1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile. 2 I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
Ecclesiastes 2:1–3
Semantically similar passages
Ecclesiastes 1:16–18
16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is… 18 …
Ecclesiastes 8:14–16
14 There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile. 15 So I commended the enjoyment of li…
Ecclesiastes 3:11–13
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live, 13 and a…
Ecclesiastes 7:22–24
22 For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. 23 All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me. 24 What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
Ecclesiastes 2:14–16
14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both. 15 So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that t…
Ecclesiastes 2:10–12
10 Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 11 Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to ach…
Ecclesiastes 2:23–25
23 Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile. 24 Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. 25 For apart…
Ecclesiastes 5:17–19
17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger. 18 Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has give…
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