Ecclesiastes 2 (New American Standard)

The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions

1 I said ^ato myself, "Come now, I will test you with ¹pleasure. So ^benjoy yourself." And behold, it too was futility. 2 ²I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish ?" 3 I explored with my ^cmind how to ³stimulate my body with wine while my ^dmind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of ⁴folly, until I could see ⁵what good there is for the sons of men ^eto do under heaven the few ^fyears of their lives. 4 I enlarged my works : I ⁶built houses for myself, I planted ⁷vineyards for myself; 5 I made ⁸gardens and ⁹parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees ; 6 I made ¹⁰ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and I had ^g11homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and ¹²herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 Also, I collected for myself silver and ¹³gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ¹⁴male and female singers and the pleasures of men -many concubines. 9 Then I became ¹⁵great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 10 ¹⁶All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my ¹⁷reward for all my labor. 11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had ^hexerted, and behold all was ⁱ¹⁸vanity and striving after wind and there was ¹⁹no profit under the sun.

Wisdom Excels Folly

12 So I turned to ²⁰consider wisdom, madness and folly ; for what will the man do who will come after the king except ²¹what has already been done ? 13 And I saw that ²²wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. 14 The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the ²³fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that ²⁴one fate befalls them both. 15 Then I said ^jto myself, "²⁵As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. ²⁶Why then have I been extremely wise ?" So ^kI said to myself, "This too is vanity." 16 For there is ²⁷no ^llasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And ²⁸how the wise man and the fool alike die ! 17 So I ²⁹hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ^mgrievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

The Futility of Labor

18 Thus I hated ³⁰all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ³¹leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ³²a fool ? Yet he will have ⁿcontrol over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ³³vanity. 20 Therefore I ^ocompletely 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 ³⁴skill, then he ³⁵gives his ^plegacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what does a man get in ³⁶all his labor and in ^qhis striving with which he labors under the sun ? 23 Because all his days his task is painful and ³⁷grievous ; even at night his ^rmind ³⁸does not rest. This too is vanity. 24 There is ³⁹nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and ^stell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is ⁴⁰from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without ^tHim? 26 For to a person who is good in His sight ⁴¹He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may ⁴²give to one who is good in God's sight. This too is ⁴³vanity and striving after wind.