Parallel Bible results for "Ecclesiastes 2"

Ecclesiastes 2

Lexham English Bible LEB

1 I said {to myself}, "Come! I will test pleasure {to see whether it is worthwhile}." But look, "This also [is] vanity!"

2 I said of laughter, "[It is] folly!" and of pleasure, "{What does it accomplish?}"

3 I also {explored} {the effects of indulging my flesh} with wine. My mind guiding me with wisdom, {I investigated} folly so that I might discover what [is] good under heaven for {humans} to do {during the days of their lives}.

4 {I accomplished great things}. I built for myself houses; I planted for myself vineyards.

5 I made for myself gardens and parks, and I planted all [sorts of] fruit trees in them.

6 I made for myself pools of water from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees.

7 I acquired male slaves and female slaves, as well as children [born in my] house. I also had livestock, cattle, and flocks more than anyone who [was] before me in Jerusalem.

8 I also gathered to myself silver and gold--the royal and provincial treasuries. I acquired for myself male and female singers, as well as the delight of {men}, {voluptuous concubines}.

9 Thus, {I accomplished far more} than anyone who [was] before me in Jerusalem--indeed, my wisdom stood by me.

10 I neither withheld anything from my eyes that they desired, nor did I deprive any pleasure from my heart. My heart rejoiced in all my toil, for this was my reward from all my toil.

11 Yet when I considered all the effort which I expended and the toil with which I toiled to do, then behold, "Everything [is] vanity and chasing wind! There is nothing profitable under the sun!"

12 Next, I considered wisdom, as well as delusion and folly. What can anyone [do] who will come after the king that has not already been done?

13 I realized that wisdom has an advantage over folly, just as light has an advantage over darkness.

14 {The wise man can see where he is walking}, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that both of them suffer the same fate.

15 So I said {to myself}, "{If I also suffer the same fate as the fool}, {what advantage is my great wisdom}?" So I said {to myself}, "This also [is] vanity!"

16 Certainly no one will remember the wise man or the fool in {future generations}. When [future] days come, both will have been forgotten already. How [is it that] the wise man dies the same as the fool?

17 So I hated life because the work done under the sun [is] grievous to me. For everything [is] vanity and chasing wind!

18 So I hated all my toil with which I have toiled under the sun, for I must leave it behind to someone who will be after me.

19 And who knows [whether] he will be wise or foolish? Yet he will exercise control of all [the fruit of] my toil with which I toiled wisely under the sun. This also [is] vanity!

20 So {I began to despair} of all the toil with which I toiled under the sun.

21 For although a person may toil with great wisdom and skill, he must leave his reward to someone who has not toiled for it. This also [is] vanity and a great calamity.

22 For what does a person receive for all his toil and in the longing of his heart with which he toils under the sun?

23 All his days [are] painful, his labor [brings] grief, and his heart cannot rest at night. This also [is] vanity!

24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and {find delight} in his toil. For I also realized that this [is] from the hand of God!

25 For who can eat [and drink], and who can enjoy [life] apart from him?

26 For to the person who [is] good in his eyes, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and heaping up only to give [it] to [him who is] pleasing to him. This also [is] vanity and chasing wind!

New International Version NIV

1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless.

2 “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?”

3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—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.

4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.

5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.

7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.

8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart.

9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

10 I 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.

11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done?

13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.

14 The 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.

15 Then I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” I said to myself, “This too is meaningless.”

16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten. Like the fool, the wise too must die!

17 So 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.

18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.

19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? 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.

20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.

21 For 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.

22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?

23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,

25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?

26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.