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Ecclesiastes 2:19

in Ecclesiastes 2

And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And who knoweth whether he will be a wise man or a fool? yet will he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.

KJV

And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

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This verse in Ecclesiastes 2

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Bonaventure

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

And the reason for the loathing is introduced: "Who shall have an heir after me, whom I know not whether he will be wise or foolish." Literally, Solomon had as heir Rehoboam, a foolish son, who, following the counsel of the young men, caused the …

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

will be wise or foolish

Bonaventure names the heir as Rehoboam, a foolish son who followed the counsel of the young men. Clarke adds that Solomon, the wisest of men, left one son to take all his labor and his throne. Clarke calls that son the silliest of fools.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ecclesiastes · Written before 420.

proposed

"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 Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

This expresses not a gracious hatred of these things, which is our duty, to love them less than God and religion ( Luke xiv. 26 ), nor a sinful hatred of them, which is our folly, to be weary of the place God has assigned us and the work of it, but a natural hatred of them, arising from a surfeit upon them and a sense of disappointment in them.
And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool?....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

A wise man or a fool? - Alas! Solomon, the wisest of all men, made the worst use of his wisdom, had three hundred wives and seven hundred concubines, and yet left but one son behind him, to possess his estates and his throne, and that one was the silliest of fools!

The words behind it

16 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.

  • וּמִ֣יand who?

    umiH4310 →423 times

  • יוֹדֵ֗עַ[is] knowing

    yodea'H3045 →945 times

  • הֶֽחָכָ֤ם¿ a wise [person]

    hechakhamH2450 →138 times

  • יִהְיֶה֙will he be

    yihyehH1961 →3559 times

  • א֣וֹor?

    ʾoH176 →

  • סָכָ֔לa fool

    sakhalH5530 →7 times

  • וְיִשְׁלַט֙so he may have power

    veyishlatH7980 →8 times

  • בְּכָל־over all

    bekholH3605 →5413 times

  • עֲמָלִ֔יtoil my

    ʾamaliH5999 →55 times

  • שֶֽׁעָמַ֥לְתִּיthat I have toiled

    sheamaltiH5998 →11 times

  • וְשֶׁחָכַ֖מְתִּיand that I worked skillfully

    veshechakhamtiH2449 →27 times

  • תַּ֣חַתunder

    tachatH8478 →505 times

  • הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁthe sun

    hashameshH8121 →134 times

  • גַּם־also

    gam-H1571 →769 times

  • זֶ֖הthis

    zehH2088 →1180 times

  • הָֽבֶל׃[is] futility

    havelH1892 →73 times

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

Related verses

18 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.

Jeremiah 9:23This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.6 worksEcclesiastes 1:2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”5 worksEcclesiastes 1:3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?5 works1 Samuel 8:3But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.4 worksJames 3:17But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.3 worksEcclesiastes 3:22I 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?3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Proverbs 10:1The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.3 worksProverbs 23:24The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.3 works1 Kings 14:25–28In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem.2 worksJames 1:17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.2 worksEcclesiastes 9:13I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:2 worksLuke 16:8The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.2 works2 Chronicles 12:9–10So King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.2 works1 Kings 12:14–20and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”2 works2 Chronicles 10:13–16And the king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders2 works2 Chronicles 33:3For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he raised up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. And he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.2 worksEcclesiastes 11:8So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.2 works2 Chronicles 10:14and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”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

    James 1:17

    Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

    it leads to

    • John 3:27

      John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.

    • Matthew 7:11

      So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

    • Hebrews 13:8

      Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

    • John 8:12

      Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

    • Numbers 23:19

      God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

  • Through

    James 3:17

    But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

    it leads to

    • Galatians 5:22–23

      But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

    • Proverbs 2:6

      For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

    • 1 Corinthians 13:4–7

      Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

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; 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 →