Ecclesiastes 2:19

Translations

Modern

And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

Traditional

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 shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

Literal

And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? And he will rule over all my toil that I have toiled, and that I have done wisely, under the sun. This also is vapor.

Latin

…quem ignoro utrum sapiens an stultus futurus sit, et dominabitur in laboribus meis, quibus desudavi et sollicitus fui: et est quidquam tam vanum?

Original

Hebrew

English

And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

Notes

Ecclesiastes 2:19

Foolish and destructive successors pose a greater threat to wise accomplishments than wise successors do. However, since the Teacher could not predict the type of successors he would have, his accomplishments felt meaningless to him. Solomon's immediate successor, his son Rehoboam, turned out to be foolish (see 1 Kings 12:1–20).

Ecclesiastes 2:17–20

The Teacher began to dislike life because of its:

Sorrows (Ecclesiastes 1:18)
Hard work (Ecclesiastes 2:18)
Seeming pointlessness (Ecclesiastes 2:19–20)

Ecclesiastes 2:12–23

The Teacher now examines the value of wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:12–17) and hard work (2:18–23). These, too, are futile (Ecclesiastes 2:17).

Ecclesiastes 1:12–2:26

The Teacher examines how wisdom, work, and pleasure relate to each other.

Theme notes and profiles

Laziness and Hard Work Wealth and Poverty in the Wisdom Literature

Related verses

James 3:17
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.
Ecclesiastes 3:22
I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
Ecclesiastes 9:13
I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:
2 Chronicles 10:13–16
And the king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders
1 Kings 12:14–20
…and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”
1 Kings 14:25–28
In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
2 Chronicles 12:9–10
So King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.
Luke 16:8
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.

Glossary

Book of Ecclesiastes

Topics

Heir: General Scriptures Concerning Industry: General Scriptures Concerning Inheritance: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Wisdom: Worldly

Ecclesiastes 2:19

Translations?

Original?

Notes?

Related verses?

Glossary?

Topics?

Translations

Original

Notes

Related verses

Glossary

Topics