Read the Bible

The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions

¹ I said ^(F1)to myself, "Come now, I will test you with ^(C1)pleasure. So ^(F2)enjoy yourself." And behold, it too was futility.^2 (C1)I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"³ I explored with my ^(F1)mind how to ^(C1)stimulate my body with wine while my ^(F1)mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of ^(C2)folly, until I could see ^(C3)what good there is for the sons of men ^(F2)to do under heaven the few ^(F3)years of their lives.⁴ I enlarged my works: I ^(C1)built houses for myself, I planted ^(C2)vineyards for myself;⁵ I made ^(C1)gardens and ^(C2)parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees;⁶ I made ^(C1)ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees.⁷ I bought male and female slaves and I had ^(F1)(C1)homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and ^(C2)herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.⁸ Also, I collected for myself silver and ^(C1)gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ^(C2)male and female singers and the pleasures of men--many concubines.

⁹ Then I became ^(C1)great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.^10 (C1)All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my ^(C2)reward for all my labor.¹¹ Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had ^(F1)exerted, and behold all was ^(F2)(C1)vanity and striving after wind and there was ^(C2)no profit under the sun.

Wisdom Excels Folly

¹² So I turned to ^(C1)consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except ^(C2)what has already been done?¹³ And I saw that ^(C1)wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.¹⁴ The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the ^(C1)fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that ^(C2)one fate befalls them both.¹⁵ Then I said ^(F1)to myself, "^(C1)As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. ^(C2)Why then have I been extremely wise?" So ^(F2)I said to myself, "This too is vanity."¹⁶ For there is ^(C1)no ^(F1)lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And ^(C2)how the wise man and the fool alike die!¹⁷ So I ^(C1)hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was ^(F1)grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

The Futility of Labor

¹⁸ Thus I hated ^(C1)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must ^(C2)leave it to the man who will come after me.¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be a wise man or ^(C1)a fool? Yet he will have ^(F1)control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is ^(C2)vanity.²⁰ Therefore I ^(F1)completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.²¹ When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and ^(C1)skill, then he ^(C2)gives his ^(F1)legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil.²² For what does a man get in ^(C1)all his labor and in ^(F1)his striving with which he labors under the sun?²³ Because all his days his task is painful and ^(C1)grievous; even at night his ^(F1)mind ^(C2)does not rest. This too is vanity.

²⁴ There is ^(C1)nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and ^(F1)tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is ^(C2)from the hand of God.²⁵ For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without ^(F1)Him?²⁶ For to a person who is good in His sight ^(C1)He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may ^(C2)give to one who is good in God's sight. This too is ^(C3)vanity and striving after wind.