EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Ecclesiastes 2:4
4I also did a lot of great things for myself. I built houses. I planted vineyards.
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, ‘It is foolish to laugh all the time. If I only try to please myself, it does not really help me.’ 3I thought about wine. If I drink a lot of wine, I thought that might make me happy. I might enjoy foolish things. I used wisdom to think about this. People only live for a short time on the earth. I thought this might be the best way for people to enjoy life. I also did a lot of great things for myself. I built houses. I planted vineyards. 5I made gardens and fields of trees. I planted many different kinds of fruit trees in them. 6I made large pools of water. I used the water to help my trees to grow well.
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, ‘Let us build a city to live in. We should also build a very tall tower. The tower will go up into the heavens. Then we will always be famous. If we do that, we will not have to separate and go to live in different places on the earth.’
- 2 Samuel 18:18While Absalom was alive, he had built a tall pillar in the King's Valley. He built it so that people would remember him. He thought, ‘I have no son, so my family's name will not continue.’ He put his own name on the pillar, so people still call it Absalom's Pillar.
- Daniel 4:30The king said, ‘Look how great Babylon is! It is the city that I have built to be my home as king. It shows that I am a great and powerful king!’
- Deuteronomy 8:12When you are living in the land, you will have plenty of food to eat. You will build beautiful houses to live in.
- 1 Kings 7:1Solomon was also building a palace for himself. After 13 years, he finished it.
- 1 Kings 9:1Solomon had finished building the Lord's temple and the king's palace. He had built everything that he had wanted to build.
- 1 Kings 15:19Asa sent this message to Ben-Hadad: ‘We should make an agreement to be friends, as our fathers did. I am sending you this gift of silver and gold. Please stop being friends with Baasha, king of Israel. If you no longer help him, he will have to take his soldiers out of my country.’
- 1 Kings 10:19There were six steps up to the throne. The back of the throne was a round shape at the top. On both sides of the seat there were places for the king to put his arms. An image of a lion stood on each side of the throne.
- 2 Chronicles 8:1Solomon was building the Lord's temple and the king's palace for 20 years.
- 1 Chronicles 27:27Shimei from Ramah had authority over the men who worked in the king's vineyards. Zabdi from Shepham had authority over the men who stored wine in the vineyards.
- 2 Chronicles 26:10He also built towers in the desert. He dug holes in the ground to contain water. He needed water for his animals on the low hills and in the valleys, because he had many of them. He also enjoyed growing crops. He had men who worked in the fields and in the vineyards. These were on the hills and in places where crops would grow well.
- Isaiah 5:1Now I will sing a song for the person that I love. I will sing to him about his vineyard. ‘The one that I love had a vineyard. It was on a hill where the soil is good.
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
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