Ecclesiastes 2:21

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. FOR THERE IS A MAN WHOSE LABOUR IS IN WISDOM - suppose "there is a man," etc. AND IN EQUITY - rather, 'with success,' as the Hebrew ( kishrown (H3788)) is rendered (Ecclesiastes 11:6), 'prosper,' though margin gives 'be right' (Holden.) THIS ALSO (IS) ... A GREAT EVIL - not in itself, for, this is the ordinary course of things, but "evil," as regards the chief good, that one should have toiled so fruitlessly....

18-26 Our hearts are very loth to quit their expectations of great things from the creature; but Solomon came to this at length. The world is a vale of tears, even to those that have much of it. See what fools they are, who make themselves drudges to the world, which affords a man nothing better than subsistence for the body. And the utmost he can attain in this respect is to allow himself a sober, cheerful use thereof, according to his rank and condition. But we must enjoy good in our labour; we must use those things to make us diligent and cheerful in worldly business. And this is the gift of God. Riches are a blessing or a curse to a man, according as he has, or has not, a heart to make a good use of them. To those that are accepted of the Lord, he gives joy and satisfaction in the knowledge and love of him. But to the sinner he allots labour, sorrow, vanity, and vexation, in seeking...

Verse 21. _FOR THERE IS A MAN_] Does he not allude to himself? As if he had said, "I have laboured to cultivate my mind in wisdom and in science, in knowledge of men and things, and have endeavoured to establish _equity_ and dispense justice. And now I find I _shall leave_ all the fruits of my labour to _a man that hath_ _not laboured therein_, and consequently cannot prize what I have wrought." Does he not refer to his son _Rehoboam_?...

Solomon having found that wisdom and folly agree in being subject to vanity, now contrasts one with the other Ecclesiastes 2:13. Both are brought under vanity by events Ecclesiastes 2:14 which come on the wise man and the feel alike from without - death and oblivion Ecclesiastes 2:16, uncertainty Ecclesiastes 2:19, disappointment Ecclesiastes 2:21 - all happening by an external law beyond human control. Amidst this vanity, the good (see...

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 2:1 Section 2. _Vanity of striving after pleasure and wealth._ ECCLESIASTES 2:1 Dissatisfied with the result of the pursuit of wisdom, Koheleth embarks on a course of sensual pleasure, if so be this may yield some effect more substantial and permanent. I SAID IN MINE HEART, GO TO NOW, I WILL PROVE THEE WITH MIRTH. The heart is addressed as the seat of the emotions and affections. The Vulgate misses the direct address to the heart, which the words, rightly interpreted, imply, translating, _Vadam et offluam delieiis_._ _The Septuagint correctly gives, Δεῦρο δὴ πειράσω σε ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ._ _It is like the rich fool's language in Christ's parable, "I will sa

FOR THERE IS A MAN WHOSE LABOUR [IS] IN WISDOM, AND IN KNOWLEDGE, AND IN EQUITY,.... Who does all he does, in natural, civil, and religious things, in the state, in his family, and the world, and whatsoever business he is engaged, in the wisest and best manner, with the utmost honesty and integrity, according to all the rules of wisdom and knowledge, and of justice and equity; meaning himself; the Midrash interprets this of God; YET TO A MAN THAT HATH NOT LABOURED THEREIN SHALL HE LEAVE IT [FOR] HIS PORTION; to his son, heir, and successor; who never took any pains, or joined with him, in acquiring the least part of it; and yet all comes into his hands, as his possession and inheritance: the Targum interprets this of a man that dies without children; and so others z understand it of his leaving his substance to strangers, and not to his children. THIS ALSO [IS] VANITY, AND A GREAT EVIL...

CHAPTER 2THE RESULTS OF THE SEARCH AND DIFFERENT VANITIES _ 1. His personal experience (Ecclesiastes 2:1)_ 2. Various vanities and a conclusion (Ecclesiastes 2:12) Ecclesiastes 2:1. Here we find first of all the king's personal experience. He experimented, so to speak, with that which is the possession of the natural man, a fallen nature. In that nature are found three things: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. We can trace these three things in the opening verses. The lust of the flesh in verses 1-3; the lust of the eyes in Ecclesiastes 2:4, and

ECCLESIASTES 1:12 TO ECCLESIASTES 2:26. QOHELETH'S INVESTIGATIONS. Assuming the character of Solomon the writer tells of his search for happiness under many forms. The pursuit of wisdom (Ecclesiastes 1:12), absorption in pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2:1), the study of human nature (Ecclesiastes 2:12), the acquisition of wealth (Ecclesiastes 2:18), alike fail to yield satisfaction. After all his experience the only

THERE. here. LEAVE IT. "leave it [to another]". EVIL. calamity. Hebrew. _ra'a'._ App-44....

_For there is a man_ It is characteristic of the DEBATER that he broods over the same thought, and contemplates it as in a variety of aspects. It is not merely, as in Ecclesiastes 2:19, that another possessed his heaped up riches who may use them quite otherwise than he would have them used, but that the man who by his wisdom has achieved wealth (for "equity" we should rather read here and in chap. Ecclesiastes 4:4; Ecclesiastes 5:11 " SKILL " or " SUCCESS," the moral character of the success not being here in question) has to leave it to one who has not worked at all, it may be to an alien in blood....