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

19And 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! 20So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world. Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. 22So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? 23Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.

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 came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 9:18Better to have wisdom than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
• 2 Chronicles 31:20In this way, King Hezekiah handled the distribution throughout all Judah, doing what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God.
• 2 Chronicles 33:2He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.
• 2 Chronicles 34:2He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.
• 2 Chronicles 35:18Never since the time of the prophet Samuel had there been such a Passover. None of the kings of Israel had ever kept a Passover as Josiah did, involving all the priests and Levites, all the people of Jerusalem, and people from all over Judah and Israel.
• 2 Chronicles 36:5Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.
• Jeremiah 22:15But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him.

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