Ecclesiastes 2:21

Ecclesiastes 2:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
• New International Version (NIV)For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
• English Standard Version (ESV)because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.

Context of Ecclesiastes 2:21

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. 20So I was very upset when I thought about all my hard work on the earth. Some people are very wise and clever. They use their knowledge to provide good things for themselves. But after they die, someone else will have all their things. Their good things will belong to someone who did not have to work to get them. This also has no purpose. It only brings trouble. 22People have to do a lot of hard work on this earth and it causes them to worry. But in the end, they have nothing. 23Every day, their work causes their bodies to suffer. At night, their minds do not have any rest. All this has no purpose.

Ecclesiastes 2:21 word by word

כִּי־יֵ֣שׁ אָדָ֗ם שֶׁעֲמָל֛וֹ בְּחָכְמָ֥ה וּבְדַ֖עַת וּבְכִשְׁר֑וֹן וּלְאָדָ֞ם שֶׁלֹּ֤א עָֽמַל־בּוֹ֙ יִתְּנֶ֣נּוּ חֶלְק֔וֹ גַּם־זֶ֥ה הֶ֖בֶל וְרָעָ֥ה רַבָּֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For there isיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
• a manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• whose labourעָמָל‛âmâl · troubleH5999
• in wisdomחׇכְמָהchokmâh · wisdomH2451
• and in knowledgeדַּ֫עַתda‛ath · knowledgeH1847
• and in equityכִּשְׁרוֹןkishrôn · skillH3788
• that hath not labouredעָמַל‛âmal · to toilH5998
• therein shall he leaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• his portionחֵ֫לֶקchêleq · portionH2506
• vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• and a greatרַבrab · manyH7227
• evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:21

• Ecclesiastes 2:17So 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.
• Ecclesiastes 9:18Wisdom is better than weapons that are used to fight a war. But one bad person can destroy many good things.
• 2 Chronicles 31:20Those are the things that King Hezekiah did everywhere in Judah. He did what was good and right to please the Lord his God.
• 2 Chronicles 33:2Manasseh did things that the Lord said were evil. He did the same terrible sins that the other nations in Canaan had done. Those were the nations that the Lord had chased out so that the Israelites could live there.
• 2 Chronicles 34:2Josiah did things that the Lord said were right. He lived in the good ways of his ancestor, King David. He did not turn away from the Lord's teaching in any way.
• 2 Chronicles 35:18There had not been a Passover festival like that in Israel since the time of the prophet Samuel. No king of Israel had enjoyed a Passover festival as good as the one that King Josiah had. The priests, the Levites and all the people enjoyed the festival. They were the people of Judah, the people of Israel who had come to Jerusalem, as well as the people who lived in Jerusalem.
• 2 Chronicles 36:5Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled for 11 years as king in Jerusalem. He did things that the Lord his God said were evil.
• Jeremiah 22:15Are you better than other kings because you use more cedar wood to build your palace? Think about how your father lived. He did what was right and fair. He had enough to eat and to drink. So he was happy with a good life.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21For there is a man - Does he not allude to himself? As if he had said, "I have labored to cultivate my mind in wisdom and in science, in knowledge of men and things, and have endeavored to establish equity and dispense justice. And now I find I shall leave all the fruits of my labor to a man that hath not labored therein, and consequently cannot prize what I have wrought." Does he not refer to his son Rehoboam?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. 21labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill: Skill in work shows wisdom (for example, see Exodus 31:1–5). give his portion to a man who has not worked for it: A person with little personal investment tends to waste it or take foolish risks.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Suppose "there is a man," &c. equity--rather "with success," as the Hebrew is rendered (Ec 11:6), "prosper," though Margin gives "right" [Holden and Maurer]. evil--not in itself, for this is the ordinary course of things, but "evil," as regards the chief good, that one should have toiled so fruitlessly.Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 2:21

• Industry
• Property
• Vanity
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Gather
• Laughter
• Equity
• 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