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2:1  I said to myself, "Come on, let's try pleasure. Let's look for the 'good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless.
2:2  So I said, "Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?"
2:3  After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
2:4  I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards.
2:5  I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees.
2:6  I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves.
2:7  I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me.
2:8  I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
2:9  So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me.
2:10  Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors.
2:11  But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless--like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
2:12  So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?).
2:13  I thought, "Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
2:14  For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark." Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate.
2:15  Both will die. So I said to myself, "Since I will end up the same as the fool, what's the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!"
2:16  For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.
2:17  So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless--like chasing the wind.
2:18  I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned.
2:19  And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless!
2:20  So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.
2:21  Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn't worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy.
2:22  So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety?
2:23  Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.
2:24  So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.
2:25  For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?
2:26  God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless--like chasing the wind.