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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 NLT</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> <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="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</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"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/ecclesiastes/2.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">The Futility of Pleasure</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>I 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>After 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.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>I 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>I 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!</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>But 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.</p><p class="hdg">The Wise and the Foolish</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a>). <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>For 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Both 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!” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>For 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.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.</p><p class="hdg">The Futility of Work</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>And 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! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>Some 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>So 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/2-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>God 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.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:12 </span><span class="ft">The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:25 </span><span class="ft">As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads </span><span class="it">apart from me?</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of <a href="http://www.tyndale.com">Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.</a>, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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