Ecclesiastes 2:19

Ecclesiastes 2:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
• New International Version (NIV)And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.

Context of Ecclesiastes 2:19

17So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile – like chasing the wind. 18So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor. Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile! 20So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth. 21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!

Ecclesiastes 2:19 word by word

וּמִ֣י יוֹדֵ֗עַ הֶֽחָכָ֤ם יִהְיֶה֙ א֣וֹ סָכָ֔ל וְיִשְׁלַט֙ בְּכָל־עֲמָלִ֔י שֶֽׁעָמַ֥לְתִּי וְשֶׁחָכַ֖מְתִּי תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ גַּם־זֶ֖ה הָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And who knowethיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• whether he shall be a wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• or a foolסָכָלsâkâl · foolH5530
• yet shall he have ruleשָׁלַטshâlaţ · to domineerH7980
• over all my labourעָמָל‛âmâl · troubleH5999
• wherein I have labouredעָמַל‛âmal · to toilH5998
• and wherein I have shewed myself wiseחָכַםchâkam · be wiseH2449
• under the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
• also vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:19

• Ecclesiastes 3:22So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?
• 1 Kings 12:14and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.”
• 1 Kings 14:25In King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.
• 2 Chronicles 10:13The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men
• 2 Chronicles 12:9King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.
• Ecclesiastes 9:13This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:
• Luke 16:8The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries than the people of light.
• James 1:17All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.
• James 3:17But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19A wise man or a fool? - Alas! Solomon, the wisest of all men, made the worst use of his wisdom, had three hundred wives and seven hundred concubines, and yet left but one son behind him, to possess his estates and his throne, and that one was the silliest of fools!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. 19Foolish and destructive successors pose a greater threat to wise accomplishments than wise successors do. However, since the Teacher could not predict the type of successors he would have, his accomplishments felt meaningless to him. Solomon's immediate successor, his son Rehoboam, turned out to be foolish (see 1 Kings 12:1–20).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 2:19

• Heir
• Industry
• Inheritance
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Wise, Man
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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