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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//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 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><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" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/ecclesiastes/2-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Ecclesiastes 2</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div 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">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">It Is Senseless To Be Selfish</h3><p class="par"><span class="v21_2_1"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.1" class="v21_2_1">1</span>I said to myself, “Have fun and enjoy yourself!” But this didn't make sense. </span><span class="v21_2_2"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.2" class="v21_2_2">2</span>Laughing and having fun is crazy. What good does it do? </span><span class="v21_2_3"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.3" class="v21_2_3">3</span>I wanted to find out what was best for us during the short time we have on this earth. So I decided to make myself happy with wine and find out what it means to be foolish, without really being foolish myself.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v21_2_4"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.4" class="v21_2_4">4</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.4!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> I did some great things. I built houses and planted vineyards. </span><span class="v21_2_5"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.5" class="v21_2_5">5</span>I had flower gardens and orchards full of fruit trees. </span><span class="v21_2_6"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.6" class="v21_2_6">6</span>And I had pools where I could get water for the trees. </span><span class="v21_2_7"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.7" class="v21_2_7">7</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.7!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> I owned slaves, and their sons and daughters became my slaves. I had more sheep and goats than anyone who had ever lived in Jerusalem. </span><span class="v21_2_8"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.8" class="v21_2_8">8</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.8!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Foreign rulers brought me silver, gold, and precious treasures. Men and women sang for me, and I had many wives<a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.8!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> who gave me great pleasure.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v21_2_9"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.9" class="v21_2_9">9</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.9!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> I was the most famous person who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was very wise. </span><span class="v21_2_10"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.10" class="v21_2_10">10</span>I got whatever I wanted and did whatever made me happy. But most of all, I enjoyed my work. </span><span class="v21_2_11"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.11" class="v21_2_11">11</span>Then I thought about everything I had done, including the hard work, and it was simply chasing the wind.<a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.11!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> Nothing on earth is worth the trouble.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Wisdom Comes from God</h3><p class="par"><span class="v21_2_12"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.12" class="v21_2_12">12</span>I asked myself, “What can the next king do that I haven't done?” Then I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and stupidity. </span><span class="v21_2_13"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.13" class="v21_2_13">13</span>And I discovered that wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. </span><span class="v21_2_14"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.14" class="v21_2_14">14</span>Wisdom is like having two good eyes; foolishness leaves you in the dark. But wise or foolish, we all end up the same.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v21_2_15"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.15" class="v21_2_15">15</span>Finally, I said to myself, “Being wise got me nowhere! The same thing will happen to me that happens to fools. Nothing makes sense. </span><span class="v21_2_16"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.16" class="v21_2_16">16</span>Wise or foolish, we all die and are soon forgotten.” </span><span class="v21_2_17"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.17" class="v21_2_17">17</span>This made me hate life. Everything we do is painful; it's just as senseless as chasing the wind.<a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.17!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v21_2_18"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.18" class="v21_2_18">18</span>Suddenly I realized that others would someday get everything I had worked for so hard, then I started hating it all. </span><span class="v21_2_19"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.19" class="v21_2_19">19</span>Who knows if those people will be sensible or stupid? Either way, they will own everything I have earned by hard work and wisdom. It doesn't make sense.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v21_2_20"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.20" class="v21_2_20">20</span>I thought about all my hard work, and I felt depressed. </span><span class="v21_2_21"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.21" class="v21_2_21">21</span>When we use our wisdom, knowledge, and skill to get what we own, why do we have to leave it to someone who didn't work for it? This is senseless and wrong. </span><span class="v21_2_22"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.22" class="v21_2_22">22</span>What do we really gain from all of our hard work? </span><span class="v21_2_23"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.23" class="v21_2_23">23</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.23!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Our bodies ache during the day, and work is torture. Then at night our thoughts are troubled. It just doesn't make sense.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v21_2_24"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.24" class="v21_2_24">24</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.24!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> The best thing we can do is to enjoy eating, drinking, and working.<a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.24!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> I believe these are God's gifts to us, </span><span class="v21_2_25"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.25" class="v21_2_25">25</span>and no one enjoys eating and living more than I do. </span><span class="v21_2_26"><span class="reftext" id="Eccl.2.26" class="v21_2_26">26</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.26!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> If we please God, he will make us wise, understanding, and happy. But if we sin, God will make us struggle for a living, then he will give all we own to someone who pleases him. This makes no more sense than chasing the wind.<a href="#fn" id="link_Eccl.2.26!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">2.8 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">many wives: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">2.11 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">chasing the wind: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See the note at 1.14.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">2.17 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">chasing the wind: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See the note at 1.14.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">2.24 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">The best … working: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">2.26 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">chasing the wind: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See the note at 1.14.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. 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