Ecclesiastes · Bible in Basic English
Ecclesiastes 2 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure — but it was to no purpose.
1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure;” and behold, this also was vanity.
2 Of laughing I said, It is foolish; and of joy — What use is it?
2 I said of laughter, “It is foolishness;” and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?”
3 I made a search with my heart to give pleasure to my flesh with wine, still guiding my heart with wisdom, and to go after foolish things, so that I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life.
3 I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold of folly, until I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven all the days of their lives.
4 I undertook great works, building myself houses and planting vine-gardens.
4 I made myself great works. I built myself houses. I planted myself vineyards.
5 I made myself gardens and fruit gardens, planting in them fruit-trees of all sorts.
5 I made myself gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit.
6 I made pools to give water for the woods with their young trees.
6 I made myself pools of water, to water the forest where trees were grown.
7 I got men-servants and women-servants, and they gave birth to sons and daughters in my house. I had great wealth of herds and flocks, more than all who were in Jerusalem before me.
7 I bought male servants and female servants, and had servants born in my house. I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all who were before me in Jerusalem.
8 I got together silver and gold and the wealth of kings and of countries. I got makers of song, male and female; and the delights of the sons of men — girls of all sorts to be my brides.
8 I also gathered silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces. I got myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men: musical instruments of all sorts.
9 And I became great; increasing more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom was still with me.
9 So I was great, and increased more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also remained with me.
10 And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.
10 Whatever my eyes desired, I didn’t keep from them. I didn’t withhold my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor, and this was my portion from all my labor.
11 Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
11 Then I looked at all the works that my hands had worked, and at the labor that I had labored to do; and behold, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
12 And I went again in search of wisdom and of foolish ways. What may the man do who comes after the king? The thing which he has done before.
12 I turned myself to consider wisdom, madness, and folly; for what can the king’s successor do? Just that which has been done long ago.
13 Then I saw that wisdom is better than foolish ways — as the light is better than the dark.
13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness.
14 The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the foolish man goes walking in the dark; but still I saw that the same event comes to them all.
14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, and the fool walks in darkness—and yet I perceived that one event happens to them all.
15 Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.
15 Then I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity.
16 Of the wise man, as of the foolish man, there is no memory for ever, seeing that those who now are will have gone from memory in the days to come. See how death comes to the wise as to the foolish!
16 For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no memory forever, since in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. Indeed, the wise man must die just like the fool!
17 So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.
17 So I hated life, because the work that is worked under the sun was grievous to me; for all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
18 Hate had I for all my work which I had done, because the man who comes after me will have its fruits.
18 I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.
19 And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.
19 Who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have rule over all of my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.
20 So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.
20 Therefore I began to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor in which I had labored under the sun.
21 Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.
21 For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, with knowledge, and with skillfulness; yet he shall leave it for his portion to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
22 What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?
22 For what does a man have of all his labor and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun?
23 All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose.
23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail is grief; yes, even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
24 There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God.
24 There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.
25 Who may take food or have pleasure without him?
25 For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I?
26 To the man with whom he is pleased, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of getting goods together and storing up wealth, to give to him in whom God has pleasure. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.
26 For to the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him who pleases God. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
Cross references (26)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Luke 12:19; Ecclesiastes 8:15; James 5:1; James 5:5; Psalm 27:8
- 2 Proverbs 14:13; Ecclesiastes 7:2–6; 1 Peter 4:2–4; Amos 6:3–6; Isaiah 22:12–13
- 3 Proverbs 20:1; Ecclesiastes 1:17; Proverbs 31:4–5; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Ecclesiastes 12:13
- 4 1 Kings 7:1–12; 2 Chronicles 8:11; 2 Chronicles 8:1–6; Psalm 49:11; 1 Kings 9:1
- 5 Song of Songs 6:2; Luke 17:27–29; Song of Songs 4:12–5:1; Genesis 2:8–9; Jeremiah 39:4
- 6 Nehemiah 2:14; Song of Songs 7:4; Psalm 1:3; Jeremiah 17:8
- 7 2 Chronicles 32:27–29; Genesis 13:2; 2 Kings 3:4; 1 Kings 9:20–22; 2 Chronicles 26:10
- 8 1 Kings 10:10; 1 Kings 9:28; 2 Samuel 19:35; 1 Kings 10:14; 1 Chronicles 25:6
- 9 1 Chronicles 29:25; Ecclesiastes 1:16; 1 Kings 10:23; 2 Chronicles 9:22–23; 1 Kings 3:12
- 10 Ecclesiastes 9:9; Ecclesiastes 5:18; Ecclesiastes 3:22; Psalm 119:37; Psalm 128:2
- 11 Ecclesiastes 1:14; 1 John 2:16–17; Ecclesiastes 1:3; Genesis 1:31; Exodus 39:43
- 12 Ecclesiastes 1:17; Ecclesiastes 7:25; Ecclesiastes 1:9–10
- 13 Ephesians 5:8; Ecclesiastes 7:11–12; Matthew 6:23; Ecclesiastes 11:7; Malachi 3:18–4:2
- 14 Psalm 49:10; Proverbs 17:24; Ecclesiastes 9:11; Ecclesiastes 9:1–3; 1 John 2:11
- 15 Ecclesiastes 6:8; Ecclesiastes 1:14; Ecclesiastes 1:18–2:1; 1 Kings 3:12; Ecclesiastes 1:16
- 16 Ecclesiastes 1:11; Ecclesiastes 9:5; Malachi 3:16; Exodus 1:8; Psalm 88:12
- 17 Ecclesiastes 2:11; Ecclesiastes 4:2; Jonah 4:8; 1 Kings 19:4; Numbers 11:15
- 18 Psalm 39:6; Psalm 49:10; Luke 16:27–28; Luke 12:20; Ecclesiastes 5:18
- 19 Ecclesiastes 3:22; James 3:17; 1 Kings 14:25–28; Ecclesiastes 9:13; James 1:17
- 20 1 Thessalonians 3:3–4; Job 17:11–15; Psalm 39:6–7; Genesis 43:14; 2 Corinthians 1:8–10
- 21 Ecclesiastes 2:17–18; Ecclesiastes 9:18; Jeremiah 22:15; 2 Chronicles 31:20–21; 2 Chronicles 35:18
- 22 Psalm 127:2; Ecclesiastes 1:3; Ecclesiastes 3:9; Ecclesiastes 4:6; Philippians 4:6
- 23 Job 14:1; Job 5:7; Job 7:13–14; Psalm 127:2; Psalm 6:6–7
- 24 Ecclesiastes 3:22; 1 Timothy 6:17; Ecclesiastes 8:15; Ecclesiastes 3:12–13; Ecclesiastes 5:18–19
- 25 Ecclesiastes 2:1–12
- 26 Proverbs 13:22; Job 27:16–17; Proverbs 28:8; John 16:24; Isaiah 3:10–11
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… is nothing substantial, nothing lasting, he bewails, among the other vanities that are under the sun, this also, that though wisdom excelleth folly as light excelleth darkness, and though the eyes of the wise man are in his head, while the fool walketh in darkness, yet one event happeneth to them all, that is to say, in this life under …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Listen to Solomon, saying, "As far as light excelleth darkness, so doth wisdom excel folly." But how shall we instruct him that is in darkness?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)