Ecclesiastes 2

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions

2 I said ^[a]to myself, “Come now, I will test you with ^(A)pleasure. So ^[b]enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. ^2 (B)I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” ³ I explored with my ^[c]mind how to ^(C)stimulate my body with wine while my ^[d]mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of ^(D)folly, until I could see ^(E)what good there is for the sons of men ^[e]to do under heaven the few ^[f]years of their lives. ⁴ I enlarged my works: I ^(F)built houses for myself, I planted ^(G)vineyards for myself; ⁵ I made ^(H)gardens and ^(I)parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; ⁶ I made ^(J)ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and I had ^[g](K)homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and ^(L)herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. ⁸ Also, I collected for myself silver and ^(M)gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ^(N)male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines.

⁹ Then I became ^(O)great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. ^10 (P)All 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 ^(Q)reward for all my labor. ¹¹ Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had ^[h]exerted, and behold all was ^[i](R)vanity and striving after wind and there was ^(S)no profit under the sun.

Wisdom Excels Folly

¹² So I turned to ^(T)consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except ^(U)what has already been done? ¹³ And I saw that ^(V)wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. ¹⁴ The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the ^(W)fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that ^(X)one fate befalls them both. ¹⁵ Then I said ^[j]to myself, “^(Y)As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. ^(Z)Why then have I been extremely wise?” So ^[k]I said to myself, “This too is vanity.” ¹⁶ For there is ^(AA)no ^[l]lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And ^(AB)how the wise man and the fool alike die! ¹⁷ So I ^(AC)hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ^[m]grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

The Futility of Labor

¹⁸ Thus I hated ^(AD)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^(AE)leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^(AF)a fool? Yet he will have ^[n]control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ^(AG)vanity. ²⁰ Therefore I ^[o]completely 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 ^(AH)skill, then he ^(AI)gives his ^[p]legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. ²² For what does a man get in ^(AJ)all his labor and in ^[q]his striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³ Because all his days his task is painful and ^(AK)grievous; even at night his ^[r]mind ^(AL)does not rest. This too is vanity.

²⁴ There is ^(AM)nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and ^[s]tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is ^(AN)from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without ^[t]Him? ²⁶ For to a person who is good in His sight ^(AO)He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may ^(AP)give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is ^(AQ)vanity and striving after wind.