Ecclesiastes 2:12-26

New American Standard Bible 1995

Wisdom Excels Folly

¹² So I turned to ^(A)consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except ^(B)what has already been done? ¹³ And I saw that ^(C)wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. ¹⁴ The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the ^(D)fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that ^(E)one fate befalls them both. ¹⁵ Then I said ^[a]to myself, “^(F)As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. ^(G)Why then have I been extremely wise?” So ^[b]I said to myself, “This too is vanity.” ¹⁶ For there is ^(H)no ^[c]lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And ^(I)how the wise man and the fool alike die! ¹⁷ So I ^(J)hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ^[d]grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

The Futility of Labor

¹⁸ Thus I hated ^(K)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^(L)leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^(M)a fool? Yet he will have ^[e]control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ^(N)vanity. ²⁰ Therefore I ^[f]completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. ²¹ When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and ^(O)skill, then he ^(P)gives his ^[g]legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. ²² For what does a man get in ^(Q)all his labor and in ^[h]his striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³ Because all his days his task is painful and ^(R)grievous; even at night his ^[i]mind ^(S)does not rest. This too is vanity.

²⁴ There is ^(T)nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and ^[j]tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is ^(U)from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without ^[k]Him? ²⁶ For to a person who is good in His sight ^(V)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 ^(W)give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is ^(X)vanity and striving after wind.