Ecclesiastes 2:20 BSB

Ecclesiastes 2:20

So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Therefore I turned about to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor wherein I had labored under the sun.

KJV

Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.

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Commentary

0 voices

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.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Our hearts are very loth to quit their expectations of great things from the creature; we must go about, must fetch a compass, in arguing with them, to convince them that there is not that in the things of this world which we are apt to promise ourselves from them.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וְסַבּ֥וֹתִֽי	ve.sa.Bo.ti	and I turned	H5437 →
אֲנִ֖י	'a.Ni	I	H589 →
לְיַאֵ֣שׁ	le.ya.'Esh	to make despair	H2976 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
לִבִּ֑י	li.Bi	heart my	H3820 →
עַ֚ל	'al	on	H5921 →
כָּל־	kol-	all	H3605 →
הֶ֣עָמָ֔ל	he.'a.Mal	the toil	H5999 →
שֶׁעָמַ֖לְתִּי	she.'a.Mal.ti	that I have toiled	H5998 →
תַּ֥חַת	Ta.chat	under	H8478 →
הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃	ha.Sha.mesh	the sun	H8121 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
1 Corinthians 15:19
If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.
leads to
- Revelation 14:13
  And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors,…
- 1 Peter 1:21
  Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are in God.
- 2 Timothy 1:12
  For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have…
- 1 Corinthians 4:9–13
  For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as…
- 2 Timothy 3:12
  Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Through
Genesis 43:14
May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”
leads to
- Esther 4:16
  “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast…
- Genesis 17:1
  When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
- Acts 21:14
  When he would not be dissuaded, we fell silent and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through Ecclesiastes 2

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About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read chapter 2 →The featured study →

Continue: Ecclesiastes 2 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Ecclesiastes

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Ecclesiastes