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Text -- Ecclesiastes 2:1-26 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure
2:1 I thought to myself , “Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.” But I found that it also is
2:2 I said of partying , “It is folly ,” and of self-indulgent pleasure , “It accomplishes nothing!”
2:3 I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine (all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom ) and the effects of behaving foolishly , so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives .
Futility of Materialism
2:4 I increased my possessions : I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself.
2:5 I designed royal gardens and parks for myself, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.
2:6 I constructed pools of water for myself , to irrigate my grove of flourishing trees .
2:7 I purchased male and female slaves , and I owned slaves who were born in my house ; I also possessed more livestock – both herds and flocks – than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem .
2:8 I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures taken from kingdoms and provinces . I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual delight – a harem of beautiful concubines !
2:9 So I was far wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem , yet I maintained my objectivity :
2:10 I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted ; I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure . So all my accomplishments gave me joy ; this was my reward for all my effort .
2:11 Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded : “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless – like chasing the wind ! There is nothing gained from them on earth .”
Wisdom is Better than Folly
2:12 Next, I decided to consider wisdom , as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done ?
2:13 I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly , just as light is preferable to darkness :
2:14 The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness . Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.
2:15 So I thought to myself , “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise ?” So I lamented to myself , “The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless !”
2:16 For the wise man, like the fool , will not be remembered for very long , because in the days to come , both will already have been forgotten . Alas , the wise man dies – just like the fool !
2:17 So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile – like chasing the wind .
Futility of Being a Workaholic
2:18 So I loathed all the fruit of my effort , for which I worked so hard on earth , because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor .
2:19 Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool ? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth ! This also is futile !
2:20 So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth .
2:21 For a man may do his work with wisdom , knowledge , and skill ; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile , and an awful injustice !
Painful Days and Restless Nights
2:22 What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth ?
2:23 For all day long his work produces pain and frustration , and even at night his mind cannot relax ! This also is futile !
Enjoy Work and its Benefits
2:24 There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink , and to find enjoyment in their work . I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God .
2:25 For no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart from him.
2:26 For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom , knowledge , and joy , but to the sinner , he gives the task of amassing wealth – only to give it to the one who pleases God . This task of the wicked is futile – like chasing the wind !
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Wisdom |
Experiment |
Philosophy |
Life |
Pleasure |
Vanity |
Worldliness |
Investigation |
Epicureans |
Solomon |
Industry |
Death |
Happiness |
FOREST |
Irrigation |
Amusements and Worldly Pleasures |
Music |
LABOR |
Agriculture |
Complaint |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Ecc 2:1; Ecc 2:1; Ecc 2:1; Ecc 2:1; Ecc 2:1; Ecc 2:1; Ecc 2:1; Ecc 2:1; Ecc 2:1; Ecc 2:2; Ecc 2:2; Ecc 2:2; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:4; Ecc 2:4; Ecc 2:4; Ecc 2:5; Ecc 2:5; Ecc 2:5; Ecc 2:6; Ecc 2:7; Ecc 2:7; Ecc 2:8; Ecc 2:8; Ecc 2:8; Ecc 2:8; Ecc 2:8; Ecc 2:9; Ecc 2:9; Ecc 2:9; Ecc 2:10; Ecc 2:10; Ecc 2:10; Ecc 2:10; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:12; Ecc 2:12; Ecc 2:12; Ecc 2:13; Ecc 2:14; Ecc 2:14; Ecc 2:14; Ecc 2:15; Ecc 2:15; Ecc 2:15; Ecc 2:15; Ecc 2:15; Ecc 2:15; Ecc 2:16; Ecc 2:16; Ecc 2:16; Ecc 2:16; Ecc 2:16; Ecc 2:16; Ecc 2:17; Ecc 2:17; Ecc 2:17; Ecc 2:17; Ecc 2:17; Ecc 2:18; Ecc 2:18; Ecc 2:18; Ecc 2:18; Ecc 2:18; Ecc 2:18; Ecc 2:18; Ecc 2:18; Ecc 2:19; Ecc 2:19; Ecc 2:19; Ecc 2:19; Ecc 2:19; Ecc 2:20; Ecc 2:20; Ecc 2:20; Ecc 2:20; Ecc 2:20; Ecc 2:21; Ecc 2:21; Ecc 2:21; Ecc 2:21; Ecc 2:21; Ecc 2:21; Ecc 2:22; Ecc 2:23; Ecc 2:23; Ecc 2:23; Ecc 2:24; Ecc 2:24; Ecc 2:24; Ecc 2:24; Ecc 2:24; Ecc 2:24; Ecc 2:24; Ecc 2:24; Ecc 2:25; Ecc 2:25; Ecc 2:25; Ecc 2:25; Ecc 2:26; Ecc 2:26; Ecc 2:26; Ecc 2:26; Ecc 2:26; Ecc 2:26; Ecc 2:26
NET Notes: Ecc 2:1 This use of הֶבֶל (hevel) denotes “futile, worthless, fruitless, pointless” (HALOT 237 s.v. I הֶ...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:2 Heb “What does it accomplish?” The rhetorical question “What does it accomplish?” expects a negative answer: “It accompl...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:3 Heb “number of the days.” The Hebrew noun מִסְפַּר (mispar, “number, quantity”...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:4 The expression for myself is repeated eight times in 2:4-8 to emphasize that Qoheleth did not deny himself any acquisition. He indulged himself in acq...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:5 The noun פַּרְדֵּס (pardes, “garden, parkland, forest”) is a foreign loanword that o...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:7 For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:8 Concubines were slave women in ancient Near Eastern societies who were the legal property of their master, but who could have legitimate sexual relati...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:9 Heb “yet my wisdom stood for me,” meaning he retained his wise perspective despite his great wealth.
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:12 The Hebrew text reads עָשׂוּהוּ (’asuhu, “they have done it”; Qal perfect 3rd ...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:14 The term כֻּלָּם (kullam, “all of them”) denotes “both of them.” This is an example ...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:15 The word “ultimately” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:16 The preposition עִם (’im, “with”) may occasionally function in a comparative sense, meaning “together with; ...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:21 Verses 18-21 are arranged into two sub-units (2:18-19 and 2:20-21). Each contains a parallel structure: (1) Introductory lament: “I hated all my...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:22 Heb “under the sun.” The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “Man acquires nothi...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:24 The phrase “from the hand of God” is an anthropomorphism (depicting God, who is an invisible spirit, in the form of man with hands) or ant...
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NET Notes: Ecc 2:25 The MT reads מִמֶּנִּי (mimmenni, “more than I”). However, an alternate textual trad...
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