EcclesiastesChapter 2

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¹I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure. Enjoy what is good!" But that was pointless too. ²I said about laughter, "It is foolish." And I said about pleasure, "What good does it do?" ³I tried to cheer myself with wine and to take hold of foolishness. But my mind still guided me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worth doing for people under heaven. I wanted to know what they should do in the few days of their lives. ⁴I took on great projects. I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards for myself. ⁵I made gardens and parks for myself. I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶I built pools of water. I used them to water my groves of growing trees. ⁷I got male and female servants. I also had servants who were born in my house. I owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸I piled up silver and gold for myself. I gathered the treasures of kings and provinces. I got male and female singers for myself. And I got what men enjoy most—many concubines.a ⁹So I became great. I became greater than all who were in Jerusalem before me. And my wisdom stayed with me. ¹⁰I did not hold back anything my eyes wanted. I did not refuse my heart any pleasure. For my heart took joy in all my work. This was my reward for all my hard work. ¹¹But then I looked at all the things my hands had done. I looked at all I had worked so hard to do. And everything was pointless. It was like chasing the wind. Nothing was gained under the sun. ¹²Then I turned to think about wisdom. I also thought about madness and foolishness. After all, what more can the next king do? He can only do what has already been done. ¹³And I saw that wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness: ¹⁴The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in the dark. Yet I also came to see that the same end comes to both of them. ¹⁵So I said to myself, "What happens to the fool will happen to me too. Then what have I gained by being wise?" And I told myself that this too is pointless. ¹⁶For the wise will not be remembered for long, just like the fool. Both will be forgotten in the days to come. How sad! The wise man will die just like the fool! ¹⁷So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was painful to me. For everything is pointless. It is like chasing the wind. ¹⁸I hated all the things I had worked so hard for under the sun. I hated them because I must leave them to the man who comes after me. ¹⁹And who knows if that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take control of all the work I did with skill under the sun. This too is pointless. ²⁰So my heart began to lose hope over all the hard work I had done under the sun. ²¹A man may work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill. Then he must give what he owns to a man who did not work for it. This too is pointless and a great evil. ²²What does a man get for all his hard work? What does he get for all his effort under the sun? ²³All his days are full of grief, and his work brings him pain. Even at night his mind does not rest. This too is pointless. ²⁴Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this comes from the hand of God. ²⁵For without him, who can eat? Who can find joy? ²⁶God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to the man who pleases him. But he gives the sinner the job of gathering and storing up. Then the sinner must hand it over to someone who pleases God. This too is pointless. It is like chasing the wind.