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Ecclesiastes 2:21

in Ecclesiastes 2

When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with skilfulness; yet to a man that hath not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

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.

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This verse in Ecclesiastes 2

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

For 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?

This site's exposition

I hated all for which I had toiled

on Ecclesiastes 2:18-21

The labor must be left to the man who comes after me, and who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish. The Teacher calls it futile and a great evil, the sharpest language the chapter uses against a single finding.

This site's exposition

labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill

The word for skill also means success, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown compare its use in 11:6. Clarke hears Solomon speaking of himself, a man who governed with wisdom and must leave the fruit to one who never labored. Henry says a gracious soul finds no grief in this.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ecclesiastes · Written before 420.

proposed

"So I turned my heart to despair of all that I had achieved by toiling under the sun. For there is a man who laboured with wisdom, knowledge and skill, yet he must hand on his portion to one who has not toiled for it. This too is vanity and a great evil. For what has a man in return for all his toil and his stress, which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are painful, and his business is a vexation; even at night his mind has no rest. This, too, is vanity!"

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

And he repeats the reason why he ceased: "For when another labors in wisdom," in the heart; "and in doctrine," in the mouth; "and in solicitude," in deed; "he leaves what was acquired to an idle man." And from this he concludes vanity: "and this …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

It was rational business, which related to the government of his kingdom and the advancement of its interests. It was labour managed by the dictates of wisdom, of natural and acquired knowledge, and the directions of justice. It was labour at the council-board and in the courts of justice.
For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Never was land lost for want of an heir. To a gracious soul this is no uneasiness at all; why should we grudge others their turn in the enjoyments of this world, and not rather be pleased that, when we are gone, those that come after us shall fare the better for our wisdom and industry?
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • כִּי־if

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • יֵ֣שׁthere

    yeshH3426 →140 times

  • אָדָ֗ם[was] a person

    ʾadamH120 →551 times

  • שֶׁעֲמָל֛וֹwho toil his

    sheamaloH5999 →55 times

  • בְּחָכְמָ֥ה[was] with wisdom

    bechakhemahH2451 →153 times

  • וּבְדַ֖עַתand with knowledge

    uvedaatH1847 →92 times

  • וּבְכִשְׁר֑וֹןand with skill

    uvekhishronH3788 →3 times

  • וּלְאָדָ֞םand to a person

    uleadamH120 →551 times

  • שֶׁלֹּ֤אwho not

    shelo'H3808 →5168 times

  • עָֽמַל־he toiled

    ʾamal-H5998 →11 times

  • בּוֹ֙in <the> it

    bo

  • יִתְּנֶ֣נּוּhe will give it

    yitenenuH5414 →2011 times

  • חֶלְק֔וֹportion his

    chelkoH2506 →67 times

  • גַּם־also

    gam-H1571 →769 times

  • זֶ֥הthis

    zehH2088 →1180 times

  • הֶ֖בֶל[is] futility

    hevelH1892 →73 times

  • וְרָעָ֥הand an evil

    veraahH7451 →662 times

  • רַבָּֽה׃great

    rabahH7227 →454 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

13 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ecclesiastes 4:4I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.7 worksEcclesiastes 2:17–18So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.6 worksJeremiah 2:13“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.4 worksEcclesiastes 1:2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”3 worksEcclesiastes 9:18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.1 works2 Chronicles 35:18No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem.1 works
The other 7 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Chronicles 31:20–21So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God.1 worksJeremiah 22:15Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.1 works2 Chronicles 33:2–9And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.1 works2 Chronicles 34:2And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.1 worksJeremiah 22:17“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”1 works2 Chronicles 36:5–10Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God.1 worksGenesis 1:20And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”-2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 22:15

    Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 23:25

      Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the…

    • Isaiah 3:10

      Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.

    • Ecclesiastes 10:17

      Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.

    • Proverbs 25:5

      Remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

    • Proverbs 29:4

      By justice a king brings stability to the land, but a man who exacts tribute demolishes it.

  • Through

    Ecclesiastes 9:18

    Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

    it leads to

    • Joshua 7:11–12

      Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these…

    • Joshua 7:1

      The Israelites, however, acted unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set…

    • 2 Timothy 2:16–18

      But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,

Where this verse is studied

About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
King Solomon in Old Age, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read Ecclesiastes 2 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ecclesiastes 2 →