Ecclesiastes 2
1 I said in my heart, Come now, I will test thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
[Then] I said to myself, “Okay, I will try to do everything that I enjoy. I will find out whether doing what I enjoy can truly enable me to be happy.” But I found out that doing that was also useless/senseless.
2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
[So] I said [to myself], “It is foolish to laugh [all the time], and continually doing what I enjoy does not seem to bring any lasting benefit.”
3 I sought in my heart to give myself to wine, yet acquainting my heart with 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.
[So], after thinking a lot about it, I decided to (cheer myself/cause myself to be happy) by drinking [a lot of] wine. [So] while I was still trying to be wise, I decided to do things that [many] people do to be happy during the short time that they are alive on the earth.
4 I made for myself great works; I built houses; I planted vineyards:
I did great things: I [caused] houses to be built for myself and vineyards to be planted.
5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:
I [told my workers] to make gardens and parks. [Then] I [told them to] fill the gardens with many kinds of fruit trees.
6 I made me pools of water, to water with them the wood that bringeth forth trees:
I [told them to] build reservoirs to store water to irrigate the fruit trees.
7 I procured me male and female servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
I bought male and female slaves, and babies [who later became my slaves] were born in my palace. I also owned more livestock than any of the previous kings in Jerusalem had owned.
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 the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and of all sorts.
I also accumulated large amounts of silver and gold [that were paid to me] from the treasures of kings and rulers of provinces. [I hired] men and women to sing for me, and I had many (concubines/slave wives) who gave me [much] pleasure [EUP].
9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.
So, I became greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was [very] wise.
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 my portion of all my labour.
I got everything [LIT] that I [SYN] saw and wanted. I did everything [LIT] that I thought would enable me to be happy. All those things that I [SYN] enjoyed were [like] a reward for all my hard work.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
[But] then I thought about all the hard work that I [SYN] had done [to get all those things], and none of it seems to bring any lasting benefit [DOU]. It was all [like] chasing the wind.
12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.
Then I started to think about being wise, and [also about] being foolish [DOU]. [I said to myself, “I certainly do not think that] [RHQ] the next king will be able to do anything better than I can.”
13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
And I thought, “Surely it is better to be wise than to be foolish, like light is better than darkness,
14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
[because] wise people [walk in the daylight and] [IDM] can see where they are going, but foolish people walk in the darkness [and cannot see where they are going].” But I [also] realized that both wise people and foolish people eventually die.
15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.
So I said to myself, “I am very wise, but I will [die at the end of my life], like foolish people do. So (how has it benefited me to be very wise?/it certainly has not benefited me to be very wise [RHQ]). I do not understand why [people consider that] it is valuable to be wise.
16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
Wise people and foolish people all die. And after we die, we will all eventually be forgotten [DOU].”
17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous to me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
So I hated being alive, because everything that we do here on the earth [MTY] distresses me. It all seems to be useless [like] chasing the wind.
18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it to the man that shall be after me.
I [also began to] hate all the hard work that I had done, because [when I die], everything [that I have acquired] will belong to the next king.
19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour in which I have laboured, and in which I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
And (who/no one) knows [RHQ] whether he will be wise or whether he will be foolish. But even if he is foolish, he will acquire all the things that I worked very hard and wisely to get.
20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.
I thought about all the hard work that I had done. [It seemed useless], and I became depressed/discouraged.
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 he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
Some people work wisely and skillfully, using the things that they have learned. But [when they die], they leave everything, and someone who has not worked hard acquires those things. And that also [seemed to] be senseless and caused me to be discouraged.
22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, in which he hath laboured under the sun?
So, it seems that people do not [RHQ] get much for all the hard work that they do and for worrying.
23 For all his days are sorrows, and his labour grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
Every day the work that they do causes them to experience pain and to be worried. And during the night, their minds are not able to rest. That also is very frustrating.
24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
[So I decided that] the best thing that we can do is to enjoy what we eat and drink, and [also] enjoy our work. And I realized that those things are what God intends for us.
25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten to it, more than I?
There is absolutely no one [RHQ] who is able to enjoy those things if God does not give those things to him.
26 For God giveth to a man who is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth toil, to gather and to store up wealth, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
God enables those who please him to be wise, to know [many things], and to enjoy [many things]. But if sinful people work hard and become rich, God [can] take their money away from them and give it to those who please him. But that also is something that is difficult for me to understand. [Their working hard seems] useless, [like] chasing the wind.
