21_ECC_02_01 I said in mine heart, go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: And, behold, this also [ Is] vanity.
21_ECC_02_02 I said of laughter, [ it Is] mad: And of mirth, what doeth it?
21_ECC_02_03 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; And to lay hold on folly, till I might see what [ was] that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.
21_ECC_02_04 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:
21_ECC_02_05 I made me gardens And orchards, And I planted trees in them of all [ kind of] fruits:
21_ECC_02_06 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:
21_ECC_02_07 I got [ me] servants And maidens, And had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great And small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
21_ECC_02_08 I gathered me also silver And gold, And the peculiar treasure of kings And of the provinces: I gat me men singers And women singers, And the delights of the sons of men, [ as] musical instruments, And that of all sorts.
21_ECC_02_09 So I was great, And increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.
21_ECC_02_10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: And this was my portion of all my labour.
21_ECC_02_11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, And on the labour that I had laboured to do: And, behold, all [ was] vanity And vexation of spirit, And [ there was] no profit under the sun.
21_ECC_02_12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, And madness, And folly: for what [ can] the man [ do] that cometh after the king? [ even] that which hath been already done.
21_ECC_02_13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
21_ECC_02_14 the wise man's eyes [ are] in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: And I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
21_ECC_02_15 Then said I in my heart, as it happeneth to the fool, So it happeneth even to me; And why was I Then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also [ Is] vanity.
21_ECC_02_16 for [ there Is] no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now [ Is] in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise [ man]? as the fool.
21_ECC_02_17 therefore I hated life; because the work that Is wrought under the sun [ Is] grievous unto me: for all [ Is] vanity And vexation of spirit.
21_ECC_02_18 yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
21_ECC_02_19 And who knoweth whether he shall be A wise [ man] or A fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, And wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. this [ Is] also vanity.
21_ECC_02_20 therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.
21_ECC_02_21 for there Is A man whose labour [ Is] in wisdom, And in knowledge, And in equity; yet to A man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it [ for] his portion. this also [ Is] vanity And A great evil.
21_ECC_02_22 for what hath man of all his labour, And of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
21_ECC_02_23 for all his days [ are] sorrows, And his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. this Is also vanity.
21_ECC_02_24 [ there Is] nothing Better for A man, [ than] that he should eat And drink, And [ that] he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. this also I saw, that it [ was] from the hand of God.
21_ECC_02_25 for who can eat, or who else can hasten [ hereunto], more than I?
21_ECC_02_26 for [ God] giveth to A man that [ Is] good in his sight wisdom, And knowledge, And joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather And to heap up, that he may give to [ him that Is] good before God. this also [ Is] vanity And vexation of spirit.