Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2:

Verses from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2 of the book of Ecclesiastes of the Bible.

• 1. I said to myself: Come, experience joy and discover what is good in life! But I also realized that this is vanity.
• 2. I have come to the conclusion that laughing is madness and that joy does not bring any real benefit.
• 3. So, I decided to indulge in wine and pleasures, but keeping my mind directed towards wisdom. I wanted to understand what is worthwhile under the sky during the few days of a human life.
• 4. So I undertook big projects: I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.
• 5. I made gardens and orchards, planting all kinds of fruit trees in them.
• 6. I built reservoirs to irrigate my green forests.
• 7. I acquired male and female slaves and also had servants born in my house. I had more cattle and sheep than all those who lived in Jerusalem before me.
• 8. I have accumulated silver and gold, the treasures of kings and provinces. I delighted in singers and singers, and also in a harem, the delight of men.
• 9. I became more famous and powerful than all who lived in Jerusalem before me, keeping my wisdom with me.
• 10. I denied nothing that my eyes desired; I didn't deprive myself of any pleasure. Indeed, I rejoiced in all my work. That was the reward for my effort.
• 11. However, when I evaluated all the works that my hands had accomplished and the work that I tried so hard to accomplish, I realized that everything was vanity, chasing after the wind, there was no profit in anything under the sun.
• 12. Then I reflected on wisdom, madness and foolishness. What can the king's successor do if not repeat what has already been done?
• 13. I realized that wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
• 14. A wise man has eyes that see, but a fool walks in darkness. However, I realized that the same fate awaits them both.
• 15. Then I said to myself: What happens to a fool will also happen to me. What, then, is the advantage of my having been wise? This is also vanity!
• 16. For both the wise and the foolish will be forgotten forever in the days to come. How can the wise man die as the fool dies?
• 17. That's why I disliked life, because work under the sun seemed heavy and empty to me. Everything was vanity, chasing the wind.
• 18. I have despised all the things I have striven for under the sun, for I must leave them to the one who comes after me.
• 19. And who can say whether he will be wise or foolish? Yet he will rule over all that I have accomplished with my labor and my wisdom under the sun. This is also vanity.
• 20. Frustrated and disillusioned, I despaired of all the work I had done under the sun.
• 21. For a man can work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, but he will have to leave everything as an inheritance to someone who did not strive for it. This is also vanity and great nonsense.
• 22. What benefit does a man have from all his work and the anxiety with which he strives under the sun?
• 23. For all your life your work is pure pain and sorrow; Even at night, your mind doesn't rest. This is also vanity.
• 24. Therefore, I concluded that there is nothing better for a man than to eat, drink and enjoy pleasure in his work. This also comes from the hand of God.
• 25. And who can enjoy pleasures and foods more than me?
• 26. To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and joy. As for the sinner, God tasks him with gathering and storing wealth to give to whoever pleases him. This is also vanity, it is chasing the wind.