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The
Futility of Pleasure and Possessions |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:1 |
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I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you
with pleasure. So enjoy yourself." And behold, it too was futility. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:2 |
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I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of
pleasure, "What does it accomplish?" |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:3 |
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I explored with my mind how to stimulate my
body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly,
until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the
few years of their lives. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:4 |
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I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself,
I planted vineyards for myself; |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:5 |
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I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted
in them all kinds of fruit trees; |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:6 |
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I made ponds of water for myself from which
to irrigate a forest of growing trees. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:7 |
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I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn
slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:8 |
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Also, I collected for myself silver and gold
and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female
singers and the pleasures of men--many concubines. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:9 |
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Then I became great and increased more than
all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:10 |
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All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because
of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:11 |
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Thus I considered all my activities which my
hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and
striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. |
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Wisdom Excels Folly |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:12 |
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So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and
folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already
been done? |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:13 |
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And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light
excels darkness. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:14 |
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The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the
fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:15 |
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Then I said to myself, "As is the fate of the
fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?" So I said
to myself, "This too is vanity." |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:16 |
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For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise
man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And
how the wise man and the fool alike die! |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:17 |
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So I hated life, for the work which had been
done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving
after wind. |
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The Futility of Labor |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:18 |
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Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which
I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after
me. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:19 |
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And who knows whether he will be a wise man
or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I
have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:20 |
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Therefore I completely despaired of all the
fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:21 |
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When there is a man who has labored with wisdom,
knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with
them. This too is vanity and a great evil. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:22 |
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For what does a man get in all his labor and
in his striving with which he labors under the sun? |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:23 |
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Because all his days his task is painful and
grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:24 |
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There is nothing better for a man than to eat
and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that
it is from the hand of God. |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:25 |
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For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without
Him? |
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| Ecclesiastes 2:26 |
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For to a person who is good in His sight He
has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task
of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God's sight.
This too is vanity and striving after wind. |
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