Ecclesiastes 2
1 I said in my heart, Come now, I will
prove thee with mirth, and behold thou good: and, behold, this is also vanity.
2 I said to laughter, Madness: and to
mirth, Why doest thou this?
3 And I examined whether my heart
would excite my flesh as with wine, (though my heart
guided me in wisdom,) and
I desired to lay hold of mirth, until I should see of
what kind is the good to the sons of men, which they should do under the sun
all the days of their life. 4 I
enlarged my work; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards.
5 I made me gardens and orchards, and
planted in them every kind of fruit-tree.
6 I made me pools of water, to water
from them the timber-bearing wood. 7 I
got servants and maidens, and servants were born to me in the house: also I
had abundant possession of flocks and herds, beyond all who were before me in
Jerusalem. 8 Moreover I collected for
myself both silver and gold also, and the peculiar treasures of kings and
provinces: I procured me singing men and singing women, and delights of the
sons of men, a butler and female cupbearers.
9 So I became great, and advanced
beyond all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom was established to
me. 10 And whatever mine eyes
desired, I withheld not from them, I withheld not my heart from all my mirth:
for my heart rejoiced in all my labour; and this was my portion of all my
labour. 11 And I looked on all my
works which my hands had wrought, and on my labour which I laboured to
perform: and, behold, all was vanity and waywardness of spirit, and there is
no advantage under the sun.
12 Then I looked on to see wisdom,
and madness, and folly: for who is the man who will follow after counsel, in
all things wherein he employs it?
13 And I saw that wisdom excels
folly, as much as light excels darkness.
14 The wise man's eyes are in his
head; but the fool walks in darkness: and I perceived, even I, that one event
shall happen to them all.
15 And I said in my heart, As the
event of the fool is, so shall it be to me, even to me; and to what purpose
have I gained wisdom? I said moreover in my heart, This is also vanity,
because the fool speaks of his abundance.
16 For there is no remembrance of the
wise man with the fool for ever; forasmuch as now
in the coming days all things are forgotten: and how
shall the wise man die with the fool?
17 So I hated life; because the work
that was wrought under the sun was evil before me: for all is vanity and
waywardness of spirit. 18 And I hated
the whole of my labour which I took under the sun; because I must leave it to
the man who will come after me.
19 And who knows whether he will be a
wise man or a fool? and whether he will have power
over all my labour in which I laboured, and wherein I grew wise under the sun?
this is also vanity. 20 So I went
about to dismiss from my heart all my labour wherein I had laboured under the
sun. 21 For there is
such a man that his labour is in wisdom, and in
knowledge, and in fortitude; yet this man shall give
his portion to one who has not laboured therein. This is also vanity and great
evil. 22 For it happens to a man in
all his labour, and in the purpose of his heart wherein he labours under the
sun. 23 For all his days
are days of sorrows, and vexation of spirit is his;
in the night also his heart rests not. This is also vanity.
24 A man has nothing
really good to eat, and to drink, and to shew his
soul as good in his trouble. This also I saw, that it
is from the hand of God. 25 For who
shall eat, or who shall drink, without him?
26 For
God has given to the man who is good in his sight,
wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but he has given to the sinner trouble, to add
and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God; for this is
also vanity and waywardness of spirit.