Christian Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 2:18
18I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.
Ecclesiastes 2:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.
Context of Ecclesiastes 2:18
16For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool? 17Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind. I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me. 19And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. 20So I began to give myself over to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 2Ecclesiastes 2:18 word by word
וְשָׂנֵ֤אתִֽי אֲנִי֙ אֶת־כָּל־עֲמָלִ֔י שֶׁאֲנִ֥י עָמֵ֖ל תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ שֶׁ֣אַנִּיחֶ֔נּוּ לָאָדָ֖ם שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֥ה אַחֲרָֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:18
- Ecclesiastes 2:4I increased my achievements. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.
- Ecclesiastes 1:13I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.
- Ecclesiastes 4:3But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 5:18Here is what I have seen to be good: It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.
- Ecclesiastes 9:9Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 2:26For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 5:13There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.
- 1 Kings 11:1King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women
- Psalms 17:14With your hand, Lord, save me from men, from men of the world whose portion is in this life: You fill their bellies with what you have in store; their sons are satisfied, and they leave their surplus to their children.
- Psalms 39:6Yes, a person goes about like a mere shadow. Indeed, they rush around in vain, gathering possessions without knowing who will get them.
- Psalms 49:10For one can see that the wise die; the foolish and stupid also pass away. Then they leave their wealth to others.
- Luke 12:20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared — whose will they be?’
- Luke 16:27“‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house —
- Acts 20:29I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
- 1 Corinthians 3:10According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18I hated all my labor - Because, It has not answered the end for which it was instituted. I can enjoy the fruits of it but a short time. 3. I must leave it to others, and know not whether a wise man, a knave, or a fool will possess it.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-26Verses 18-26 Our hearts are very loth to quit their expectations of great things from the creature; but Solomon came to this at length. The world is a vale of tears, even to those that have much of it. See what fools they are, who make themselves drudges to the world, which affords a man nothing better than subsistence for the body. And the utmost he can attain in this respect is to allow himself a sober, cheerful use thereof, according to his rank and…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. 18-1918-19. One hope alone was left to the disappointed worldling, the perpetuation of his name and riches, laboriously gathered, through his successor. For selfishness is mostly at the root of worldly parents' alleged providence for their children. But now the remembrance of how he himself, the piously reared child of David, had disregarded his father's dying charge (1Ch 28:9), suggested the sad misgivings as to what Rehoboam, his son by an idolatrous…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 2:18
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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