Old Testament

New Testament

Ecclesiastes 2:9-18 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

9. I became far more important than anyone in Jerusalem had ever been before. And in spite of everything, I didn't lose my wisdom.

10. I gave myself everything my eyes wanted. There wasn't any pleasure that I refused to give myself. I took delight in everything I did. And that was what I got for all of my work.

11. But then I looked over everything my hands had done. I saw what I had worked so hard to get. And nothing had any meaning. It was like chasing the wind. Nothing was gained on this earth.

12. I decided to think about wisdom. I also thought about foolish pleasure. What more can a new king do? Can he do anything more than others have already done?

13. I saw that wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.

14. The eyes of a wise man see things clearly. A person who is foolish lives in darkness. But I finally realized that death catches up with both of them.

15. Then I thought, "What happens to a foolish person will catch up with me too. So what do I gain by being wise?" I said to myself, "That doesn't have any meaning either."

16. Like a foolish person, a wise man won't be remembered very long. In days to come, both of them will be forgotten. Like a person who is foolish, a wise man must die too!

17. So I hated life. That's because the work that is done on this earth made me sad. None of it has any meaning. It's like chasing the wind.

18. I hated everything I had worked for on earth. I'll have to leave all of it to someone who lives after me.

Read complete chapter Ecclesiastes 2