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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless!

Context of Ecclesiastes 2:19

17So 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. 18I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 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. 20So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21For 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.

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 saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?
• 1 Kings 12:14he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”
• 1 Kings 14:25In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.
• 2 Chronicles 10:13The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders,
• 2 Chronicles 12:9When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made.
• Ecclesiastes 9:13I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:
• Luke 16:8“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.
• James 1:17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
• James 3:17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

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

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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