The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  16I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained omore wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has 7understood great wisdom and knowledge.”

  17pAnd I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.

  18For qin much wisdom is much grief,

  And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

  Ecclesiastes 2

  The Vanity of Pleasure

  (cf. 1 Kin. 4:20–28)

  1I said ain my heart, “Come now, I will test you with bmirth; 1therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, cthis also was vanity.

  2I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?”

  3dI searched in my heart how 2to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was egood for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

  4I made my works great, I built myself fhouses, and planted myself vineyards.

  5I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

  6I made myself water pools from which to 3water the growing trees of the grove.

  7I acquired male and female servants, and had 4servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me.

  8gI also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and 5musical instruments of all kinds.

  9hSo I became great and 6excelled imore than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

  10Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.

  I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,

  For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;

  And jthis was my 7reward from all my labor.

  11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done

  And on the labor in which I had toiled;

  And indeed all was kvanity and grasping for the wind.

  There was no profit under the sun.

  The End of the Wise and the Fool

  12Then I turned myself to consider wisdom land madness and folly;

  For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—

  Only what he has already mdone.

  13Then I saw that wisdom nexcels folly

  As light excels darkness.

  14o The wise man’s eyes are in his head,

  But the fool walks in darkness.

  Yet I myself perceived

  That pthe same event happens to them all.

  15So I said in my heart,

  “As it happens to the fool,

  It also happens to me,

  And why was I then more wise?”

  Then I said in my heart,

  “This also is vanity.”

  16For there is qno more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever,

  Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.

  And how does a wise man die?

  As the fool!

  17Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

  18Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because rI must leave it to the man who will come after me.

  19And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.

  20Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun.

  21For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his 8heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.

  22sFor what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?

  23For all his days are tsorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.

  24uNothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.

  25For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, 9more than I?

  26For God gives vwisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that whe may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

  Ecclesiastes 3

  Everything Has Its Time

  1To everything there is a season,

  A atime for every purpose under heaven:

  2A time 1to be born,

  And ba time to die;

  A time to plant,

  And a time to pluck what is planted;

  3A time to kill,

  And a time to heal;

  A time to break down,

  And a time to build up;

  4A time to cweep,

  And a time to laugh;

  A time to mourn,

  And a time to dance;

  5A time to cast away stones,

  And a time to gather stones;

  dA time to embrace,

  And a time to refrain from embracing;

  6A time to gain,

  And a time to lose;

  A time to keep,

  And a time to throw away;

  7A time to tear,

  And a time to sew;

  eA time to keep silence,

  And a time to fspeak;

  8A time to love,

  And a time to ghate;

  A time of war,

  And a time of peace.

  The God-Given Task

  9hWhat profit has the worker from that in which he labors?

  10iI have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.

  11He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that jno one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

  12I know that nothing is kbetter for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,

  13and also that levery man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. Solomon Reflects on Genesis

  14I know that whatever God does,

  It shall be forever.

  m Nothing can be added to it,

  And nothing taken from it.

  God does it, that men should fear before Him.

  15n That which is has already been,

  And what is to be has already been;

  And God 2requires an account of 3what is past.

  Injustice Seems to Prevail

  16Moreover oI saw under the sun:

  In the place of 4judgment,

  Wickedness was there;

  And in the place of righteousness,

  5 Iniquity was there.

  17I said in my heart,

  p“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,

  For there is a time there for every 6purpose and for every work.”

  18I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.”

  19qFor what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.

  20All go to one place: rall are from the dust, and all return to dust.

  21sWho7 knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?

  22tSo I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for uthat is his 8heritage. vFor who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

  Ecclesiastes 4

  The Uselessness of Selfish Toil

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sp; 1Then I returned and considered all the aoppression that is done under the sun:

  And look! The tears of the oppressed,

  But they have no comforter—

  1 On the side of their oppressors there is power,

  But they have no comforter.

  2b Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,

  More than the living who are still alive.

  3c Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,

  Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

  The Vanity of Selfish Toil

  4Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

  5d The fool folds his hands

  And consumes his own flesh.

  6e Better a handful with quietness

  Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

  7Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

  8There is one alone, without 2companion:

  He has neither son nor brother.

  Yet there is no end to all his labors,

  Nor is his feye satisfied with riches.

  But ghe never asks,

  “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of hgood?”

  This also is vanity and a 3grave misfortune.

  The Value of a Friend

  9Two are better than one,

  Because they have a good reward for their labor.

  10For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.

  But woe to him who is alone when he falls,

  For he has no one to help him up.

