I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with ^apleasure and gratification; so enjoy yourself and have a good time.” But behold, this too was vanity (futility, meaninglessness) . Luke 12:19, 20 2 ^aI said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my mind how to ^agratify myself with wine while at the same time having my mind remain steady and guide me wisely; and how to take control of ^bfoolishness, until I could see ^cwhat was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives. 4 I made great works: I ^abuilt houses for myself; I planted ^bvineyards for myself; 5 I made ^agardens and ^borchards for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made ^apools of water for myself from which to water the forest and make the trees bud. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had ^aslaves born in my house. I also possessed ^bherds and flocks larger than any who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 Also, I collected for myself silver and ^agold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ^bmale singers and female singers, and the delights and pleasures of men—¹many ²concubines. 1+@Kin 9:28; 10:10, 14, 21

9 So I became ^agreat and excelled more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also remained with me. 10 ^aWhatever my eyes looked at with desire I did not refuse them. I did not withhold from my heart any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my ^breward for all my labor. 11 Then I considered all which my hands had done and labored to do, and behold, all was ^avanity and chasing after the wind and there was ^bno profit (nothing of lasting value) under the sun. Matt 16:26

12 So I turned to ^aconsider secular wisdom, madness, and folly; for what will the man do who succeeds the king? Nothing except ^bwhat has already been done. 13 Then I saw that even secular ^awisdom that brings sorrow is better than the pleasures of folly and self-indulgence as light excels darkness. 14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the ^afool walks in darkness; and yet I know that in the end ^bone fate happens to them both. Prov 17:24 15 Then I said to myself, “^aAs it happens to the fool, so death will also happen to me. ^bWhat use is it then for me to be extremely wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This too is vanity (meaningless) .” 16 For there is no more ^alasting remembrance of the wise man than of the fool, since in the days to come all will be long forgotten. And ^bhow does the wise man die? Even as the fool! 17 So I ^ahated life, for the work which had been done under the sun caused me only great sorrow; because all is futility and chasing after the wind.

18 So I hated ^aall the fruit (gain) of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must ^bleave it to the man who will succeed me. Ps 49:10 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^aa fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ^bvanity (futility, self-conceit) . 20 So I turned aside and let my heart despair over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21 For there is a man who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and ^askill, yet ^bgives his legacy to one who has not labored for it. This too is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what does a man get from ^aall his labor and from the striving and sorrow of his heart with which he labors under the sun? 23 For all his days his work is painful and ^asorrowful; even at night his mind ^bdoes not rest. This too is vanity (worthless) .

24 There is ^anothing better for a man than to eat and drink and assure himself that there is good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is ^bfrom the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? 26 For to the person who pleases Him ^aGod gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting so that he may ^bgive to one who pleases God. This too is ^cvanity and chasing after the wind.

I said ¹to myself, “Come now, I will test you with ^apleasure. So ²enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 ^aI said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my ¹mind how to ^astimulate my body with wine while my ²mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of ^bfolly, until I could see ^cwhat good there is for the sons of men ³to do under heaven the few ⁴years of their lives. 4 I enlarged my works: I ^abuilt houses for myself, I planted ^bvineyards for myself; 5 I made ^agardens and ^bparks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made ^aponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and I had ^1ahomeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and ^bherds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 Also, I collected for myself silver and ^agold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ^bmale and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines.

9 Then I became ^agreat and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 10 ^aAll that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my ^breward for all my labor. 11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had ¹exerted, and behold all was ^2avanity and striving after wind and there was ^bno profit under the sun.

12 So I turned to ^aconsider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except ^bwhat has already been done? 13 And I saw that ^awisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. 14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the ^afool walks in darkness. And yet I know that ^bone fate befalls them both. 15 Then I said ¹to myself, “^aAs is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. ^bWhy then have I been extremely wise?” So ²I said to myself, “This too is vanity.” 16 For there is ^ano ¹lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And ^bhow the wise man and the fool alike die! 17 So I ^ahated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ¹grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

18 Thus I hated ^aall the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^bleave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^aa fool? Yet he will have ¹control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ^bvanity. 20 Therefore I ¹completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and ^askill, then he ^bgives his ¹legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what does a man get in ^aall his labor and in ¹his striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Because all his days his task is painful and ^agrievous; even at night his ¹mind ^bdoes not rest. This too is vanity.

24 There is ^anothing better for a man than to eat and drink and ¹tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is ^bfrom the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without ¹Him? 26 For to a person who is good in His sight ^aHe has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may ^bgive to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is ^cvanity and striving after wind.

I said ¹to myself, “Come now, I will test you with ^apleasure. So ²enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 ^aI said of laughter, “It is senseless,” and of pleasure, “What does this accomplish?” 3 I explored with my ¹mind how to ^arefresh my body with wine while my ²mind was guiding me wisely; and how to seize ^bfoolishness, until I could see ^cwhat good there is for the sons of mankind ³to do under heaven for the few ⁴years of their lives. 4 I enlarged my works: I ^abuilt houses for myself, I planted ^bvineyards for myself; 5 I made ^agardens and ^bparks for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made ^aponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and I had ^1aslaves born at home. I also possessed flocks and ^bherds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 I also amassed for myself silver and ^agold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ^bmale and female singers, and the pleasures of the sons of mankind: many concubines.

9 Then I became ^agreat and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 10 ^aAll that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. I did not restrain my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my ^breward for all my labor. 11 So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had ¹exerted, and behold, all was ^afutility and striving after wind, and there was ^bno benefit under the sun.

12 So I turned to ^aconsider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except ^bwhat has already been done? 13 Then I saw that ^awisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness. 14 The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the ^afool walks in darkness. And yet I know that ^bone and the same fate happens to ¹both of them. 15 Then I said ¹to myself, “^aAs is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. ^bWhy then have I been extremely wise?” So ²I said to myself, “This too is futility.” 16 For there is ^ano ¹lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will ²soon be forgotten. And ^bhow the wise and the fool alike die! 17 So I ^ahated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ¹unhappy to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

18 So I hated ^aall the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must ^bleave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or ^aa fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ^bfutility. 20 Therefore I ¹completely despaired over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21 When there is a person who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and ^askill, and then ^bgives his ¹legacy to one who has not labored for it; this too is futility and a great evil. 22 For what does a person get in ^aall his labor and in ¹his striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Because all his days his activity is painful and ^airritating; even at night his ¹mind ^bdoes not rest. This too is futility.

24 There is ^anothing better for a person than to eat and drink, and show ¹himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is ^bfrom the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without ¹Him? 26 For to a person who is good in His sight, ^aHe has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may ^bgive to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is ^cfutility and striving after wind.