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Joseph Benson’s Bible Commentary

Ecclesiastes 2:20-21

I went to cause my heart to despair I gave myself up to despair of ever reaping that satisfaction which I promised to myself. For there is a man whose labour, &c. Who uses great industry, and prudence, and justice too, in the management of his affairs; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion A portion which he will probably consume upon his lusts. This also is a great evil A great disorder in itself, and a great torment to a considering mind.

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See also Ecclesiastes 2:20-21 in other biblical comments:

  • Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

    Verse 20. _I WENT ABOUT TO CAUSE MY HEART TO DESPAIR_] What makes all worse, there is no remedy. It is impossible in the present state of things to prevent these evils....

  • Albert Barnes' Bible Commentary

    Solomon having found that wisdom and folly agree in being subject to vanity, now contrasts one with the other Ecclesiastes 2:13. Both are brought under vanity by events Ecclesiastes 2:14 which come on...

  • Annotated Bible by A.C. Gaebelein

    CHAPTER 2THE RESULTS OF THE SEARCH AND DIFFERENT VANITIES _ 1. His personal experience (Ecclesiastes 2:1)_ 2. Various vanities and a conclusion (Ecclesiastes 2:12) Ecclesiastes 2:1

  • Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

    ECCLESIASTES 1:12 TO ECCLESIASTES 2:26. QOHELETH'S INVESTIGATIONS. Assuming the character of Solomon the writer tells of his search for happiness under many forms. The pursuit of wisdom (Ecclesiastes...

  • Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

    Even if one has amassed wealth there is the bitterness of not knowing who will inherit it or how the heir will use it. Everything has to be left behind to an uncertain fate, for there is no guarantee...

  • Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

    TOOK. toiled. Some codices, with two early printed editions, add wherein. had acted wisely...

  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

    _I went about to cause my heart to despair_ The verb for despair is not a common one. Another form of it meets us in the emphatic cry, "There is no hope" of Jeremiah 2:25; Jeremiah 18:12. What he had...

  • Charles Box Commentaries

    _THE VANITY OF TOIL -- ECCLESIASTES 2:18-23:_ When Solomon stopped to consider his life he hated what he had done. He had spent his life collecting stuff to leave to someone else. He realized that the...

  • Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

    THEREFORE I WENT ABOUT TO CAUSE MY HEART TO DESPAIR, &C.— _And I considered every way, so that my heart despaired of ever gaining any sort of advantage from all the trouble that I took under the sun;_...

  • College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

    b. The legacy of one's labor is often lost to fools when one dies. Ecclesiastes 2:18-23 TEXT 2:18-23 18 Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leav...

  • Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

    Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. I WENT ABOUT (I TURNED MYSELF) TO CAUSE MY HEART TO DESPAIR OF ALL THE LABOUR - I gave up as despe...

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    EPICUREANISM AND WISDOM ALIKE PROFITLESS 1-3. The writer makes enjoyment his quest, while aware that it is folly, and avoiding excess in a philosophic spirit....

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    WENT ABOUT] RV 'turned about,' i.e. looked back sadly at the absence of the permanent element in the labours of my life past....

  • EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

    THE TEACHER SEARCHES FOR THE PURPOSE OF OUR LIVES BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES _HILDA BRIGHT AND KITTY PRIDE_ CHAPTER 2 THE TEST TO DISCOVER WHAT MAKES A PERSON HAPPY – ECCLESIASTES 2:1-11...

  • Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

    WENT ABOUT. — Ecclesiastes 7:25; Ecclesiastes 9:14; Ecclesiastes 12:5....

  • ETCBC data on Hebrew bible

    וְ סַבֹּ֥ותִֽי אֲנִ֖י לְ יַאֵ֣שׁ אֶת ־לִבִּ֑י

  • G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

    Turning from the pursuit of knowledge to the pathway of pleasure, the king had given himself up to mirth, seeking the false stimulus of wine. In this also he had been disappointed, finding that mirth...

  • Geneva Study Bible Commentary

    Therefore I went about to cause my heart (n) to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. (n) That I might seek the true happiness which is in God....

  • George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

    _Off, in a sort of despair; suggested by worldly wisdom. Religion alone can impart steady principles. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "I went about, to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I to...

  • Hawker's Poor man's commentary

    For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool forever; 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 ha...

