Ecclesiastes 2 (NIV)
1I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless.
2"Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?"
3I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly-my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
4I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.
5I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.
6I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.
7I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
8I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well-the delights of the heart of man.
9I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
11Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
12Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done?
13I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.
14The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both.
15Then I thought in my heart, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?" I said in my heart, "This too is meaningless."
16For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!
17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
18I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.
19And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.
20So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.
21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
22What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?
23All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
24A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
25for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?
26To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Ecclesiastes 12 (NIV)
1Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"-
2before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;
3when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;
5when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets.
6Remember him-before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well,
7and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless!"
9Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.
10The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
11The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails-given by one Shepherd.
12Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
14For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
