Ecclesiastes 2:18

Good News Translation

Nothing that I had worked for and earned meant a thing to me, because I knew that I would have to leave it to my successor,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.

Hebrew Names Version
I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who comes after me.

King James Version
Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

English Standard Version
I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me,

New American Standard Bible
So I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

New Century Version
I hated all the things I had worked for here on earth, because I must leave them to someone who will live after me.

Amplified Bible
So I hated all the fruit (gain) of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will succeed me.

World English Bible
I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who comes after me.

Geneva Bible (1587)
I hated also all my labour, wherein I had trauailed vnder the sunne, which I shall leaue to the man that shalbe after me.

Legacy Standard Bible
Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

Berean Standard Bible
I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.

Contemporary English Version
Suddenly I realized that others would someday get everything I had worked for so hard, then I started hating it all.

Complete Jewish Bible
I hated all the things for which I had worked under the sun, because I saw that I would have to leave them to the man who will come after me.

Darby Translation
And I hated all my labour wherewith I had been toiling under the sun, because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

Easy-to-Read Version
I began to hate all the hard work I had done, because I saw that the people who live after me would get the things that I worked for. I will not be able to take them with me.

George Lamsa Translation
Yea, I hated all my labor with which I had labored under the sun because I must leave it to the man who shall come after me.

Lexham English Bible
So I hated all my toil with which I have toiled under the sun, for I must leave it behind to someone who will be after me.

Literal Translation
Yes, I, a laborer, hated all my labor under the sun, that I must leave it to the man who will be after me.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yee I was weery of all my laboure, which I had taken vnder the Sonne, because I shulde be fayne to leaue them vnto another man, that cometh after me:

American Standard Version
And I hated all my labor wherein I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

Bible in Basic English
Hate had I for all my work which I had done, because the man who comes after me will have its fruits.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And I hated all my labour wherein I laboured under the sun, seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

King James Version (1611)
Yea I hated all my labour which I had taken vnder the Sunne: because I should leaue it vnto the man that shalbe after mee.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Yea I was weery of my labour which I had taken vnder the sunne, because I shoulde be fayne to leaue them vnto another man that commeth after me:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I hated the whole of my labour which I took under the sun; because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

English Revised Version
And I hated all my labour wherein I laboured under the sun: seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Eft Y curside al my bisynesse, bi which Y trauelide moost studiousli vndur sunne, and Y schal haue an eir after me,

Update Bible Version
And I hated all my labor wherein I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to man that shall be after me.

Webster's Bible Translation
Yes, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it to the man that shall be after me.

New English Translation
So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.

New King James Version
Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

New Living Translation
I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned.

New Life Bible
I hated what came from all my work which I had done under the sun. For I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

New Revised Standard
I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Therefore hated, I, all my toil, wherein I was toiling, under the sun, - in that I should leave it for the man who should come after me;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Again I hated all my application wherewith I had earnestly laboured under the sun, being like to have an heir after me,

Revised Standard Version
I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me;

Young's Literal Translation
And I have hated all my labour that I labour at under the sun, because I leave it to a man who is after me.

THE MESSAGE
And I hated everything I'd accomplished and accumulated on this earth. I can't take it with me—no, I have to leave it to whoever comes after me. Whether they're worthy or worthless—and who's to tell?—they'll take over the earthly results of my intense thinking and hard work. Smoke.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

Contextual Overview

¹⁷ So life came to mean nothing to me, because everything in it had brought me nothing but trouble. It had all been useless; I had been chasing the wind. ¹⁸ Nothing that I had worked for and earned meant a thing to me, because I knew that I would have to leave it to my successor, ¹⁹ and he might be wise, or he might be foolish—who knows? Yet he will own everything I have worked for, everything my wisdom has earned for me in this world. It is all useless. ²⁰ So I came to regret that I had worked so hard. ²¹ You work for something with all your wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then you have to leave it all to someone who hasn't had to work for it. It is useless, and it isn't right! ²² You work and worry your way through life, and what do you have to show for it? ²³ As long as you live, everything you do brings nothing but worry and heartache. Even at night your mind can't rest. It is all useless. ²⁴ The best thing we can do is eat and drink and enjoy what we have earned. And yet, I realized that even this comes from God. ²⁵ How else could you have anything to eat or enjoy yourself at all? ²⁶ God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness to those who please him, but he makes sinners work, earning and saving, so that what they get can be given to those who please him. It is all useless. It is like chasing the wind.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I hated: Ecclesiastes 2:4-9, Ecclesiastes 1:13, Ecclesiastes 4:3, Ecclesiastes 5:18, Ecclesiastes 9:9

taken: Heb. laboured

I should: Ecclesiastes 2:26, Ecclesiastes 5:13, Ecclesiastes 5:14, 1 Kings 11:11-13, Psalms 17:14, Psalms 39:6, Psalms 49:10, Luke 12:20, Luke 16:27, Luke 16:28, Acts 20:29, Acts 20:30, 1 Corinthians 3:10

Reciprocal: Exodus 1:8 - a new king 1 Kings 14:26 - the shields of gold 2 Chronicles 6:10 - I am risen Esther 8:1 - give the house Esther 8:2 - Esther set Job 14:21 - he knoweth it not Job 20:22 - the fulness Job 21:21 - For what Proverbs 15:16 - great Proverbs 17:25 - General Proverbs 19:13 - foolish Proverbs 27:11 - be wise Ecclesiastes 2:21 - whose Ecclesiastes 5:10 - this Ecclesiastes 9:6 - have they Daniel 11:4 - and shall be Zechariah 9:6 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came—that was the sixth day.