  11Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;

  But how can one be warm alone?

  12Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.

  And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

  Popularity Passes Away

  13Better a poor and wise youth

  Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.

  14For he comes out of prison to be king,

  Although 4he was born poor in his kingdom.

  15I saw all the living who walk under the sun;

  They were with the second youth who stands in his place.

  16There was no end of all the people 5over whom he was made king;

  Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him.

  Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

  Ecclesiastes 5

  Fear God, Keep Your Vows

  1Walk aprudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather bthan to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.

  2Do not be crash with your mouth,

  And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.

  For God is in heaven, and you on earth;

  Therefore let your words dbe few.

  3For a dream comes through much activity,

  And ea fool’s voice is known by his many words.

  4f When you make a vow to God, do not delay to gpay it;

  For He has no pleasure in fools.

  Pay what you have vowed—

  5h Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

  6Do not let your imouth cause your flesh to sin, jnor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your 1excuse and destroy the work of your hands?

  7For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But kfear God.

  The Vanity of Gain and Honor

  8If you lsee the oppression of the poor, and the violent 2perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for mhigh official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.

  9Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.

  10He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;

  Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.

  This also is vanity.

  11When goods increase,

  They increase who eat them;

  So what profit have the owners

  Except to see them with their eyes?

  12The sleep of a laboring man is sweet,

  Whether he eats little or much;

  But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.

  13n There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun:

  Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.

  14But those riches perish through 3misfortune;

  When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.

  15o As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return,

  To go as he came;

  And he shall take nothing from his labor

  Which he may carry away in his hand.

  16And this also is a severe evil—

  Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.

  And pwhat profit has he qwho has labored for the wind?

  17All his days rhe also eats in darkness,

  And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.

  18Here is what I have seen: sIt is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; tfor it is his 4heritage.

  19As for uevery man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his 5heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the vgift of God.

  20For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

  Ecclesiastes 6

  Wealth Is Not the Goal of Life

  1Therea is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:

  2A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, bso that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; cyet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil 1affliction.

  3If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or dindeed he has no burial, I say that ea 2stillborn child is better than he—

  4for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.

  5Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man,

  6even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one fplace?

  7g All the labor of man is for his mouth,

  And yet the soul is not satisfied.

  8For what more has the wise man than the fool?

  What does the poor man have,

  Who knows how to walk before the living?

  9Better is 3the hsight of the eyes than the wandering of 4desire.

  This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

  10Whatever one is, he has been named ialready,

  For it is known that he is man;

  j And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.

  11Since there are many things that increase vanity,

  How is man the better?

  12For who knows what is good for man in life, 5all the days of his 6vain life which he passes like ka shadow? lWho can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?

  Ecclesiastes 7

  The Value of Practical Wisdom

  1A agood name is better than precious ointment,

  And the day of death than the day of one’s bbirth;

  2Better to go to the house of mourning

  Than to go to the house of feasting,

  For that is the end of all men;

  And the living will take it to cheart.

  31 Sorrow is better than laughter,

  d For by a sad countenance the heart is made 2better.

  4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

  But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

  5e It is better to 3hea
r the rebuke of the wise

  Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

  6f For like the 4crackling of thorns under a pot,

  So is the laughter of the fool.

  This also is vanity.

  7Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,

  g And a bribe 5debases the heart.

  8The end of a thing is better than its beginning;

  h The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

  9i Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,

  For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

  10Do not say,

  “Why were the former days better than these?”

  For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

  11Wisdom is good with an inheritance,

  And profitable jto those who see the sun.

  12For wisdom is 6a kdefense as money is a defense,

  But the 7excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives llife to those who have it.

  13Consider the work of God;

  For mwho can make straight what He has made crooked?

  14n In the day of prosperity be joyful,

  But in the day of adversity consider:

  Surely God has appointed the one 8as well as the other,

  So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

  15I have seen everything in my days of vanity:

  o There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,

  And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.

  16p Do not be overly righteous,

  q Nor be overly wise:

  Why should you destroy yourself?

  17Do not be overly wicked,

  Nor be foolish:

  r Why should you die before your time?

  18It is good that you grasp this,

  And also not remove your hand from the other;

  For he who sfears God will 9escape them all.

  19t Wisdom strengthens the wise

  More than ten rulers of the city.

  20u For there is not a just man on earth who does good

  And does not sin.

  21Also do not take to heart everything people say,

  Lest you hear your servant cursing you.

  22For many times, also, your own heart has known

  That even you have cursed others.

  23All this I have 10proved by wisdom.