Eclesiastes 2

¹ I said in my heart, Come now, I will temptSolomon makes this discourse with himself, as though he would try whether there was contentment in ease and pleasures.thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also [is] vanity.

² I saide of laughter, Thou art mad: and of ioy, What is this that thou doest?

³ I sought in my heart to give myself to wine, yet acquainting my heart withEven though I gave myself to pleasures, yet I thought to keep wisdom and the fear of God in my heart, and govern my affairs by the same.wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what [was] that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.

⁴ I haue made my great workes: I haue built me houses: I haue planted me vineyards.

⁵ I haue made me gardens and orchards, and planted in them trees of all fruite.

⁶ I haue made me cisternes of water, to water therewith the woods that growe with trees.

⁷ I procured [me] male and female servants, and had servants born in myMeaning, of the servants or slaves which he had bought, so the children born in their servitude, were the masters.house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks above all that were in Jerusalem before me:

⁸ I gathered me also silver and gold, and the special treasure of kings and of the provinces: I procured me male and female singers, and theThat is, whatever men take pleasure in.delights of the sons of men,Or, the most beautiful of the women that were taken in war, as in (Jdg_5:30).[as] musical instruments, and of all sorts.

⁹ So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdomFor all this God did not take his gift of wisdom from me.remained with me.

¹⁰ And whatever my eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was myThis was the fruit of all my labour, a certain pleasure mixed with care, which he calls vanity in the next verse.portion of all my labour.

¹¹ Then I looked on all my workes that mine hands had wrought, and on the trauaile that I had laboured to doe: and beholde, all is vanitie and vexation of the spirit: and there is no profite vnder the sunne.

¹² And I turned myself to beholdI thought to myself whether it was better to follow wisdom, or my own affections and pleasures, which he calls madness.wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what [can] the man [do] that cometh after the king? [even] that which hath been already done.

¹³ Then I saw that there is profite in wisdome, more then in follie: as the light is more excellent then darkenes.

¹⁴ The wise man'sMeaning, in this world.eyes [are] in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that oneFor both die and are forgotten as in (Ecc_2:16) or they both alike have prosperity or adversity.event happeneth to them all.

¹⁵ Then I thought in mine heart, It befalleth vnto me, as it befalleth to ye foole. Why therefore doe I then labour to be more wise? And I sayd in mine heart, that this also is vanitie.

¹⁶ For [there is] no remembrance of the wise more than of the foolMeaning, in this world.for ever; seeing that which now [is] in the days to come shall all be forgotten. AndHe wonders that men forget a wise man, being dead, as soon as they do a fool.how dieth the wise [man]? as the fool.

¹⁷ Therefore I hated life: for the worke that is wrought vnder the sunne is grieuous vnto me: for all is vanitie, and vexation of the spirit.

¹⁸ I hated also all my labour, wherein I had trauailed vnder the sunne, which I shall leaue to the man that shalbe after me.

¹⁹ And who knoweth whether he shalbe wise or foolish? yet shall hee haue rule ouer all my labour, wherein I haue trauailed, and wherein I haue shewed my selfe wise vnder the sunne. This is also vanitie.

²⁰ Therefore I went about to cause my heartThat I might seek the true happiness which is in God.to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.

²¹ For there is a man whose labour [is] in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured in it shall heAmong other griefs that was not the least, to leave that which he had gotten by great travail, to one who had taken no pain therefore and whom he know not whether he were a wise man or a fool.leave it [for] his portion. This also [is] vanity and a great evil.

²² For what hath man of all his trauaile and griefe of his heart, wherein he hath trauailed vnder the sunne?

²³ For all his dayes are sorowes, and his trauaile griefe: his heart also taketh not rest in the night: which also is vanitie.

²⁴ [There is] nothing better for a man, [than] that he should eat and drink, and [that] he shouldWhen man has all laboured, he can get no more than food and refreshing, yet he confesses also that this comes from God's blessing, as in (Ecc_3:13).make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it [was] from the hand of God.

²⁵ For who can eat, or who else can hastenMeaning, to pleasures.[to it], more than I?

²⁶ Surely to a man that is good in his sight, God giueth wisdome, and knowledge, and ioy: but to the sinner he giueth paine, to gather, and to heape to giue to him that is good before God: this is also vanitie, and vexation of the spirit.