ECCLESIASTES 2
2 In my heart I said, “Come on now, I will test
you out with celebration and enjoy the finer things.” But see, that was also just vapour! 2 I said to Partying, “You create idiots!”
and to Indulgence, “What’s the point?” 3 I committed in my heart to
reviving my body with wine (but my heart was still guiding with wisdom) and to get a handle on stupidity until I
could see what was good for the sons of man to do under the heavens during the
few days of their lives. 4 I completed great projects: I built houses
for myself, I planted my personal vineyards, 5 I established gardens
and paradises for myself and I planted all sorts of fruit trees in them. 6
I made for myself pools of water in order to irrigate the grove of flourishing
trees. 7 I acquired male and female slaves, who became like children
of my own household to me. I also had
more livestock – cattle and sheep – than anyone who had been in Jerusalem
before me. 8 On top of all this I collected for myself silver and
gold as well as treasures from kings and provinces. I brought in my own male singers and female
singers and also what offers a man pleasures – a harem of mistresses. 9
I was greater and I had more than anyone who had been in Jerusalem before me (but
still my wisdom stood by me). 10 I held back from my eyes nothing
that they asked of me. I didn’t withhold
any indulgence from my heart so that it might rejoice after all my hard
work. This is my reward for all my
labours. 11 So I looked at all the works that my hands had done, and
at all the hard work I had slaved to complete.
Hey! It’s all vapour and like herding the wind! Nothing is gained under the sun!
12 Then I turned and considered wisdom, as well as ravings and stupidity. For what can the one succeeding the king do other than what the king has already done? 13 Then I understood that wisdom is more beneficial than stupidity, just as light is more beneficial than darkness. 14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the idiot is walking in the darkness. Yet even I know that chance affects one as it affects them all. 15 So I said in my heart, “As chance happens to the idiot, so will it happen to me! So why am I wise? What have I gained?” So I declared in my heart, “This is also vapour!” 16 For there is no memorial for either the wise man or the idiot into the future Age, because in the coming days each will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man will die the same as the idiot! 17 So I hated life because every task that has been done under the sun seemed corrupt to me, since it’s all vapour and like herding the wind. 18 I also hated all my hard work I had slaved at under the sun which I must leave to the man coming after me. 19 Who knows if he will be a wise man or an idiot? Yet he will have authority over all my hard work in which I had toiled in my wisdom under the sun. This also is just vapour!
20 So then I turned back around and my heart despaired of all the hard work I had slaved at under the sun. 21 For a man does his hard work successfully with wisdom and knowledge, only to pass his share on to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This is also just vapour and extremely unfair. 22 For what does a man get for all his hard work and the yearning in his heart as he worked under the sun? 23 You see, all of his days pains and stress are his business, and even at night his heart doesn’t relax. This is also just vapour. 24 There is nothing better than for a man than to eat and drink and show himself to be good through his hard work. Personally, I see that this also comes from the Godhead’s hand 25 – indeed who will eat and rush about outside more than I do? 26 For, to a man who is pleasing before the Godhead he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and collecting, only to give it to the one pleasing before the Godhead! This is nothing but vapour, and like herding the wind.
12 Then I turned and considered wisdom, as well as ravings and stupidity. For what can the one succeeding the king do other than what the king has already done? 13 Then I understood that wisdom is more beneficial than stupidity, just as light is more beneficial than darkness. 14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the idiot is walking in the darkness. Yet even I know that chance affects one as it affects them all. 15 So I said in my heart, “As chance happens to the idiot, so will it happen to me! So why am I wise? What have I gained?” So I declared in my heart, “This is also vapour!” 16 For there is no memorial for either the wise man or the idiot into the future Age, because in the coming days each will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man will die the same as the idiot! 17 So I hated life because every task that has been done under the sun seemed corrupt to me, since it’s all vapour and like herding the wind. 18 I also hated all my hard work I had slaved at under the sun which I must leave to the man coming after me. 19 Who knows if he will be a wise man or an idiot? Yet he will have authority over all my hard work in which I had toiled in my wisdom under the sun. This also is just vapour!
20 So then I turned back around and my heart despaired of all the hard work I had slaved at under the sun. 21 For a man does his hard work successfully with wisdom and knowledge, only to pass his share on to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This is also just vapour and extremely unfair. 22 For what does a man get for all his hard work and the yearning in his heart as he worked under the sun? 23 You see, all of his days pains and stress are his business, and even at night his heart doesn’t relax. This is also just vapour. 24 There is nothing better than for a man than to eat and drink and show himself to be good through his hard work. Personally, I see that this also comes from the Godhead’s hand 25 – indeed who will eat and rush about outside more than I do? 26 For, to a man who is pleasing before the Godhead he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and collecting, only to give it to the one pleasing before the Godhead! This is nothing but vapour, and like herding the wind.
1) The Gatherer begins reflecting on the time he embarked on an experiment to see what good worldly satisfactions are to him.
3) reviving my body with wine. The Hebrew word for 'reviving' is more literally 'stretching out' or 'extending'. The Gatherer sought to drink so as to rejuvenate his weary body (from partying and hard work, presumably; that is, a bit of 'hair of the dog' by the sounds. See the rest of the chapter for details).
7) who became like children of my own household to me. A difficult phrase to translate. Translated this way it suggests the Gatherer had a great relationship with his workers, which represents another blessing on his life. An alternative way of translating it may mean that he had children born in his house to his existing slaves, perhaps to indicate the length of time he had them.
8) what offers a man pleasures – a harem of mistresses. Again notoriously hard to translate, but this interpretation fits well in the context and from what we know about Solomon.
12) Then I turned. The Gatherer shifts his focus from the tangible thing to the intangible things.
16) into the future Age. or 'eternity'. I believe this refers to not just the Messianic Age (Millennium), but to an even greater extent the Eternal Age (Rev 21-22). More on that later.
20) So then I turned back around. He completely turns away from his evaluation and now realizes the implications.
25) Scholars are generally confused about this verse, and rightly so. I would say the Gatherer is just stating his credentials for concluding in v24 that eating/drinking and hard work are the best things. i.e. No one eats or rushes around outside (in all his hard work) more than he does, so he would know!
3) reviving my body with wine. The Hebrew word for 'reviving' is more literally 'stretching out' or 'extending'. The Gatherer sought to drink so as to rejuvenate his weary body (from partying and hard work, presumably; that is, a bit of 'hair of the dog' by the sounds. See the rest of the chapter for details).
7) who became like children of my own household to me. A difficult phrase to translate. Translated this way it suggests the Gatherer had a great relationship with his workers, which represents another blessing on his life. An alternative way of translating it may mean that he had children born in his house to his existing slaves, perhaps to indicate the length of time he had them.
8) what offers a man pleasures – a harem of mistresses. Again notoriously hard to translate, but this interpretation fits well in the context and from what we know about Solomon.
12) Then I turned. The Gatherer shifts his focus from the tangible thing to the intangible things.
16) into the future Age. or 'eternity'. I believe this refers to not just the Messianic Age (Millennium), but to an even greater extent the Eternal Age (Rev 21-22). More on that later.
20) So then I turned back around. He completely turns away from his evaluation and now realizes the implications.
25) Scholars are generally confused about this verse, and rightly so. I would say the Gatherer is just stating his credentials for concluding in v24 that eating/drinking and hard work are the best things. i.e. No one eats or rushes around outside (in all his hard work) more than he does, so he would know!