Amplified Bible
Ecclesiastes 2:4
4I made great works: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself;
Ecclesiastes 2:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:
- New International Version (NIV)I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards.
Context of Ecclesiastes 2:4
2I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3I explored with my mind how to gratify myself with wine while [at the same time] having my mind remain steady and guide me wisely; and how to take control of foolishness, until I could see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives. I made great works: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself; 5I made gardens and orchards for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6I made pools of water for myself from which to water the forest and make the trees bud.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 2Ecclesiastes 2:4 word by word
הִגְדַּ֖לְתִּי מַעֲשָׂ֑י בָּנִ֤יתִי לִי֙ בָּתִּ֔ים נָטַ֥עְתִּי לִ֖י כְּרָמִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:4
- Genesis 11:4They said, “Come, let us build a city for ourselves, and a tower whose top will reach into the heavens, and let us make a [famous] name for ourselves, so that we will not be scattered [into separate groups] and be dispersed over the surface of the entire earth [as the Lord instructed].”
- 2 Samuel 18:18Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a memorial pillar which is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He named the memorial pillar after himself, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.
- Daniel 4:30The king said thoughtfully, ‘Is not this the great Babylon which I myself have built as the royal residence and seat of government by the might of my power and for the honor and glory of my majesty?’
- Deuteronomy 8:12otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them,
- 1 Kings 7:1Now Solomon built his own house (palace) in thirteen years, and he finished all of his house [in that time].
- 1 Kings 9:1Now it happened when Solomon had finished building the house (temple) of the Lord and the king’s house (palace), and all else which he was pleased to do,
- 1 Kings 15:19“Let there be a treaty between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”
- 1 Kings 10:19The throne had six steps, and a round top was attached to the throne from the back. On either side of the seat were armrests, and two lions stood beside the armrests.
- 2 Chronicles 8:1Now it came about at the end of the twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house (palace),
- 1 Chronicles 27:27Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards; Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars.
- 2 Chronicles 26:10He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, for he had a great deal of livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plain. He also had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields, for he loved the soil.
- Isaiah 5:1Now let me sing for my greatly Beloved [Lord] A song of my Beloved about His vineyard (His chosen people). My greatly Beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile slope (the promised land, Canaan).
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4I builded me houses - Palace after palace; the house of the forest of Lebanon, 1 Kings 7:1, etc.; a house for the queen; the temple, etc., 2 Chronicles 8:1, etc.; 1 Kings 9:10, etc., besides many other buildings of various kinds.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Compare 1 Kings 7:1-12; 1 Kings 9:15-19; 1 Kings 10:14-27; and 2 Chronicles 8:4.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The Bible mentions Solomon's vineyards in Song of Solomon 8:11–12.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-113-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2. I sought--I resolved, after search into many plans. give myself unto wine--literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19). yet acquainting ... wisdom--literally, "and my heart (still) was behaving, or guiding itself," with wisdom [Gesenius]. Maurer translates: "was…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 2:4
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
Amplified Bible — © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
Commentaries