Ecc 2 | NASB1995 | STEP | I said to myself , “ Come now , I will test you with pleasure . So enjoy yourself.” And behold , it too was futility .

Ecclesiastes 2

The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions

1 I said ^{▼▼ Lit in my heart}to myself, “Come now, I will test you with ^bpleasure. So ^{▼▼ Lit consider with goodness}enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 ^dI said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my ^{▼▼ Lit heart}mind how to ^fstimulate my body with wine while my ^{▼▼ Lit heart}mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of ^hfolly, until I could see ⁱwhat good there is for the sons of men ^{▼▼ Lit which they do}to do under heaven the few ^{▼▼ Lit days}years of their lives. 4 I enlarged my works: I ^lbuilt houses for myself, I planted ^mvineyards for myself; 5 I made ⁿgardens and ^oparks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made ^pponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and I had ^{▼▼ Lit sons of the house
,} ^rhomeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and ^sherds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 Also, I collected for myself silver and ^tgold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ^umale and female singers and the pleasures of men— many concubines.

9 Then I became ^vgreat and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 10 ^wAll 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 ^xreward for all my labor. 11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had ^{▼▼ Lit labored to do}exerted, and behold all was ^{▼▼ Or futility, and so throughout the ch
,} ^aavanity and striving after wind and there was ^abno profit under the sun.

Wisdom Excels Folly

12 So I turned to ^acconsider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except ^adwhat has already been done? 13 And I saw that ^aewisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. 14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the ^affool walks in darkness. And yet I know that ^agone fate befalls them both. 15 Then I said ^{▼▼ Lit in my heart}to myself, ^ai“As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. ^ajWhy then have I been extremely wise?” So ^{▼▼ Lit I spoke in my heart}I said to myself, “This too is vanity.” 16 For there is ^alno ^{▼▼ Lit forever}lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And ^anhow the wise man and the fool alike die! 17 So I ^aohated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ^{▼▼ Lit evil}grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

The Futility of Labor

18 Thus I hated ^aqall the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^arleave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^asa fool? Yet he will have ^{▼▼ Lit dominion}control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ^auvanity. 20 Therefore I ^{▼▼ Lit turned aside my heart to despair}completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and ^awskill, then he ^axgives his ^{▼▼ Lit share}legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what does a man get in ^azall his labor and in ^{▼▼ Lit the striving of his heart}his striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Because all his days his task is painful and ^bbgrievous; even at night his ^{▼▼ Lit heart}mind ^bddoes not rest. This too is vanity.

24 There is ^benothing better for a man than to eat and drink and ^{▼▼ Lit cause his soul to see good in his labor}tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is ^bgfrom the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without ^{▼▼ So Gr; Heb me}Him? 26 For to a person who is good in His sight ^biHe has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may ^bjgive to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is ^bkvanity and striving after wind.