| 2:1 | I said to myself, "Let's go for it--experiment with pleasure, have a good time!" But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke. |
| 2:2 | What do I think of the fun-filled life? Insane! Inane! My verdict on the pursuit of happiness? Who needs it? |
| 2:3 | With the help of a bottle of wine and all the wisdom I could muster, I tried my level best to penetrate the absurdity of life. I wanted to get a handle on anything useful we mortals might do during the years we spend on this earth. |
| 2:4 | Oh, I did great things: built houses, planted vineyards, |
| 2:5 | designed gardens and parks and planted a variety of fruit trees in them, |
| 2:6 | made pools of water to irrigate the groves of trees. |
| 2:7 | I bought slaves, male and female, who had children, giving me even more slaves; then I acquired large herds and flocks, larger than any before me in Jerusalem. |
| 2:8 | I piled up silver and gold, loot from kings and kingdoms. I gathered a chorus of singers to entertain me with song, and--most exquisite of all pleasures--voluptuous maidens for my bed. |
| 2:9 | Oh, how I prospered! I left all my predecessors in Jerusalem far behind, left them behind in the dust. What's more, I kept a clear head through it all. |
| 2:10 | Everything I wanted I took--I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task--my reward to myself for a hard day's work! |
| 2:11 | Then I took a good look at everything I'd done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing. |
| 2:12 | And then I took a hard look at what's smart and what's stupid. What's left to do after you've been king? That's a hard act to follow. You just do what you can, and that's it. |
| 2:13 | But I did see that it's better to be smart than stupid, just as light is better than darkness. |
| 2:14 | Even so, though the smart ones see where they're going and the stupid ones grope in the dark, they're all the same in the end. One fate for all--and that's it. |
| 2:15 | When I realized that my fate's the same as the fool's, I had to ask myself, "So why bother being wise?" It's all smoke, nothing but smoke. |
| 2:16 | The smart and the stupid both disappear out of sight. In a day or two they're both forgotten. Yes, both the smart and the stupid die, and that's it. |
| 2:17 | I hate life. As far as I can see, what happens on earth is a bad business. It's smoke--and spitting into the wind. |
| 2:18 | And I hated everything I'd accomplished and accumulated on this earth. I can't take it with me--no, I have to leave it to whoever comes after me. |
| 2:19 | Whether they're worthy or worthless--and who's to tell?--they'll take over the earthly results of my intense thinking and hard work. Smoke. |
| 2:20 | That's when I called it quits, gave up on anything that could be hoped for on this earth. |
| 2:21 | What's the point of working your fingers to the bone if you hand over what you worked for to someone who never lifted a finger for it? Smoke, that's what it is. A bad business from start to finish. |
| 2:22 | So what do you get from a life of hard labor? |
| 2:23 | Pain and grief from dawn to dusk. Never a decent night's rest. Nothing but smoke. |
| 2:24 | The best you can do with your life is have a good time and get by the best you can. The way I see it, that's it--divine fate. |
| 2:25 | Whether we feast or fast, it's up to God. |
| 2:26 | God may give wisdom and knowledge and joy to his favorites, but sinners are assigned a life of hard labor, and end up turning their wages over to God's favorites. Nothing but smoke--and spitting into the wind. |
Ecclesiastes 2 - The Message Bible
