Ecclesiastes 2
1 I said in my heart, “Pray, come, I try you with mirth, and look on gladness”; and behold, even it [is] vanity.
So then I thought to myself, “Alright, let me examine pleasure and see how good that is.” But this too turned out to be something temporary that passes.
2 Of laughter I said, “Foolish!” And of mirth, “What [is] this it is doing?”
I conclude that laughing your way through life is stupid, and pleasure—what use is that?
3 I have sought in my heart to draw out with wine my appetite (and my heart leading in wisdom), and to take hold on folly until I see where this [is]—the good to the sons of man of that which they do under the heavens, the number of the days of their lives.
Then I used my mind to examine the attraction of wine to my body. My mind still guiding me with wisdom, I took it until I acted like a fool, so that I might see whether this was good for people to do during their time here.
4 I made great my works, I built for myself houses, I planted for myself vineyards.
Then I tried great construction projects. I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself.
5 I made for myself gardens and paradises, and I planted in them trees of every fruit.
I made for myself gardens and parks, planting them with all kinds of fruit trees.
6 I made for myself pools of water, to water from them a forest shooting forth trees.
I constructed for myself reservoirs to water all these growing trees.
7 I acquired menservants, and maidservants, and sons of the house were to me; also, I had much substance—herd and flock—above all who had been before me in Jerusalem.
I bought male and female slaves, and their children also belonged to me. I also owned many herds and flocks, more than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. I prepared for myself men-singers and women-singers, and the luxuries of the sons of man—a wife and wives.
I collected for myself great quantities of silver and gold, paid to me as tribute by kings and provinces. I brought in for myself male and female singers, and enjoyed many concubines—all a man could want!
9 And I became great, and increased above everyone who had been before me in Jerusalem; also, my wisdom stood with me.
I became great—greater than anyone in Jerusalem before me. All the while my wisdom stayed with me.
10 And all that my eyes asked I did not keep back from them; I did not withhold my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor, and this has been my portion, from all my labor,
I didn't stop myself trying anything I wanted. Whatever I felt like enjoying, I did. I even enjoyed everything I had accomplished, a reward for all my work.
11 and I have looked on all my works that my hands have done, and on the labor that I have labored to do, and behold, the whole [is] vanity and distress of spirit, and there is no advantage under the sun!
But when I thought about what I had worked so hard to achieve, everything I'd done, it was so short-lived—as significant as someone trying to catch the wind. There really is no enduring benefit here on earth.
12 And I turned to see wisdom, and madness, and folly, but what [is] the man who comes after the king? That which [is] already—they have done it!
So I started to think about wisdom—and madness and foolishness. For what can anyone who comes after the king do that hasn't already been done?
13 And I saw that there is an advantage to wisdom above folly, like the advantage of the light above the darkness.
I recognized that wisdom is better than foolishness just as light is better than darkness.
14 The wise—his eyes [are] in his head, and the fool is walking in darkness, and I also knew that one event happens with them all;
The wise see where they're going, but fools walk in darkness. But I also realized that they all come to the same end.
15 and I said in my heart, “As it happens with the fool, it happens also with me, and why am I then more wise?” And I spoke in my heart, that also this [is] vanity:
Then I thought to myself, “If I'm going to end up the same as a fool, what's the point of being so wise?” So I thought to myself, “This is also hard to understand!”
16 That there is no remembrance to the wise—with the fool—for all time, for that which [is] already, [in] the days that are coming is all forgotten, and how dies the wise? With the fool!
Nobody remembers the wise or the fool for very long—in the future everything will be forgotten. Whether wise or foolish, they both die.
17 And I have hated life, for sad to me [is] the work that has been done under the sun, for the whole [is] vanity and distress of spirit.
So I ended up feeling disgusted with life because everything that happens here on earth is so distressing. It's so incomprehensible, like trying to control the wind.
18 And I have hated all my labor that I labor at under the sun, because I leave it to a man who is after me.
I even ended up hating what I had achieved here on earth because I have to hand it over to whoever comes after me.
19 And who knows whether he is wise or foolish? Yet he rules over all my labor that I have labored at, and that I have done wisely under the sun! This [is] also vanity.
And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Yet he will rule over everything I accomplished through my wisdom here on earth. This is just so frustrating, so hard to understand!
20 And I turned around to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor that I labored at under the sun.
I decided to give up, my mind in despair over the significance of all my life's achievements.
21 For there is a man whose labor [is] in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity, and to a man who has not labored therein he gives it—his portion! Even this [is] vanity and a great evil.
For you can work wisely, knowledgably, and with skill—and who benefits? Someone who hasn't worked for it! This is both frustrating and totally unjust!
22 For what has been to a man by all his labor, and by the thought of his heart that he labored at under the sun?
What do you get here on earth for all your hard work and worry?
23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail sadness; even at night his heart has not lain down; this [is] also vanity.
Your working life is full of trouble and strife—even at night your thoughts keep you awake. This is tough to comprehend!
24 There is nothing good in a man who eats, and has drunk, and has shown his soul good in his labor. This also I have seen that it [is] from the hand of God.
So what's the best thing to do? Eat, drink, and enjoy your work, recognizing as I did that these things are given to us by God,
25 For who eats and who hurries out more than I?
for who can eat or enjoy life apart from him?
26 For to a man who [is] good before Him, He has given wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; and to a sinner He has given travail, to gather and to heap up, to give to the good before God. Even this [is] vanity and distress of spirit.
To those who are good, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy. But to the sinner God gives the task of gathering and collecting wealth, only to hand it over to someone who pleases God. This also shows how fleeting life is, and hard to understand—like trying to understand how the wind blows.
