Ecclesiastes 2
2
Does “Having Fun” Bring Happiness?
Does Hard Work Bring Happiness?
4Then I did great things: I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5I made gardens and parks, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6I made pools of water for myself and used them to water my growing trees. 7I bought male and female slaves, and slaves were also born in my house. I had large herds and flocks, more than anyone in Jerusalem had ever had before. 8I also gathered silver and gold for myself, treasures from kings and other areas. I had male and female singers and all the women a man could ever want. 9I became very famous, even greater than anyone who had lived in Jerusalem before me. My wisdom helped me in all this.
10Anything I saw and wanted, I got for myself;
I did not miss any pleasure I desired.
I was pleased with everything I did,
and this pleasure was the reward for all my hard work.
11But then I looked at what I had done,
and I thought about all the hard work.
Suddenly I realized it was useless, like chasing the wind.
There is nothing to gain from anything we do here on earth.
Maybe Wisdom Is the Answer
12Then I began to think again about being wise,
and also about being foolish and doing crazy things.
But after all, what more can anyone do?
He can’t do more than what the other king has already done.
13I saw that being wise is certainly better than being foolish,
just as light is better than darkness.
14Wise people see where they are going,
but fools walk around in the dark.
Yet I saw that
both wise and foolish people end the same way.
15I thought to myself,
“What happens to a fool will happen to me, too,
so what is the reward for being wise?”
I said to myself,
“Being wise is also useless.”
16The wise person and the fool
will both die,
and no one will remember either one for long.
In the future, both will be forgotten.
Is There Real Happiness in Life?
17So I hated life. It made me sad to think that everything here on earth is useless, like chasing the wind. 18I hated all the things I had worked for here on earth, because I must leave them to someone who will live after me. 19Someone else will control everything for which I worked so hard here on earth, and I don’t know if he will be wise or foolish. This is also useless. 20So I became sad about all the hard work I had done here on earth. 21People can work hard using all their wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but they will die, and other people will get the things for which they worked. They did not do the work, but they will get everything. This is also unfair and useless. 22What do people get for all their work and struggling here on earth? 23All of their lives their work is full of pain and sorrow, and even at night their minds don’t rest. This is also useless.
24The best that people can do is eat, drink, and enjoy their work. I saw that even this comes from God, 25because no one can eat or enjoy life without him. 26If people please God, God will give them wisdom, knowledge, and joy. But sinners will get only the work of gathering and storing wealth that they will have to give to the ones who please God. So all their work is useless, like chasing the wind.
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Ecclesiastes 2: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Ecclesiastes 2
2
The Futility of Pleasure
1I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. 2So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” 3After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
4I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
9So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
The Wise and the Foolish
12So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?#2:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.). 13I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. 14For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. 15Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” 16For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.
17So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
The Futility of Work
18I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. 19And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! 20So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.
21Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. 22So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? 23Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.
24So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. 25For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?#2:25 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads apart from me? 26God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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