46 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
46 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
The Futility of Pleasure
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# Chapter 2
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1. I said to myself, "Come on, let's try pleasure. Let's look for the 'good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless.
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2. So I said, "Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?"
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3. After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
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4. I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards.
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5. I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees.
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6. I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves.
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7. I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me.
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8. I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
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9. So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me.
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10. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors.
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11. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless--like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
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The Wise and the Foolish
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12. So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?).
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13. I thought, "Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
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14. For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark." Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate.
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15. Both will die. So I said to myself, "Since I will end up the same as the fool, what's the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!"
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16. For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.
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17. So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless--like chasing the wind.
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The Futility of Work
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18. I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned.
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19. 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!
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20. So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.
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21. 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.
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22. So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety?
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23. Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.
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24. So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.
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25. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?
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26. God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless--like chasing the wind.
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