Ecclesiastes 2:1-23
21 I said to myself , "Come now , I will test you with pleasure . So enjoy yourself." And behold , it too was futility . 2 I said of laughter , "It is madness ," and of pleasure , "What does it accomplish ?" 3 I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely , and how to take hold of folly , until e I could see what e good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives . 4 I enlarged my works : I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; 5 I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees ; 6 I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees . 7 I bought male and female slaves e and I had homeborn e slaves . Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem . 8 Also , I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces . I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men e -many concubines . 9 Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem . My wisdom also stood by me. 10 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 reward for all my labor . 11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted , and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun .
12 So I turned to consider wisdom , madness and folly ; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done ? 13 And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness . 14 The wise man's eyes are in his head , but the fool walks in darkness . And yet I know that one fate befalls them both . 15 Then I said to myself , " As is the fate of the fool , it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise ?" So I said to myself , "This too is vanity ." 16 For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool , inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten . And how the wise man and the fool alike die !
17 So I hated life , for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind . 18 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. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool ? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun . This too is vanity . 20 Therefore I completely e 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 skill , then he gives his 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 all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun ? 23 Because all his days his task is painful and grievous ; even at night his mind does not rest . This too is vanity .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ecclesiastes 2:1-23
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
(Read Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)
Solomon soon found mirth and pleasure to be vanity. What does noisy, flashy mirth towards making a man happy? The manifold devices of men's hearts, to get satisfaction from the world, and their changing from one thing to another, are like the restlessness of a man in a fever. Perceiving it was folly to give himself to wine, he next tried the costly amusements of princes. The poor, when they read such a description, are ready to feel discontent. But the remedy against all such feelings is in the estimate of it all by the owner himself. All was vanity and vexation of spirit: and the same things would yield the same result to us, as to Solomon. Having food and raiment, let us therewith be content. His wisdom remained with him; a strong understanding, with great human knowledge. But every earthly pleasure, when unconnected with better blessings, leaves the mind as eager and unsatisfied as before. Happiness arises not from the situation in which we are placed. It is only through Jesus Christ that final blessedness can be attained.
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 2:12-17
(Read Ecclesiastes 2:12-17)
Solomon found that knowledge and prudence were preferable to ignorance and folly, though human wisdom and knowledge will not make a man happy. The most learned of men, who dies a stranger to Christ Jesus, will perish equally with the most ignorant; and what good can commendations on earth do to the body in the grave, or the soul in hell? And the spirits of just men made perfect cannot want them. So that if this were all, we might be led to hate our life, as it is all vanity and vexation of spirit.
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 2:18-26
(Read Ecclesiastes 2:18-26)
Our hearts are very loth to quit their expectations of great things from the creature; but Solomon came to this at length. The world is a vale of tears, even to those that have much of it. See what fools they are, who make themselves drudges to the world, which affords a man nothing better than subsistence for the body. And the utmost he can attain in this respect is to allow himself a sober, cheerful use thereof, according to his rank and condition. But we must enjoy good in our labour; we must use those things to make us diligent and cheerful in worldly business. And this is the gift of God. Riches are a blessing or a curse to a man, according as he has, or has not, a heart to make a good use of them. To those that are accepted of the Lord, he gives joy and satisfaction in the knowledge and love of him. But to the sinner he allots labour, sorrow, vanity, and vexation, in seeking a worldly portion, which yet afterwards comes into better hands. Let the sinner seriously consider his latter end. To seek a lasting portion in the love of Christ and the blessings it bestows, is the only way to true and satisfying enjoyment even of this present world.