Ecclesiastes 2:1-26
1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
3 I sought in mine heart to givea 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.
4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:
5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:
6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:
7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants bornb in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
8 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.
9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.
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.
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.
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.
13 Then I saw thatc wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
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.
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.
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.
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.
18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had takend under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
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 shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.
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 leavee it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
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.
25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?
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.
Ecclesiastes 2:1. Enjoy pleasure. The first doctrine of Epicurus, whose system is here rebutted. Acts 17:18.
Ecclesiastes 2:2. I said of laughter, of all forced and frantic joy, it is mad. Chaldaic, “derision, insanity.” Why should the culprit dance and sing the night before his execution? No charm of atheism can silence the secret voice in the heart, concerning the possibility of a future world. Who then would not prefer the sober sentiment of Joshua, “I am this day going the way of all the earth.”
Ecclesiastes 2:5. I made me gardens and orchards, and paradises, as in the Hebrew, with pools of water; and imported exotic plants from India. I planted trees. Dr. Lightfoot gives a curious criticism out of the Targums. “I planted me all trees of spice, which the goblins and demons brought out of India. And the bound of it was from the wall that is in Jerusalem, to the bank of the waters of Siloam.” See Nehemiah 2:14; Nehemiah 3:15. Learning was then very low in the Hebrew schools.
Ecclesiastes 2:17. Therefore I hated life; that is, as in the next verse, I hated all my labour. I ceased to survey my palaces and gardens with pleasure. I knew not for whom I was doing all this. True is the saying, He builds too low, who builds below the skies.
REFLECTIONS.
Solomon here attacks the Epicurean system, which places all happiness in sensual pleasure. His whole reign is a complete refutation of that theory. He sought happiness in pleasant company, and in a cheerful use of wine at the princely banquet, but he was disappointed, for the spirits unnaturally raised by wine, sink into depression; and intemperance satiates the soul.
He employed himself very much in the latter part of life in beautifying his plantations, walks, pools, and gardens. The opulent do the same in every age: this also is vanity. They die before they have completed their plans, and cannot tell who shall enjoy their work. Besides, the superb palace and its enchanting scenes attach the heart too much to this life, and make an invitation to the paradise above an unwelcome message, though in itself the highest of all favours. This also is vanity, for the wise man dieth as the fool; they mingle in the common dust, and in a few ages, the antiquaries cannot exactly say where the palace stood. When Solomon thought of this, he hated his works; for as he feared, so it happened; he was doing all this for a foolish son.
After this mental conflict, Solomon came to an admirable issue, that wisdom excelled folly as light excels darkness: Ecclesiastes 2:13. The wise man's eyes are in his head, to profit by the good which heaven bestows, and thence deduce just conclusions for the conduct of life. There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink, and labour in moderation; then he has pleasure but not pain; then he has joy but not distraction; for God gives to the good man wisdom and joy; but to the sinner he gives travail and distraction, that he may hoard up riches for the good to possess. So providence delights to strip the avaricious of wealth, and to entrust it in better hands.