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 senseless,” and of pleasure, “What does this accomplish?” 3I explored with my ▼▼Lit heart
mind how to frefresh my body with wine while my ▼▼Lit heart
mind was guiding me wisely; and how to seize hfoolishness, until I could see iwhat good there is for the sons of mankind ▼▼Lit which they do
to do under heaven for the few ▼▼Lit days
years of their lives. 4I enlarged my works: I lbuilt houses for myself, I planted mvineyards for myself; 5I made ngardens and oparks for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6I made pponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7I bought male and female slaves, and I had ▼▼Lit sons
,
rslaves born at home. I also possessed flocks and sherds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8I also amassed for myself silver and tgold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself umale and female singers, and the pleasures of the sons of mankind: 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 restrain my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my xreward for all my labor. 11So 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 zfutility and striving after wind, and there was aano benefit under the sun. Wisdom Surpasses Foolishness
12 So I turned to abconsider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except acwhat has already been done? 13Then I saw that adwisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness. 14The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the aefool walks in darkness. And yet I know that afone and the same fate happens to ▼▼Lit all of
both of them. 15Then I said ▼▼Lit in my heart
to myself, “ aiAs is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. ajWhy then have I been extremely wise?” So ▼▼Lit I spoke in my heart
I said to myself, “This too is futility.” 16For there is alno ▼▼Lit forever
lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will ▼▼Lit already
soon be forgotten. And aohow the wise and the fool alike die! 17So I aphated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ▼▼Lit evil
unhappy to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind. The Futility of Labor
18 So I hated arall the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must asleave it to the man who will come after me. 19And who knows whether he will be wise or ata 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 aufutility. 20Therefore I ▼▼Lit turned aside my heart to despair
completely despaired over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21When there is a person who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and awskill, and then axgives his ▼▼Lit share
legacy to one who has not labored for it; this too is futility and a great evil. 22For what does a person get in azall his labor and in ▼▼Lit the striving of his heart
his striving with which he labors under the sun? 23Because all his days his activity is painful and bbirritating; even at night his ▼▼Lit heart
mind bddoes not rest. This too is futility. 24 There is benothing better for a person than to eat and drink, and show ▼
▼Lit his soul
himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is bgfrom the hand of God. 25For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without ▼▼As in LXX; Heb me
Him? 26For 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 bkfutility and striving after wind.
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