  • John Darby's Synopsis

    THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY COVERS CHAPTER S 1 THROUGH 12. The Book of Ecclesiastes is, up to a certain point, the converse of the Book of Proverbs. (see NOTE TO PROVERBS below) It is the experience of a...

  • John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

    THEREFORE I WENT ABOUT TO CAUSE MY HEART TO DESPAIR,.... Of ever finding happiness in anything here below. He "turned about" y, as the word signifies dropped his severe studies of wisdom, and his eage...

  • John Trapp Complete Commentary

    Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. Ver. 20. _Therefore I went about to cause my heart, &c., _] _i.e., _ I set myself to take off the edg...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    THE VANITY OF LABOR IN ITSELF...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun, he was inclined to regard his life as a failure, if viewed from this standpoint alone....

  • Mark Dunagan Commentaries

    "THEREFORE. COMPLETELY DESPAIRED OF ALL THE FRUIT OF MY LABOR FOR WHICH. HAD LABORED UNDER THE SUN."COMPLETELY DESPAIRED" -You can see why people without God commit suicide.. get depressed by just rea...

  • Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible

    18-26 Our hearts are very loth to quit their expectations of great things from the creature; but Solomon came to this at length. The world is a vale of tears, even to those that have much of it. See...

  • Matthew Poole's Concise Commentary On The Bible

    I gave myself up to despondency, and despair of ever reaping that satisfaction which I promised to myself....

  • Patchworkid's Personal Study Bible Notes

    Ecclesiastes 2:20 turned H5437 (H8804) heart H3820 despaired H2976 (H8763) labor H5999 toiled H5998 (H8804

  • Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

    WHAT USE OUR EFFORTS WHEN WE MUST LEAVE ALL BEHIND TO THOSE WHO WILL MISUSE IT? (ECCLESIASTES 2:18). Ecclesiastes 2:18 ‘And I hated all my effort with which I exerted myself under the sun, seeing tha...

  • Sermon Bible Commentary

    Ecclesiastes 2:16 I. The noblest renown is posthumous fame, and the most refined ambition is the desire for such fame. And of this more exalted ambition it would appear that Solomon had felt the stirr...

  • Sermon Bible Commentary

    Ecclesiastes 1:12-2 I. As was natural in so wise a man, the Preacher turns first to wisdom. It is the wisdom that is born of wide and varied experience, not of abstract study. He acquaints himself wit...

  • Summarized Bible Commentary

    CONTENTS: Solomon shows that there is no true happiness and satisfaction to be had in mirth, pleasure and the delights of sense. CHARACTERS: God, Solomon. CONCLUSION: True and lasting happiness and...

  • Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    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._ Chald...

  • The Biblical Illustrator

    _Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth._ THE THREEFOLD VIEW OF HUMAN LIFE Three views of human life are given in this remarkable chapter. I. The theatrical view of life (Ecclesiastes 2:1). The wri...

  • The ESV Global Study Bible's Study Notes

    ECCLESIASTES—NOTE ON ECCLESIASTES 2:18 I HATED ALL MY TOIL. While at times the Preacher found pleasure in his work, his enjoyment is severely lessened by the knowledge that he must eventually hand ove...

  • The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary

    _MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Ecclesiastes 2:17_ THE CONFESSIONS OF A PLEASURE-SEEKER I. THAT HIS LIFE’S PROMISE HAS FAILED. The pleasure-seeker begins life with high hopes. The intoxication of...

  • The Pulpit Commentaries

    EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 2:1 Section 2. _Vanity of striving after pleasure and wealth._ ECCLESIASTES 2:1 Dissatisfied with the result of the pursuit of wisdom, Koheleth embarks on a course of sensua...

  • Through The Bible C2000 Serie by Chuck Smith

    So I said in my heart, Go to now, I'm going to prove thee with [pleasure,] with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: but, behold, this was vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:1). So we read in the New Testament the ep...

  • Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

    1 Corinthians 15:19; 1 Thessalonians 3:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:4; 2 Corinthians 1:8;...

  • Wells of Living Water Commentary

    VANITY AND VEXATION UNDER THE SUN Ecclesiastes 2:11 INTRODUCTORY WORDS We shall introduce our study with quotations from our booklet on Ecclesiastes. Solomon had tried everything which his heart co...

  • Wesley's Explanatory Notes

    Despair — I gave myself up to despair of ever reaping that satisfaction which I promised to myself....

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