Ecclesiastes 2
1 [Then] I said to myself, “Okay, I will try to do everything that I enjoy. I will find out whether doing what I enjoy can truly enable me to be happy.” But I found out that doing that was also useless/senseless.
I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.
2 [So] I said [to myself], “It is foolish to laugh [all the time], and continually doing what I enjoy does not seem to bring any lasting benefit.”
I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?”
3 [So], after thinking a lot about it, I decided to (cheer myself/cause myself to be happy) by drinking [a lot of] wine. [So] while I was still trying to be wise, I decided to do things that [many] people do to be happy during the short time that they are alive on the earth.
I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
4 I did great things: I [caused] houses to be built for myself and vineyards to be planted.
I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.
5 I [told my workers] to make gardens and parks. [Then] I [told them to] fill the gardens with many kinds of fruit trees.
I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees.
6 I [told them to] build reservoirs to store water to irrigate the fruit trees.
I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees.
7 I bought male and female slaves, and babies [who later became my slaves] were born in my palace. I also owned more livestock than any of the previous kings in Jerusalem had owned.
I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me,
8 I also accumulated large amounts of silver and gold [that were paid to me] from the treasures of kings and rulers of provinces. [I hired] men and women to sing for me, and I had many (concubines/slave wives) who gave me [much] pleasure [EUP].
and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men—many concubines.
9 So, I became greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was [very] wise.
So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me.
10 I got everything [LIT] that I [SYN] saw and wanted. I did everything [LIT] that I thought would enable me to be happy. All those things that I [SYN] enjoyed were [like] a reward for all my hard work.
Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
11 [But] then I thought about all the hard work that I [SYN] had done [to get all those things], and none of it seems to bring any lasting benefit [DOU]. It was all [like] chasing the wind.
Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
12 Then I started to think about being wise, and [also about] being foolish [DOU]. [I said to myself, “I certainly do not think that] [RHQ] the next king will be able to do anything better than I can.”
Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished?
13 And I thought, “Surely it is better to be wise than to be foolish, like light is better than darkness,
And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness:
14 [because] wise people [walk in the daylight and] [IDM] can see where they are going, but foolish people walk in the darkness [and cannot see where they are going].” But I [also] realized that both wise people and foolish people eventually die.
The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.
15 So I said to myself, “I am very wise, but I will [die at the end of my life], like foolish people do. So (how has it benefited me to be very wise?/it certainly has not benefited me to be very wise [RHQ]). I do not understand why [people consider that] it is valuable to be wise.
So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.
16 Wise people and foolish people all die. And after we die, we will all eventually be forgotten [DOU].”
For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!
17 So I hated being alive, because everything that we do here on the earth [MTY] distresses me. It all seems to be useless [like] chasing the wind.
So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
18 I [also began to] hate all the hard work that I had done, because [when I die], everything [that I have acquired] will belong to the next king.
I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.
19 And (who/no one) knows [RHQ] whether he will be wise or whether he will be foolish. But even if he is foolish, he will acquire all the things that I worked very hard and wisely to get.
And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.
20 I thought about all the hard work that I had done. [It seemed useless], and I became depressed/discouraged.
So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun.
21 Some people work wisely and skillfully, using the things that they have learned. But [when they die], they leave everything, and someone who has not worked hard acquires those things. And that also [seemed to] be senseless and caused me to be discouraged.
When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.
22 So, it seems that people do not [RHQ] get much for all the hard work that they do and for worrying.
For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?
23 Every day the work that they do causes them to experience pain and to be worried. And during the night, their minds are not able to rest. That also is very frustrating.
Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.
24 [So I decided that] the best thing that we can do is to enjoy what we eat and drink, and [also] enjoy our work. And I realized that those things are what God intends for us.
Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.
25 There is absolutely no one [RHQ] who is able to enjoy those things if God does not give those things to him.
For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment?
26 God enables those who please him to be wise, to know [many things], and to enjoy [many things]. But if sinful people work hard and become rich, God [can] take their money away from them and give it to those who please him. But that also is something that is difficult for me to understand. [Their working hard seems] useless, [like] chasing the wind.
To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
