Passage

Ecclesiastes 2.11

Book: Ecclesiastes · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

9. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. 10. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor; and this was my portion from all my labor.

11. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been done long ago. 13. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. (Ecclesiastes 2:9-13, ASV)

WEB

9. So I was great, and increased more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also remained with me. 10. Whatever my eyes desired, I didn’t keep from them. I didn’t withhold my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor, and this was my portion from all my labor.

11. Then I looked at all the works that my hands had worked, and at the labor that I had labored to do; and behold, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

I turned myself to consider wisdom, madness, and folly: for what can the king’s successor do? Just that which has been done long ago. 13. Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness. (Ecclesiastes 2:9-13, WEB)

KJV

9. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. 10. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.

11. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. ^{even: or, in those things which have been already done} 13. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. ^{that: Heb. that there is an excellency in wisdom more than in folly, etc} (Ecclesiastes 2:9-13, KJV)

YLT

9. And I became great, and increased above every one who had been before me in Jerusalem; also, my wisdom stood with me. 10. And all that mine eyes asked I kept not back from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labour, and this hath been my portion, from all my labour,

11. and I have looked on all my works that my hands have done, and on the labour that I have laboured to do, and lo, the whole [is] vanity and vexation of spirit, and there is no advantage under the sun!

And I turned to see wisdom, and madness, and folly, but what [is] the man who cometh after the king? that which [is] already, they have done it! 13. And I saw that there is an advantage to wisdom above folly, like the advantage of the light above the darkness. (Ecclesiastes 2:9-13, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Qohelet, "the Preacher" (Ecclesiastes 1:1), traditionally Solomon
Audience: readers of Israel's wisdom tradition weighing life "under the sun"
Location: Jerusalem, where the Preacher "was king over Israel" (Ecclesiastes 1:12)
Time period: traditionally c. 970-930 BC (Solomon's reign); many scholars date the book later, c. 450-200 BC

Theological reading

"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 2:11, KJV).

The verdict on the experiment. After every pleasure and achievement of 2:1-10, Qohelet weighs the whole and finds "no profit," no lasting gain. The Hebrew word, yitron, is a favorite of the book and asks what is left over at the end.

Why the verdict matters. Qohelet is not poor or deprived. He had more than anyone before him in Jerusalem. The point is that even unlimited success leaves the question of meaning unanswered. See Argument from Purpose Meaning and Hope.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

I Create My Own Meaning Objection Defeater

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.