It Is Senseless To Be Wise

¹² I said these things when I lived in Jerusalem as king of Israel. ¹³ With all my wisdom I tried to understand everything that happens here on earth. And God has made this so hard for us humans to do. ¹⁴ I have seen it all, and everything is just as senseless as chasing the wind.^[a]

It Is Senseless To Be Selfish

2 I said to myself, “Have fun and enjoy yourself!” But this didn't make sense. ² Laughing and having fun is crazy. What good does it do? ³ I wanted to find out what was best for us during the short time we have on this earth. So I decided to make myself happy with wine and find out what it means to be foolish, without really being foolish myself.

^4 (A) I did some great things. I built houses and planted vineyards. ⁵ I had flower gardens and orchards full of fruit trees. ⁶ And I had pools where I could get water for the trees. ^7 (B) I owned slaves, and their sons and daughters became my slaves. I had more sheep and goats than anyone who had ever lived in Jerusalem.

¹¹ Then I thought about everything I had done, including the hard work, and it was simply chasing the wind.^[a] Nothing on earth is worth the trouble.

¹⁸ Suddenly I realized that others would someday get everything I had worked for so hard, then I started hating it all. ¹⁹ Who knows if those people will be sensible or stupid? Either way, they will own everything I have earned by hard work and wisdom. It doesn't make sense.

²⁰ I thought about all my hard work, and I felt depressed. ²¹ When we use our wisdom, knowledge, and skill to get what we own, why do we have to leave it to someone who didn't work for it? This is senseless and wrong. ²² What do we really gain from all of our hard work? ^23 (A) Our bodies ache during the day, and work is torture. Then at night our thoughts are troubled. It just doesn't make sense.