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The Blue Letter Bible

Ecclesiastes 2 :: Bible in Basic English (BBE)

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:1

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:1 - I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:2

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:2 - Of laughing I said, It is foolish; and of joy--What use is it?

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:3

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:3 - I made a search with my heart to give pleasure to my flesh with wine, still guiding my heart with wisdom, and to go after foolish things, so that I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:4

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:4 - I undertook great works, building myself houses and planting vine-gardens.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:5

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:5 - I made myself gardens and fruit gardens, planting in them fruit-trees of all sorts.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:6

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:6 - I made pools to give water for the woods with their young trees.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:7

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:7 - I got men-servants and women-servants, and they gave birth to sons and daughters in my house. I had great wealth of herds and flocks, more than all who were in Jerusalem before me.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:8

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:8 - I got together silver and gold and the wealth of kings and of countries. I got makers of song, male and female; and the delights of the sons of men--girls of all sorts to be my brides.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:9

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:9 - And I became great; increasing more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom was still with me.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:10

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:10 - And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:11

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:11 - Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

Wisdom Excels Folly

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:12

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:12 - And I went again in search of wisdom and of foolish ways. What may the man do who comes after the king? The thing which he has done before.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:13

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:13 - Then I saw that wisdom is better than foolish ways--as the light is better than the dark.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:14

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:14 - The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the foolish man goes walking in the dark; but still I saw that the same event comes to them all.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:15

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:15 - Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:16

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:16 - Of the wise man, as of the foolish man, there is no memory for ever, seeing that those who now are will have gone from memory in the days to come. See how death comes to the wise as to the foolish!

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:17

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:17 - So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.

The Futility of Labor

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:18

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:18 - Hate had I for all my work which I had done, because the man who comes after me will have its fruits.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:19

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:19 - And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:20

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:20 - So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:21

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:21 - Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:22

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:22 - What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:23

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:23 - All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:24

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:24 - There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:25

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:25 - Who may take food or have pleasure without him?

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Unchecked Copy Box Ecc 2:26

Unchecked Copy BoxEcc 2:26 - To the man with whom he is pleased, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of getting goods together and storing up wealth, to give to him in whom God has pleasure. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.
BBE

The Bible in Basic English was translated by Professor Samuel Henry Hooke (1874-1968)
This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.

Pericope

Pericope taken from the NASB95 and has been graciously provided by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif.
All rights reserved.

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Ecclesiastes Chapter 2 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras