21_ECC_02_01 I said in mine heart , go to now , I will prove thee with mirth , therefore enjoy pleasure : And , behold , this also [ Is ] vanity .
21_ECC_02_02 I said of laughter , [ it Is ] mad : And of mirth , what doeth it ?
21_ECC_02_03 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine , yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom ; And to lay hold on folly , till I might see what [ was ] that good for the sons of men , which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life .
21_ECC_02_04 I made me great works ; I builded me houses ; I planted me vineyards :
21_ECC_02_05 I made me gardens And orchards , And I planted trees in them of all [ kind of ] fruits :
21_ECC_02_06 I made me pools of water , to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees :
21_ECC_02_07 I got [ me ] servants And maidens , And had servants born in my house ; also I had great possessions of great And small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me :
21_ECC_02_08 I gathered me also silver And gold , And the peculiar treasure of kings And of the provinces : I gat me men singers And women singers , And the delights of the sons of men , [ as ] musical instruments , And that of all sorts .
21_ECC_02_09 So I was great , And increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem : also my wisdom remained with me .
21_ECC_02_10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them , I withheld not my heart from any joy ; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour : And this was my portion of all my labour .
21_ECC_02_11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought , And on the labour that I had laboured to do : And , behold , all [ was ] vanity And vexation of spirit , And [ there was ] no profit under the sun .
21_ECC_02_12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom , And madness , And folly : for what [ can ] the man [ do ] that cometh after the king ? [ even ] that which hath been already done .
21_ECC_02_13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly , as far as light excelleth darkness .
21_ECC_02_14 the wise man's eyes [ are ] in his head ; but the fool walketh in darkness : And I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all .
21_ECC_02_15 Then said I in my heart , as it happeneth to the fool , So it happeneth even to me ; And why was I Then more wise ? Then I said in my heart , that this also [ Is ] vanity .
21_ECC_02_16 for [ there Is ] no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever ; seeing that which now [ Is ] in the days to come shall all be forgotten . And how dieth the wise [ man ] ? as the fool .
21_ECC_02_17 therefore I hated life ; because the work that Is wrought under the sun [ Is ] grievous unto me : for all [ Is ] vanity And vexation of spirit .
21_ECC_02_18 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 .
21_ECC_02_19 And who knoweth whether he shall be A wise [ man ] or A fool ? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured , And wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun . this [ Is ] also vanity .
21_ECC_02_20 therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun .
21_ECC_02_21 for there Is A man whose labour [ Is ] in wisdom , And in knowledge , And in equity ; yet to A man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it [ for ] his portion . this also [ Is ] vanity And A great evil .
21_ECC_02_22 for what hath man of all his labour , And of the vexation of his heart , wherein he hath laboured under the sun ?
21_ECC_02_23 for all his days [ are ] sorrows , And his travail grief ; yea , his heart taketh not rest in the night . this Is also vanity .
21_ECC_02_24 [ there Is ] nothing Better for A man , [ than ] that he should eat And drink , And [ that ] he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour . this also I saw , that it [ was ] from the hand of God .
21_ECC_02_25 for who can eat , or who else can hasten [ hereunto ] , more than I ?
21_ECC_02_26 for [ God ] giveth to A man that [ Is ] good in his sight wisdom , And knowledge , And joy : but to the sinner he giveth travail , to gather And to heap up , that he may give to [ him that Is ] good before God . this also [ Is ] vanity And vexation of spirit .