Ecclesiastes 2
2
Does “Having Fun” Bring Happiness?
1I said to myself, “I will try having fun. I will enjoy myself.” But I found that this is also useless. 2It is foolish to laugh all the time. Having fun gets nothing done. 3I decided to cheer myself up with wine. At the same time my mind was still thinking wisely. I wanted to find a way to enjoy myself. I wanted to see what was good for people to do during their few days of life.
Does Hard Work Bring Happiness?
4Then I did great things. I built houses, and I planted vineyards for myself. 5I planted gardens, and I made parks. I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6I made pools of water for myself. And I used them to water my growing trees. 7I bought men and women slaves. Slaves were also born in my house. I had large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. I had more than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8I also gathered silver and gold for myself. I took treasures from kings and other areas. I had men and women singers. I had all the wives a man could ever want. 9I became very famous. I was 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.
I thought about all the hard work.
Suddenly I realized it was just a waste of time, 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 I thought also about being foolish and doing crazy things.
But after all, what more can any king do?
He can only do what some other king has already done.
13I saw that being wise is certainly better than being foolish,
just as light is better than darkness.
14A wise man sees where he is going.
But a foolish person is like someone walking around in the dark.
Yet I saw that
both the foolish person and the wise man end the same way.
15I thought to myself,
“What happens to a foolish person will happen to me, too.
So what do I get for being so wise?”
I said to myself,
“Being wise is also useless.”
16The wise man and the foolish person
will both die!
People will not remember either one forever.
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. It is like chasing the wind. 18I hated all the things I had worked for here on earth. I hated them 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. 21A person can work hard using all his wisdom, knowledge and skill. But he will die, and other people will get the things he worked for. They did not do the work, but they will get everything. This is also unfair and useless. 22What does a person get for all his work and struggling here on earth? 23All his life his work is full of pain and sorrow. Even at night his mind doesn’t rest. This is also useless.
24The best a person can do is eat, drink and enjoy his work. I saw that even this comes from God. 25No one can eat or enjoy life without God. 26If a person pleases God, God will give him wisdom, knowledge and joy. But the sinner will get only the work of gathering and storing wealth. Then he will have to give it to the one who pleases God. So all his work is useless. It is like chasing the wind.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Ecclesiastes 2
2
The Spokesman Studies Laughter
1I thought to myself, “Now I want to experiment with pleasure and enjoy myself.” But even this was pointless.
2I thought, “Laughter doesn’t make any sense. What does pleasure accomplish?”
The Spokesman Studies Wine
3I explored ways to make myself feel better by drinking wine. I also explored ways to do ⌞some⌟ foolish things. During all that time, wisdom continued to control my mind. I was able to determine whether this was good for mortals to do during their brief lives under heaven.
The Spokesman Studies Personal Achievements
4I accomplished some great things:
I built houses for myself.
I planted vineyards for myself.
5I made gardens and parks for myself.
I planted every kind of fruit tree in them.
6I made pools to water the forest of growing trees.
7I bought male and female slaves.
In addition, slaves were born in my household.
I owned more herds and flocks
than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
8I also gathered silver and gold for myself.
I gathered the treasures of kings and provinces.
I provided myself with male and female singers
and the pleasures men have with one concubine #2:8 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law. after another.
9So I grew richer than anyone in Jerusalem before me. Yet, my wisdom remained with me. 10If something appealed to me, I did it. I allowed myself to have any pleasure I wanted, since I found pleasure in my work. This was my reward for all my hard work.
11But when I turned to look at all that I had accomplished and all the hard work I had put into it, I saw that it was all pointless. ⌞It was like⌟ trying to catch the wind. I gained nothing ⌞from any of my accomplishments⌟ under the sun.
Death Is the Common Destiny of All Life
12Then I turned ⌞my attention⌟ to experience wisdom, madness, and foolishness. For instance, what can the man who replaces the king do? Only what has already been done. 13But I saw that wisdom has an advantage over foolishness as light has an advantage over darkness. 14A wise person uses the eyes in his head, but a fool walks in the dark. But I have also come to realize that the same destiny waits for both of them.
15I thought to myself, “⌞If⌟ the destiny that waits for the fool waits for me as well, then what is the advantage in being wise?” So I thought that even this is pointless.
Without God Everything Is Pointless
16Neither the wise person nor the fool will be remembered for long, since both will be forgotten in the days to come. Both the wise person and the fool will die. 17So I came to hate life because everything done under the sun seemed wrong to me. Everything was pointless. ⌞It was like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
18I came to hate everything for which I had worked so hard under the sun, because I will have to leave it to the person who replaces me. 19Who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? He will still have control over everything under the sun for which I worked so hard and used my wisdom. Even this is pointless.
20Then I fell into despair over everything for which I had worked so hard under the sun. 21Here is someone who had worked hard with wisdom, knowledge, and skill. Yet, he must turn over his estate to someone else, who didn’t work for it. Even this is pointless and a terrible tragedy.
22What do people get from all of their hard work and struggles under the sun? 23Their entire life is filled with pain, and their work is unbearable. Even at night their minds don’t rest. Even this is pointless.
With God Even the Simplest Things Have a Point
24There is nothing better for people to do than to eat, drink, and find satisfaction in their work. I saw that even this comes from the hand of God. 25Who can eat or enjoy themselves without God? 26God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to anyone who pleases him. But to the person who continues to sin, he gives the job of gathering and collecting ⌞wealth⌟. The sinner must turn his wealth over to the person who pleases God. Even this is pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
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