2:10 I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; 1
I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. 2
So all my accomplishments gave me joy; 3
this was my reward for all my effort. 4
2:11 Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished 5
and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, 6
I concluded: 7 “All these 8 achievements and possessions 9 are ultimately 10 profitless 11 –
like chasing the wind!
There is nothing gained 12 from them 13 on earth.” 14
2:12 Next, I decided to consider 15 wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. 16
For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king 17 has already done?
2:13 I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, 18
just as light is preferable to darkness:
2:14 The wise man can see where he is going, 19 but the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I also realized that the same fate 20 happens to them both. 21
2:15 So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! 22
Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively 23 wise?” 24
So I lamented to myself, 25
“The benefits of wisdom 26 are ultimately 27 meaningless!”
2:16 For the wise man, like 28 the fool, will not be remembered for very long, 29
because 30 in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. 31
Alas, 32 the wise man dies – just like 33 the fool!
2:17 So I loathed 34 life 35 because what
happens 36 on earth 37 seems awful to me;
for all the benefits of wisdom 38 are futile – like chasing the wind.
2:18 So I loathed all the fruit of 39 my effort, 40
for which I worked so hard 41 on earth, 42
because 43 I must leave it 44 behind 45 in the hands of my successor. 46
2:19 Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool?
Yet 47 he will be master over all the fruit of 48 my labor 49
for which I worked so wisely 50 on earth! 51
This also is futile!
2:20 So I began to despair 52 about all the fruit of 53 my labor 54
for which I worked so hard 55 on earth. 56
2:21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill;
however, he must hand over 57 the fruit of his labor 58 as an inheritance 59
to someone else who did not work for it.
This also is futile, and an awful injustice! 60
2:22 What does a man acquire from all his labor
and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth? 61
2:23 For all day long 62 his work produces pain and frustration, 63
and even at night his mind cannot relax! 64
This also is futile!
2:24 There is nothing better for 65 people 66 than 67 to eat and drink,
and to find enjoyment 68 in their 69 work.
I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment 70 comes from God. 71
2:25 For no one 72 can eat and drink 73
or experience joy 74 apart from him. 75
2:26 For to the one who pleases him, 76 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy,
but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing 77 wealth 78 –
only to give 79 it 80 to the one who pleases God.
This 81 task of the wicked 82 is futile – like chasing the wind!