Ecclesiastes 2:17

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 thought, ‘I will also die, as foolish people do. So what value have I received from my great wisdom?’ I said to myself, ‘Wisdom too has no purpose.’ 16People forget about wise people as quickly as they forget about fools. One day, nobody will remember any of them. It is true! As fools all have to die, wise people will also die. So I hated life. Everything that happens on the earth only brings me trouble. Nothing has any purpose. It is as useless as somebody who tries to catch the wind. 18I thought about all the hard work that I have done here on the earth. When I die, all the things that I worked so hard to get will belong to the next king. So I hated all my hard work. 19The next king may be a wise man, or he may be a foolish man. Nobody knows! But all the things that I used my wisdom and hard work to get will belong to him. All this has no purpose.

Ecclesiastes 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 you do not want to help me, please kill me now. I do not want to continue to be so upset. So please be kind to me.’
• 1 Kings 19:4Then Elijah went into the desert by himself. He travelled for about a day. He found a small tree there and he sat down under it. He prayed that he might die. He said, ‘Lord, I have had enough trouble! Take my life from me. It is no better for me here than to be with my dead ancestors.’
• Job 3:20I am suffering very much. Why does God let me wake up each day? I am very upset, so why does God continue to let me live?
• Job 7:15I would like someone to stop me breathing! Death would be better than life.
• Job 14:13Please hide me in the place where dead people go! Hide me there until you are no longer angry. Decide how long I must be there, and then remember me again!
• Jeremiah 20:14I would like to curse the day that I was born. That day was not a happy day, the day that my mother gave birth to me.
• Jonah 4:3Lord, please kill me now! I would rather die than continue to live.’
• Philippians 1:23Both of them seem very good to me. I want to leave this world so that I can be with Christ. That is a much better thing.
• Ecclesiastes 1:14I thought about all the things that people do on the earth. I realized that all these things have no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 3:16I saw something else that happens on the earth. Judges should choose what is right, but instead they choose what is wicked. They should decide what is fair, but they do evil things.
• Ezekiel 3:14Then a spirit lifted me up and he took me away. I was angry and upset in my mind. But the Lord gave me great power and strength.
• Habakkuk 1:3You cause me to see many things that are not right. You do not punish people who are doing wrong things. Why do you let that happen? People do cruel things and there is violence everywhere. They argue and they fight and they quarrel.
• Ecclesiastes 2:11Then I thought about everything that I had done, and all my hard work. After all that, I realized that none of these things had a purpose. I was like somebody who tries to catch the wind. None of the things on earth have any value.
• Ecclesiastes 6:9It is good to enjoy the things that we have. That is better than to want more things all the time. If you always try to get more things, that has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
• Psalms 89:47Remember that my life is very short! People are weak and their lives seem useless. Why do you make people like that?

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

• Death
• Industry
• Life
• Murmuring
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Gather
• Laughter
• Synagogue, the Great

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