{"meta":{"source":"Prime Bible","sourceUrl":"https://primebible.com","license":"Public domain (translation text); see citation policy at /citation-policy","organization":"501(c)(3) nonprofit — EIN 41-2531951","canonicalUrl":"https://primebible.com/kjv/ecclesiastes/2","llmTxt":"https://primebible.com/llms.txt","generatedAt":"2026-05-29T22:35:44.559Z"},"reference":{"translation":"KJV","book":"Ecclesiastes","bookSlug":"ecclesiastes","chapter":2,"testament":"OLD"},"navigation":{"previousChapter":1,"nextChapter":3,"totalChapters":12,"totalVerses":26},"verses":[{"verseNumber":1,"text":"I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also <i>is</i> vanity."},{"verseNumber":2,"text":"I said of laughter, <i>It is</i> mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?"},{"verseNumber":3,"text":"I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what <i>was</i> that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life."},{"verseNumber":4,"text":"I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:"},{"verseNumber":5,"text":"I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all <i>kind of</i> fruits:"},{"verseNumber":6,"text":"I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:"},{"verseNumber":7,"text":"I got <i>me</i> servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:"},{"verseNumber":8,"text":"I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, <i>as</i> musical instruments, and that of all sorts."},{"verseNumber":9,"text":"So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me."},{"verseNumber":10,"text":"And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour."},{"verseNumber":11,"text":"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all <i>was</i> vanity and vexation of spirit, and <i>there was</i> no profit under the sun."},{"verseNumber":12,"text":"And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what <i>can</i> the man <i>do</i> that cometh after the king? <i>even</i> that which hath been already done."},{"verseNumber":13,"text":"Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness."},{"verseNumber":14,"text":"The wise man's eyes <i>are</i> in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all."},{"verseNumber":15,"text":"Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also <i>is</i> vanity."},{"verseNumber":16,"text":"For <i>there is</i> no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now <i>is</i> in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise <i>man</i>? as the fool."},{"verseNumber":17,"text":"Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun <i>is</i> grievous unto me: for all <i>is</i> vanity and vexation of spirit."},{"verseNumber":18,"text":"Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me."},{"verseNumber":19,"text":"And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise <i>man</i> 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 <i>is</i> also vanity."},{"verseNumber":20,"text":"Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun."},{"verseNumber":21,"text":"For there is a man whose labour <i>is</i> in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it <i>for</i> his portion. This also <i>is</i> vanity and a great evil."},{"verseNumber":22,"text":"For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?"},{"verseNumber":23,"text":"For all his days <i>are</i> sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity."},{"verseNumber":24,"text":"<i>There is</i> nothing better for a man, <i>than</i> that he should eat and drink, and <i>that</i> he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it <i>was</i> from the hand of God."},{"verseNumber":25,"text":"For who can eat, or who else can hasten <i>hereunto</i>, more than I?"},{"verseNumber":26,"text":"For <i>God</i> giveth to a man that <i>is</i> good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to <i>him that is</i> good before God. This also <i>is</i> vanity and vexation of spirit."}],"citation":{"inline":"Ecclesiastes 2 (KJV)","markdown":"[Ecclesiastes 2](https://primebible.com/kjv/ecclesiastes/2)","sbl":"Prime Bible. *The Bible.* KJV. https://primebible.com/kjv/ecclesiastes/2 (accessed 2026-05-29)."}}