Ecclesiastes 2:6
in Ecclesiastes 2I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared;
KJV
I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 2
Commentary
10 notes on this verseWith reference to the natural sense, you find it said in Ecclesiastes, "I made for myself pools of water to water from them a flourishing woodland." And do not be concerned that he said "pools" instead of "a well," because Moses said "the Well of Room-enough." For the man who has transcended this world with a pious mind is freed of all care and anxieties. There Ecclesiastes says "pools" with reason, for he sees that there is no abundance under the sun, but if anyone wishes to abound, let him abound in Christ.
This site's exposition
to give myself unto wine
on Ecclesiastes 2:3-6
The wine test follows the same design, the Preacher giving himself unto wine while acquainting mine heart with wisdom, so that indulgence never runs without a sober witness inside it. From wine he moves to building: houses raised, vineyards planted, gardens and orchards set with every kind of fruit tree, and pools of water dug to feed the young trees, each project chosen and finished by his own hand. Gill reads the string of first-person verbs, I made, I planted, I builded, as the record of a man leaving nothing untried before he files his report. The scale answers any objection that the experiment was run half-heartedly.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"I constructed pools from which to irrigate a grove of young trees. "The wood in glades and in forests, which is not fruit-bearing, are not nourished by rain from the sky, not by such rain waters but by water which is collected in pools from rivers. Even low-lying Egypt is situated low in the land like a vegetable patch, and is irrigated by waters, which come from Ethiopia. But the Promised Land which is mountainous and raised up waits for timely or late-coming rain from the sky.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
And because these things needed to be irrigated, he therefore adds: "And I built for myself pools of water," that is, places in which there is a collection of waters; and this, so that "I might irrigate the forest of sprouting trees," namely through irrigation, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); he not only planted, but watered, and then left it to God to give the increase. Springs of water are great blessings ( Josh. xv. 19 ); but where nature has provided them art must direct them, to make them serviceable, Prov. xxi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
I made me pools of water,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Pools of waters - Tanks and reservoirs. To water therewith the wood - Aqueducts to lead the water from the tanks to different parts.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19). yet acquainting . . . wisdom--literally, "and my heart (still) was behaving, or guiding itself," with wisdom [GESENIUS]. MAURER translates: "was weary of (worldly) wisdom." But the end of Ec 2:9 confirms English Version. folly--namely, pleasures of the flesh, termed "mad," Ec 2:2. all the days, &c.--(See Margin and Ec 6:12;
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
pools--artificial, for irrigating the soil (Ge 2:10; Three such reservoirs are still found, called Solomon's cisterns, a mile and a half from Jerusalem. wood that bringeth forth--rather, "the grove that flourisheth with trees" [LOWTH].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Pools - A short distance south of Bethlehem, in a valley in the defile of Urtas, three “Pools of Solomon” are still shown and an adjoining hill still bears the name of the “Little Paradise.”
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָשִׂ֥יתִי | ʾasiti | I made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לִ֖י | li | for <the> myself | ||
| בְּרֵכ֣וֹת | berekhot | pools of | H1295 → | |
| מָ֑יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | |
| לְהַשְׁק֣וֹת | lehashkot | to water | H8248 → | |
| מֵהֶ֔ם | mehem | from <the> them | ||
| יַ֖עַר | yaar | a forest | H3293 → | |
| צוֹמֵ֥חַ | tzomeach | sprouting of | H6779 → | |
| עֵצִֽים׃ | ʾetzim | trees | H6086 → | 328 times |
עָשִׂ֥יתִיI made
ʾasitiH6213 →2628 times
לִ֖יfor <the> myself
li
בְּרֵכ֣וֹתpools of
berekhotH1295 →
מָ֑יִםwater
mayimH4325 →
לְהַשְׁק֣וֹתto water
lehashkotH8248 →
מֵהֶ֔םfrom <the> them
mehem
יַ֖עַרa forest
yaarH3293 →
צוֹמֵ֥חַsprouting of
tzomeachH6779 →
עֵצִֽים׃trees
ʾetzimH6086 →328 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Psalms 1:3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:8
He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not…
- Ezekiel 47:12
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 92:14
In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain,
- John 15:6
If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
- Ezekiel 19:10
Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundant waters.
- Jeremiah 17:8
Through
Jeremiah 17:8He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not…
it leads to
- Psalms 1:3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
- Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
- Ezekiel 31:4–10
The waters made it grow; the deep springs made it tall, directing their streams all around its base and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.
- Psalms 1:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On Isaac and the Soul; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.