Genesis 2:7
Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live.

Genesis 2:9
He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.

Genesis 2:11
The first river is the Pishon; it flows around the country of Havilah.

Genesis 2:12
(Pure gold is found there and also rare perfume and precious stones.)

Genesis 2:13
The second river is the Gihon; it flows around the country of Cush.

Genesis 3:12
The man answered, "The woman you put here with me gave me the fruit, and I ate it."

Ruth 3:1
Some time later Naomi said to Ruth, "I must find a husband for you, so that you will have a home of your own.

Proverbs 18:22
Find a wife and you find a good thing; it shows that the Lord is good to you.

1 Corinthians 7:36
In the case of an engaged couple who have decided not to marry: if the man feels that he is not acting properly toward the young woman and if his passions are too strong and he feels that they ought to marry, then they should get married, as he wants to. There is no sin in this.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun,.... The great works he made, the houses he built; the vineyards, gardens, and orchards he planted, c. what he got by his labour, his riches and wealth and what he also got, not by the labour of his hands, but of his mind. Some understand this of the books he wrote; which were a weariness to his body, and fatigue to his mind; and which he might fear some persons would make an ill use of: Aben Ezra interprets it of his labour in this book. All which he had no great regard unto, since it was to be left to another;

because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me; because he could not enjoy the fruits of his labour himself, at least but a very short time: but must be obliged to leave all to another, his possessions, estates, riches, and treasure; which a man cannot carry with him when he dies, but must leave all behind him, to his heirs and successors x. The Targum is,

"because I shall leave it to Rehoboam my son, who shall come after me; and Jeroboam his servant shall come and take ten tribes out of his hands, and possess half the kingdom.''

x "Rape, congere, aufer, posside, relinquendum est." Martial. Epigr. l. 8. Ep. 43.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 the wise man and the feel alike from without - death and oblivion Ecclesiastes 2:16, uncertainty Ecclesiastes 2:19, disappointment Ecclesiastes 2:21 - all happening by an external law beyond human control. Amidst this vanity, the good (see Ecclesiastes 2:10 note) that accrues to man, is the pleasure felt Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 in receiving God’s gifts, and in working with and for them.

Ecclesiastes 2:12

What can the man do ... - i. e., “What is any man - in this study of wisdom and folly - after one like me, who, from my position, have had such special advantages (see Ecclesiastes 1:16, and compare Ecclesiastes 2:25) for carrying it on? That which man did of old he can but do again: he is not likely to add to the result of my researches, nor even to equal them.” Some hold that the “man” is a reference to Solomon’s successor - not in his inquiries, but in his kingdom, i. e., Jeroboam.

Ecclesiastes 2:14

Event - Or, “hap” Ruth 2:3. The verb from which it is derived seems in this book to refer especially to death. The word does not mean chance (compare Ecclesiastes 9:1-2), independent of the ordering of Divine Providence: the Gentile notion of “mere chance,” or “blind fate,” is never once contemplated by the writer of this book, and it would be inconsistent with his tenets of the unlimited power and activity of God.

Ecclesiastes 2:16

Seeing that ... - Compare Ecclesiastes 1:11. Some render, “as in time past, so in days to come, all will be forgotten;” others, “because in the days to come all will have been long before forgotten.”

Ecclesiastes 2:17

I hated life - Compare this expression, extorted from Solomon by the perception of the vanity of his wisdom and greatness, with Romans 8:22-23. The words of Moses Numbers 11:15, and of Job Job 3:21; Job 6:9, are scarcely less forcible. With some people, this feeling is a powerful motive to conversion Luke 14:26.

Ecclesiastes 2:19

Labour - Compare Ecclesiastes 2:4-8.

Ecclesiastes 2:20

I went about - i. e., I turned from one course of action to another.

Ecclesiastes 2:23

Are sorrows ... grief - Rather, sorrows and grief are his toil. See Ecclesiastes 1:13.

Ecclesiastes 2:24

Nothing better for a man, than that ... - literally, no good in man that etc. The one joy of working or receiving, which, though it be transitory, a man recognizes as a real good, even that is not in the power of man to secure for himself: that good is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 2:26

The doctrine of retribution, or, the revealed fact that God is the moral Governor of the world, is here stated for the first time (compare Ecclesiastes 3:15, Ecclesiastes 3:17 ff) in this book.

This also is vanity - Not only the travail of the sinner. Even the best gifts of God, wisdom, knowledge, and joy, so far as they are given in this life, are not permanent, and are not always (see Ecclesiastes 9:11) efficacious for the purpose for which they appear to be given.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 18. I hated all my labour — Because,

1. It has not answered the end for which it was instituted.

2. I can enjoy the fruits of it but a short time.

3. I must leave it to others, and know not whether a wise man, a knave, or a fool will possess it.