Ecclesiastes 2
New King James Version
The Vanity of Pleasure(A)
2 I said (B)in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with (C)mirth; [a]therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, (D)this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” 3 (E)I searched in my heart how [b]to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was (F)good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.
4 I made my works great, I built myself (G)houses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made myself water pools from which to [c]water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female servants, and had [d]servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 8 (H)I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and [e]musical instruments of all kinds.
9 (I)So I became great and [f]excelled (J)more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And (K)this was my [g]reward from all my labor.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was (L)vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.
The End of the Wise and the Fool
12 Then I turned myself to consider wisdom (M)and madness and folly;
For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—
Only what he has already (N)done.
13 Then I saw that wisdom (O)excels folly
As light excels darkness.
14 (P)The wise man’s eyes are in his head,
But the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I myself perceived
That (Q)the same event happens to them all.
15 So I said in my heart,
“As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“This also is vanity.”
16 For there is (R)no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever,
Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die?
As the fool!
17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
18 Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because (S)I must leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. 21 For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his [h]heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 (T)For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? 23 For all his days are (U)sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
24 (V)Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, [i]more than I? 26 For God gives (W)wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that (X)he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 2:1 gladness
- Ecclesiastes 2:3 Lit. to draw my flesh
- Ecclesiastes 2:6 irrigate
- Ecclesiastes 2:7 Lit. sons of my house
- Ecclesiastes 2:8 Exact meaning unknown
- Ecclesiastes 2:9 Lit. increased
- Ecclesiastes 2:10 Lit. portion
- Ecclesiastes 2:21 Lit. portion
- Ecclesiastes 2:25 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. without Him
Ecclesiastes 2
21st Century King James Version
2 I said in mine heart, “Go now, I will test thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure.” And behold, this also is vanity.
2 I said of laughter: “It is madness”; and of mirth: “What good doeth it?”
3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine (yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom), and to lay hold on folly, until I might see what was good for the sons of men, which they should do under heaven all the days of their life.
4 I made me great work, I builded me houses, I planted me vineyards.
5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit.
6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees.
7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house. Also I had great possessions of great and small cattle, above all that were in Jerusalem before me.
8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. I got me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments, and those of all sorts.
9 So I was great and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was my portion from all my labor.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
12 Then I turned myself to behold wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the man do that cometh after the king? Even that which hath been already done.
13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly as far as light excelleth darkness.
14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walketh in darkness. And I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
15 Then I said in my heart, “As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me, and why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This also is vanity.”
16 For there is no more remembrance of the wise for ever than of the fool, since all that now is shall be forgotten in the days to come. And how dieth the wise man? As the fool!
17 Therefore I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me. For all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
18 Yea, I hated all my labor which I had done under the sun, because I must leave it unto the man who shall be after me.
19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? Yet shall he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have shown myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I had done under the sun.
21 For a man may labor in wisdom and in knowledge and in equity; yet to a man who hath not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
22 For what hath man for all his labor and for the vexation of his heart wherewith he hath labored under the sun?
23 For all his days are sorrows and his travail grief. Yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
24 There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto more than I?
26 For God giveth to a man what is good in His sight: wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He giveth travail to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.