Ecclesiastes 2:18
in Ecclesiastes 2I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I hated all my labor wherein I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
KJV
Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIf the whole earth is not worth the kingdom of heaven, surely he who has left a few fields leaves nothing, as it were; even if he has given up a house or much gold, he ought not to boast nor grow weary. Moreover, we should consider that if we do not relinquish these things for virtue's sake, we leave them behind later when we die and often, as Ecclesiastes reminds us, to those to whom we do not wish to leave them.
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Thus I hated all my achievements labouring under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who succeeds me. And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? - And he will control all my possessions which I toiled and have shown myself wise under the sun. This, too, is vanity. "He seems to be reconsidering wealth and riches, because according to the Gospel, being snatched by sudden death, we do not know with which kind of heir we die - whether he will be a fool or wise who will enjoy the fruits of our toil. This was also the case with Solomon: for he did not regard his son Roboam as similar to himself. We learn from this that a son is not worthy of his father's heredity if he is foolish. But to me studying the work it seems that he is speaking more about spiritual labour, because a wise man will work on the Scriptures for days and nights, and will compose books and will hand down his memory to his descendants, and nonetheless all this will come into the hands of fools, who repeatedly find in them the seeds of heresy, according to the perversity of their own mind, and waste other men's efforts. For if the text now refers to Ecclesiastes' personal wealth, it was necessary to say about toil and wealth: "and he will control all my possessions which I toiled and have shown myself wise under the sun." For what is wise in the pursuit of earthly riches?
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
He reproves his own curiosity concerning the works of human industry directed toward wealth. He argues first that he was curious about acquiring earthly things on account of the uncertainty of good offspring, because he himself could not always possess those things and feared having …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun,.... The great works he made, the houses he built; the vineyards, gardens, and orchards he planted, &c. what he got by his labour, his riches and wealth; and what he also got, not by the labour of his hands, but of his mind. Some understand this of the books he wrote; which were a weariness to his body, and fatigue to his mind; and which he might fear some persons would make an ill use of: Aben Ezra interprets it of his labour in this book.
There is business above the sun, perpetual business, which is perpetual blessedness; what we do in conformity to that business (doing God's will as it is done in heaven ) and in pursuance of that blessedness, will turn to a good account; we shall have no reason to hate that labour, nor to despair of it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I hated all my labor - Because, 1. It has not answered the end for which it was instituted. 2. I can enjoy the fruits of it but a short time. 3. I must leave it to others, and know not whether a wise man, a knave, or a fool will possess it.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׂנֵ֤אתִֽי | vesaneti | and I hated | H8130 → | 146 times |
| אֲנִי֙ | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲמָלִ֔י | ʾamali | toil my | H5999 → | 55 times |
| שֶׁאֲנִ֥י | sheani | that I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עָמֵ֖ל | ʾamel | [was] a laborer | H6001 → | 9 times |
| תַּ֣חַת | tachat | under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ | hashamesh | the sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
| שֶׁ֣אַנִּיחֶ֔נּוּ | sheannichenu | that I will leave it | H5117 → | 142 times |
| לָאָדָ֖ם | laadam | to the person | H120 → | 551 times |
| שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֥ה | sheiyihyeh | who <he> will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אַחֲרָֽי׃ | ʾacharai | after me | H310 → | 715 times |
וְשָׂנֵ֤אתִֽיand I hated
vesanetiH8130 →146 times
אֲנִי֙I
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֲמָלִ֔יtoil my
ʾamaliH5999 →55 times
שֶׁאֲנִ֥יthat I
sheaniH589 →874 times
עָמֵ֖ל[was] a laborer
ʾamelH6001 →9 times
תַּ֣חַתunder
tachatH8478 →505 times
הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁthe sun
hashameshH8121 →134 times
שֶׁ֣אַנִּיחֶ֔נּוּthat I will leave it
sheannichenuH5117 →142 times
לָאָדָ֖םto the person
laadamH120 →551 times
שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֥הwho <he> will be
sheiyihyehH1961 →3559 times
אַחֲרָֽי׃after me
ʾacharaiH310 →715 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
Ecclesiastes 9:9Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your…
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 2:10
Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 5:18–19
May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
- Ecclesiastes 2:10
Through
Ecclesiastes 5:18Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life…
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 2:24
Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.
- Ecclesiastes 3:12–13
I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,
- Ecclesiastes 3:22
I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
- Ecclesiastes 9:7
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
- Ecclesiastes 2:24
Through
Psalms 39:6Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.
it leads to
- Luke 12:20–21
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
- Luke 12:20–21
Through
Psalms 49:10For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.
it leads to
- Psalms 39:6
Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.
- Psalms 39:6
Where this verse is studied
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Athanasius of Alexandria, Life of St. Anthony 17; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2; 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.