Ecclesiastes 2 (New American Standard Bible)

Ecclesiastes 2

The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions

 ¹I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with ^(A)pleasure. So enjoy yourself." And behold, it too was futility.

 ^2(B)I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"

 ³I explored with my mind how to ^(C)stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of ^(D)folly, until I could see ^(E)what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.

 ⁴I enlarged my works: I ^(F)built houses for myself, I planted ^(G)vineyards for myself;

 ⁵I made ^(H)gardens and ^(I)parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees;

 ⁶I made ^(J)ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees.

 ⁷I bought male and female slaves and I had ^(K)homeborn slaves Also I possessed flocks and ^(L)herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

 ⁸Also, I collected for myself silver and ^(M)gold and the treasure of kings and provinces I provided for myself ^(N)male and female singers and the pleasures of men--many concubines.

 ⁹Then I became ^(O)great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

 ^10(P)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 ^(Q)reward for all my labor.

 ¹¹Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was ^[a](R)vanity and striving after wind and there was ^(S)no profit under the sun.

Wisdom Excels Folly

 ¹²So I turned to ^(T)consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except ^(U)what has already been done?

 ¹³And I saw that ^(V)wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.

 ¹⁴The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the ^(W)fool walks in darkness And yet I know that ^(X)one fate befalls them both.

 ¹⁵Then I said to myself, "^(Y)As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me ^(Z)Why then have I been extremely wise?" So I said to myself, "This too is vanity."

 ¹⁶For there is ^(AA)no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten And ^(AB)how the wise man and the fool alike die!

 ¹⁷So I ^(AC)hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

The Futility of Labor

 ¹⁸Thus I hated ^(AD)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^(AE)leave it to the man who will come after me.

 ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^(AF)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 ^(AG)vanity.

 ²⁰Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

 ²¹When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and ^(AH)skill, then he ^(AI)gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil.

 ²²For what does a man get in ^(AJ)all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?

 ²³Because all his days his task is painful and ^(AK)grievous; even at night his mind ^(AL)does not rest. This too is vanity.

 ²⁴There is ^(AM)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 ^(AN)from the hand of God.

 ²⁵For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

 ²⁶For to a person who is good in His sight ^(AO)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 ^(AP)give to one who is good in God's sight This too is ^(AQ)vanity and striving after wind.