Ecclesiastes 2
Christian Standard Bible
The Emptiness of Pleasure
2 I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure;(A) enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile. 2 I said about laughter,(B) “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?” 3 I explored with my mind the pull of wine(C) on my body—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—and how to grasp folly,(D) until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven[a] during the few days of their lives.(E)
The Emptiness of Possessions
4 I increased my achievements. I built houses(F) and planted vineyards(G) for myself. 5 I made gardens(H) and parks for myself and planted every kind of fruit tree in them. 6 I constructed reservoirs for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees.(I) 7 I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house.(J) I also owned livestock—large herds and flocks—more than all who were before me in Jerusalem.(K) 8 I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.(L) I gathered male and female singers for myself,(M) and many concubines, the delights of men.[b][c] 9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem;(N) my wisdom also remained with me. 10 All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them.(O) I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.(P) 11 When I considered all that I had accomplished[d] and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind.[e](Q) There was nothing to be gained under the sun.(R)
The Relative Value of Wisdom
12 Then I turned to consider wisdom,(S) madness, and folly, for what will the king’s successor[f] be like? He[g] will do what has already been done.(T) 13 And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.(U)
14 The wise person has eyes in his head,
but the fool walks in darkness.(V)
Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.(W) 15 So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” (X) And I said to myself that this is also futile. 16 For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise,(Y) since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool? 17 Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
The Emptiness of Work
18 I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun(Z) because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.(AA) 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?(AB) Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. 20 So I began to give myself over[h] to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun. 21 When there is a person whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill,(AC) and he must give his portion to a person who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong. 22 For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts(AD) that he labors at under the sun? 23 For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful;(AE) even at night, his mind does not rest.(AF) This too is futile.
24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy[i][j] his work.(AG) I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,(AH) 25 because who can eat and who can enjoy life[k] apart from him?[l] 26 For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy;(AI) but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight.(AJ) This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.(AK)
Footnotes
- 2:3 Two Hb mss, LXX, Syr read the sun
- 2:8 LXX, Theod, Syr read and male cupbearers and female cupbearers; Aq, Tg, Vg read a cup and cups; Hb obscure
- 2:8 Or many treasures that people delight in
- 2:11 Lit all my works that my hands had done
- 2:11 Or a feeding on wind, or an affliction of spirit; also in vv. 17,26
- 2:12 Lit the man who comes after the king
- 2:12 Some Hb mss read They
- 2:20 Lit And I turned to cause my heart
- 2:24 Syr, Tg; MT reads There is no good in a person who eats and drinks and enjoys
- 2:24 Lit and his soul sees good
- 2:25 LXX, Theod, Syr read can drink
- 2:25 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr read me
Ecclesiastes 2
New International Version - UK
Pleasures are meaningless
2 I said to myself, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.’ But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 ‘Laughter,’ I said, ‘is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?’ 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly – my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem[a] as well – the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labour,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
Wisdom and folly are meaningless
12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
and also madness and folly.
What more can the king’s successor do
than what has already been done?
13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
just as light is better than darkness.
14 The wise have eyes in their heads,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realise
that the same fate overtakes them both.
15 Then I said to myself,
‘The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?’
I said to myself,
‘This too is meaningless.’
16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
the days have already come when both have been forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise too must die!
Toil is meaningless
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labour under the sun. 21 For a person may labour with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labour under the sun? 23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.
24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 2:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Ecclesiastes 2
New Century Version
Does “Having Fun” Bring Happiness?
2 I said to myself, “I will try having fun. I will enjoy myself.” But I found that this is also useless. 2 It is foolish to laugh all the time, and having fun doesn’t accomplish anything. 3 I decided to cheer myself up with wine while my mind was still thinking wisely. I wanted to find a way to enjoy myself and see what was good for people to do during their few days of life.
Does Hard Work Bring Happiness?
4 Then I did great things: I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made gardens and parks, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made pools of water for myself and used them to water my growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and slaves were also born in my house. I had large herds and flocks, more than anyone in Jerusalem had ever had before. 8 I also gathered silver and gold for myself, treasures from kings and other areas. I had male and female singers and all the women a man could ever want. 9 I became very famous, even greater than anyone who had lived in Jerusalem before me. My wisdom helped me in all this.
10 Anything I saw and wanted, I got for myself;
I did not miss any pleasure I desired.
I was pleased with everything I did,
and this pleasure was the reward for all my hard work.
11 But then I looked at what I had done,
and I thought about all the hard work.
Suddenly I realized it was useless, like chasing the wind.
There is nothing to gain from anything we do here on earth.
Maybe Wisdom Is the Answer
12 Then I began to think again about being wise,
and also about being foolish and doing crazy things.
But after all, what more can anyone do?
He can’t do more than what the other king has already done.
13 I saw that being wise is certainly better than being foolish,
just as light is better than darkness.
14 Wise people see where they are going,
but fools walk around in the dark.
Yet I saw that
both wise and foolish people end the same way.
15 I thought to myself,
“What happens to a fool will happen to me, too,
so what is the reward for being wise?”
I said to myself,
“Being wise is also useless.”
16 The wise person and the fool
will both die,
and no one will remember either one for long.
In the future, both will be forgotten.
Is There Real Happiness in Life?
17 So I hated life. It made me sad to think that everything here on earth is useless, like chasing the wind. 18 I hated all the things I had worked for here on earth, because I must leave them to someone who will live after me. 19 Someone else will control everything for which I worked so hard here on earth, and I don’t know if he will be wise or foolish. This is also useless. 20 So I became sad about all the hard work I had done here on earth. 21 People can work hard using all their wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but they will die, and other people will get the things for which they worked. They did not do the work, but they will get everything. This is also unfair and useless. 22 What do people get for all their work and struggling here on earth? 23 All of their lives their work is full of pain and sorrow, and even at night their minds don’t rest. This is also useless.
24 The best that people can do is eat, drink, and enjoy their work. I saw that even this comes from God, 25 because no one can eat or enjoy life without him. 26 If people please God, God will give them wisdom, knowledge, and joy. But sinners will get only the work of gathering and storing wealth that they will have to give to the ones who please God. So all their work is useless, like chasing the wind.
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