Ecclesiastes 2:26 BSB

Ecclesiastes 2:26

To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

For to the man that pleaseth him God giveth wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that pleaseth God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

KJV

For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

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Commentary

2 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Ecclesiastes (420)

"Is it not good for man that he eats and drinks and shows his soul satisfaction in his labour? And even that, I perceived, is from the hand of God. For who should eat and who should make haste except me? To the man who pleases Him He has given wisdom, knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He has given the urge to gather and amass - that he may hand it on to one who is pleasing to God. That, too, is vanity and a vexation of the spirit."

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

What that good is which is here recommended to us; and which is the utmost pleasure and profit we can expect or extract from the business and profit of this world, and the furthest we can go to rescue it from its vanity and the vexation that is in it.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Though the retribution be not so visible and immediate now as then, it is no less real. Happiness even here is more truly the portion of the godly (Ps 84:11; 1Ti 4:8). that he--the sinner may give--that is, unconsciously and in spite of himself.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

22 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
כִּ֤י	ki	for	H3588 →
לְאָדָם֙	le.'a.Dam	to anyone	H120 →
שֶׁטּ֣וֹב	she.Tov	who [is] good	H2896 →
לְפָנָ֔יו	le.fa.Nav	<to> before him	H6440 →
נָתַ֛ן	na.Tan	he gives	H5414 →
חָכְמָ֥ה	chokh.mah	wisdom	H2451 →
וְדַ֖עַת	ve.Da.'at	and knowledge	H1847 →
וְשִׂמְחָ֑ה	ve.sim.Chah	and joy	H8057 →
וְלַחוֹטֶא֩	ve.la.cho.Te'	and to the sinner	H2398 →
נָתַ֨ן	na.Tan	he gives	H5414 →
עִנְיָ֜ן	'in.Yan	a task	H6045 →
לֶאֱס֣וֹף	le.'e.Sof	to gather	H622 →
וְלִכְנ֗וֹס	ve.likh.Nos	and to collect	H3664 →
לָתֵת֙	la.Tet	to give [it]	H5414 →
לְטוֹב֙	le.tOv	to a [person] good	H2896 →
לִפְנֵ֣י	lif.Nei	<to> before	H6440 →
הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים	ha.'E.lo.Him	<the> God	H430 →
גַּם־	gam-	also	H1571 →
זֶ֥ה	zeh	this	H2088 →
הֶ֖בֶל	He.vel	[is] futility	H1892 →
וּרְע֥וּת	u.re.'Ut	and striving of	H7469 →
רֽוּחַ׃	Ru.ach	wind	H7307 →

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
Proverbs 13:22
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.
leads to
- Job 27:16–17
  Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay,
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Proverbs 28:8
  He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.
- Psalms 37:25
  I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.
- Psalms 112:2
  His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
- Genesis 17:7–8
  I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Through
John 16:24
Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
leads to
- Matthew 7:7–8
  Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- James 4:2–3
  You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.
- John 15:11
  I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

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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