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Ecclesiastes 2:21

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

Parallel translations (2) ▾

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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Commentary

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Original language & word study

18 tagged words
OriginalTransliterationMeaningWord study
כִּי־ki-ifH3588 →
יֵ֣שׁyeshthereH3426 →
אָדָ֗ם'a.Dam[was] a personH120 →
שֶׁעֲמָל֛וֹshe.'a.ma.Lowho toil hisH5999 →
בְּחָכְמָ֥הbe.cha.khe.Mah[was] with wisdomH2451 →
וּבְדַ֖עַתu.ve.Da.'atand with knowledgeH1847 →
וּבְכִשְׁר֑וֹןu.ve.khish.Ronand with skillH3788 →
וּלְאָדָ֞םu.le.'a.Damand to a personH120 →
שֶׁלֹּ֤אshe.Lo'who notH3808 →
עָֽמַל־'a.mal-he toiledH5998 →
בּוֹ֙boin <the> it
יִתְּנֶ֣נּוּyi.te.Ne.nuhe will give itH5414 →
חֶלְק֔וֹchel.Koportion hisH2506 →
גַּם־gam-alsoH1571 →
זֶ֥הzehthisH2088 →
הֶ֖בֶלHe.vel[is] futilityH1892 →
וְרָעָ֥הve.ra.'Ahand an evilH7451 →
רַבָּֽה׃ra.BahgreatH7227 →

The walk

Related verses

13 strongest cross-references

The gold bar shows how strongly the cross-reference sources tie the two verses together: a long bar means many compiled references make the connection, a short one means few.

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.Ecclesiastes 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.Jeremiah 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.Ecclesiastes 1:2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”Ecclesiastes 9:18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.2 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.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.Jeremiah 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.2 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.2 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.Jeremiah 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.”2 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.Genesis 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.”

Featured studies on this passage

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré

Walks through Ecclesiastes 2

Ecclesiastes: the Study Guide

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Still-Life with a Skull (Vanitas) — Philippe de Champaigne

Walks through Ecclesiastes 2

Vanity Under the Sun — Ecclesiastes

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About Ecclesiastes

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