you are personally concerned in it, your labour is lost, and your occupations are vain. Is it not then highly reasonable to hate both the occupations of men in this world, and that which they can get by it, or rather, (to soften the harshness of the Hebrew phrase by reducing it to its true meaning,) not to place our affections in this world, and to set very little value on it and its contents. Ecclesiastes 2:20-23.