Ecclesiastes 2:12-26

Wisdom Excels Folly

¹²So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done? ¹³And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. ¹⁴The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both. ¹⁵Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.” ¹⁶For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die! ¹⁷So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

The Futility of Labor

¹⁸Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a 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 vanity. ²⁰Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. ²¹When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. ²²For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity.

²⁴There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. ²⁵For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? ²⁶For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is vanity and striving after wind.