Ecclesiastes 2:17-23
New American Standard Bible
17 So I (A)hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was [a]unhappy to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.
The Futility of Labor
18 So I hated (B)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must (C)leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or (D)a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is (E)futility. 20 Therefore I [b]completely despaired over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21 When there is a person who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and (F)skill, and then (G)gives his [c]legacy to one who has not labored for it; this too is futility and a great evil. 22 For what does a person get in (H)all his labor and in [d]his striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Because all his days his activity is painful and (I)irritating; even at night his [e]mind (J)does not rest. This too is futility.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 2:17 Lit evil
- Ecclesiastes 2:20 Lit turned aside my heart to despair
- Ecclesiastes 2:21 Lit share
- Ecclesiastes 2:22 Lit the striving of his heart
- Ecclesiastes 2:23 Lit heart
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
