Ecclesiastes 2

New International Version

Pleasures Are Meaningless

2 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure^(A) to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. ²“Laughter,”^(B) I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” ³I tried cheering myself with wine,^(C) and embracing folly^(D)—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.

⁴I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself^(E) and planted vineyards.^(F) ⁵I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves^(G) who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸I amassed silver and gold^(H) for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.^(I) I acquired male and female singers,^(J) and a harem^[a] as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem^(K) before me.^(L) In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

¹⁰I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;^(M)
    nothing was gained under the sun.^(N)

Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless

¹²Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
    and also madness and folly.^(O)
What more can the king’s successor do
    than what has already been done?^(P)
¹³I saw that wisdom^(Q) is better than folly,^(R)
    just as light is better than darkness.
¹⁴The wise have eyes in their heads,
    while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
    that the same fate overtakes them both.^(S)

¹⁵Then I said to myself,

“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
    What then do I gain by being wise?”^(T)
I said to myself,
    “This too is meaningless.”
¹⁶For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;^(U)
    the days have already come when both have been forgotten.^(V)
Like the fool, the wise too must die!^(W)

Toil Is Meaningless

¹⁷So 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.^(X) ¹⁸I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.^(Y) ¹⁹And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish?^(Z) 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. ²⁰So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. ²¹For a person may labor 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. ²²What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?^(AA) ²³All their days their work is grief and pain;^(AB) even at night their minds do not rest.^(AC) This too is meaningless.

²⁴A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink^(AD) and find satisfaction in their own toil.^(AE) This too, I see, is from the hand of God,^(AF) ²⁵for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?^(AG) ²⁶To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom,^(AH) knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth^(AI) to hand it over to the one who pleases God.^(AJ) This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 2:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

Luke 2:36-52

New International Version

³⁶There was also a prophet,^(A) Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.^[a]^(B) She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.^(C) ³⁸Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.^(D)

³⁹When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.^(E) ⁴⁰And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.^(F)

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

⁴¹Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.^(G) ⁴²When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. ⁴³After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. ⁴⁴Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. ⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷Everyone who heard him was amazed^(H) at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother^(I) said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father^(J) and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

⁴⁹“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”^[b]^(K) ⁵⁰But they did not understand what he was saying to them.^(L)

⁵¹Then he went down to Nazareth with them^(M) and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.^(N) ⁵²And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.^(O)

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