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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Ecclesiastes 2 NET Bible</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/ecclesiastes/2.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" 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id="topheading"><a href="../ecclesiastes/1.htm" title="Ecclesiastes 1">◄</a> Ecclesiastes 2 <a href="../ecclesiastes/3.htm" title="Ecclesiastes 3">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">NET Bible</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/net/esv/ecclesiastes/2.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="title">Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure</p><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span> I thought to myself,</p><p class="poetry2">“Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.”</p><p class="poetry2">But I found that it also is futile.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>I said of partying, “It is folly,”</p><p class="poetry2">and of self-indulgent pleasure, “It accomplishes nothing!”</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine</p><p class="poetry2">(all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom)</p><p class="poetry2">and the effects of behaving foolishly,</p><p class="poetry2">so that I might discover what is profitable</p><p class="poetry2">for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.</p> <p class="title">Futility of Materialism</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>I increased my possessions:</p><p class="poetry2">I built houses for myself;</p><p class="poetry2">I planted vineyards for myself.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>I designed royal gardens and parks for myself,</p><p class="poetry2">and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>I constructed pools of water for myself,</p><p class="poetry2">to irrigate my grove of flourishing trees.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>I purchased male and female slaves,</p><p class="poetry2">and I owned slaves who were born in my house;</p><p class="poetry2">I also possessed more livestock – both herds and flocks –</p><p class="poetry2">than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>I also amassed silver and gold for myself,</p><p class="poetry2">as well as valuable treasures taken from kingdoms and provinces.</p><p class="poetry2">I acquired male singers and female singers for myself,</p><p class="poetry2">and what gives a man sensual delight – a harem of beautiful concubines!</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>So I was far wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem,</p><p class="poetry2">yet I maintained my objectivity:</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted;</p><p class="poetry2">I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure.</p><p class="poetry2">So all my accomplishments gave me joy;</p><p class="poetry2">this was my reward for all my effort.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished</p><p class="poetry2">and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it,</p><p class="poetry2">I concluded: “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless –</p><p class="poetry2">like chasing the wind!</p><p class="poetry2">There is nothing gained from them on earth.”</p> <p class="title">Wisdom is Better than Folly</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas.</p><p class="poetry2">For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly,</p><p class="poetry2">just as light is preferable to darkness:</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness.</p><p class="poetry2">Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me!</p><p class="poetry2">Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?”</p><p class="poetry2">So I lamented to myself,</p><p class="poetry2">“The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long,</p><p class="poetry2">because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten.</p><p class="poetry2">Alas, the wise man dies – just like the fool!</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>So I loathed life because what</p><p class="poetry2">happens on earth seems awful to me;</p><p class="poetry2">for all the benefits of wisdom are futile – like chasing the wind.</p> <p class="title">Futility of Being a Workaholic</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>So I loathed all the fruit of my effort,</p><p class="poetry2">for which I worked so hard on earth,</p><p class="poetry2">because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool?</p><p class="poetry2">Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor</p><p class="poetry2">for which I worked so wisely on earth!</p><p class="poetry2">This also is futile!</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor</p><p class="poetry2">for which I worked so hard on earth.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill;</p><p class="poetry2">however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance</p><p class="poetry2">to someone else who did not work for it.</p><p class="poetry2">This also is futile, and an awful injustice!</p> <p class="title">Painful Days and Restless Nights</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>What does a man acquire from all his labor</p><p class="poetry2">and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>For all day long his work produces pain and frustration,</p><p class="poetry2">and even at night his mind cannot relax!</p><p class="poetry2">This also is futile!</p> <p class="title">Enjoy Work and its Benefits</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink,</p><p class="poetry2">and to find enjoyment in their work.</p><p class="poetry2">I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>For no one can eat and drink</p><p class="poetry2">or experience joy apart from him.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/ecclesiastes/2-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy,</p><p class="poetry2">but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth –</p><p class="poetry2">only to give it to the one who pleases God.</p><p class="poetry2">This task of the wicked is futile – like chasing the wind!</p></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><a href="http://netbible.com/">NET Bible copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com.<br />Used by permission. 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