Amplified Bible
Ecclesiastes 2:17
17So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun caused me only great sorrow; because all is futility and chasing after the wind.
Ecclesiastes 2:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
- New International Version (NIV)So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore 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.
Context of Ecclesiastes 2:17
15Then I said to myself, “As it happens to the fool, so death will also happen to me. What use is it then for me to be extremely wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This too is vanity (meaningless).” 16For there is no [more] lasting remembrance of the wise man than of the fool, since in the days to come all will be long forgotten. And how does the wise man die? Even as the fool! So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun caused me only great sorrow; because all is futility and chasing after the wind. 18So I hated all the fruit (gain) of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will succeed me. 19And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity (futility, self-conceit).
Read all of Ecclesiastes 2Ecclesiastes 2:17 word by word
וְשָׂנֵ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־הַ֣חַיִּ֔ים כִּ֣י רַ֤ע עָלַי֙ הַֽמַּעֲשֶׂ֔ה שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂ֖ה תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ כִּֽי־הַכֹּ֥ל הֶ֖בֶל וּרְע֥וּת רֽוּחַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Therefore I hatedשָׂנֵאώânê' · to hateH8130
- lifeחַיִּיםchay · lifeH2416
- because the workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
- that is wroughtעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- under the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
- grievousרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
- vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
- and vexationרְעוּתre‛ûth · longingH7469
- of spiritרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:17
- Numbers 11:15So if this is the way You are going to deal with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”
- 1 Kings 19:4But he himself traveled a day’s journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat down under a juniper tree and asked [God] that he might die. He said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
- Job 3:20“Why is the light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bitter in soul,
- Job 7:15So that I would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pain.
- Job 14:13“Oh, that You would hide me in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would set a definite time and then remember me [and in Your lovingkindness imprint me on your heart]!
- Jeremiah 20:14Cursed be the day on which I was born; Do not bless the day on which my mother gave birth to me!
- Jonah 4:3Therefore now, O Lord, just take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
- Philippians 1:23But I am hard-pressed between the two. I have the desire to leave [this world] and be with Christ, for that is far, far better;
- Ecclesiastes 1:14I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity, a futile grasping and chasing after the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 3:16Moreover, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
- Ezekiel 3:14So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went embittered [by the sins of Israel] in the rage of my spirit; and the hand of the Lord was strong on me.
- Habakkuk 1:3Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? For destruction and violence are before me; Strife continues and contention arises.
- Ecclesiastes 2:11Then I considered all which my hands had done and labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and chasing after the wind and there was no profit (nothing of lasting value) under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 6:9What the eyes see [enjoying what is available] is better than [craving] what the soul desires. This too is futility and chasing after the wind.
- Psalms 89:47Remember how fleeting my lifetime is; For what vanity, [for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke] You have created all the sons of men!
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Therefore I hated life - החיים את et hachaiyim, the lives, both of the wise, the mad man, and the fool. Also all the stages of life, the child, the man, and the sage. There was nothing in it worth pursuing, no period worth re-living and no hope that if this were possible I could again be more successful.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 Solomon found that knowledge and prudence were preferable to ignorance and folly, though human wisdom and knowledge will not make a man happy. The most learned of men, who dies a stranger to Christ Jesus, will perish equally with the most ignorant; and what good can commendations on earth do to the body in the grave, or the soul in hell? And the spirits of just men made perfect cannot want them. So that if this were all, we might be led to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-20The Teacher began to dislike life because of its: Sorrows (Ecclesiastes 1:18) Hard work (Ecclesiastes 2:18) Seeming pointlessness (Ecclesiastes 2:19–20)Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. Disappointed in one experiment after another, he is weary of life. The backslider ought to have rather reasoned as the prodigal (Ho 2:6, 7; Lu 15:17, 18). grievous unto me--(Job 10:1).Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 2:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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