Ecclesiastes 2

The Vanity of Pleasure

1 I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure; but surely, this also was vanity.2 I said of laughterMadness!; and of mirth, What does it accomplish?3 I searched in my heart how 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 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 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 water the growing trees of the grove.7 I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me.8 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 musical instruments of all kinds.9 So I became great and excelled 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 this was my 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 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 and madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king? Only what he has already done.13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness.14 The wise mans eyes are in his head, But the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived That 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 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 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 heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.22 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 sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.24 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, more than I?26 For God gives 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 he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

ECCLESIASTES 2

It Is Senseless //To Be Selfish

1 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  t 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 t 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.

8 t Foreign rulers brought me silver, gold, and precious treasures. Men and women sang for me, and I had many wivest who gave me great pleasure.
9  t I was the most famous person who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was very wise. 10 I got whatever I wanted and did whatever made me happy. But most of all, I enjoyed my work.

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

Wisdom Comes from God

14 Wisdom is like having two good eyes; foolishness leaves you in the dark. But wise or foolish, we all end up the same.
15 Finally, I said to myself, “Being wise got me nowhere! The same thing will happen to me that happens to fools. Nothing makes sense. 16 Wise or foolish, we all die and are soon forgotten.”

17 This made me hate life. Everything we do is painful; it's just as senseless as chasing the wind.t
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 t Our bodies ache during the day, and work is torture. Then at night our thoughts are troubled. It just doesn't make sense.
24  t The best thing we can do is to enjoy eating, drinking, and working.t I believe these are God's gifts to us, 25 and no one enjoys eating and living more than I do. 26 t If we please God, he will make us wise, understanding, and happy. But if we sin, God will make us struggle for a living, then he will give all we own to someone who pleases him. This makes no more sense than chasing the wind.t