Ecclesiastes 2:24

Bible in Basic English (1941)

There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God.

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Referenced Verses

  • Eccl 3:22 : 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work--because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?
  • Eccl 5:18-19 : 18 Every man to whom God has given money and wealth and the power to have pleasure in it and to do his part and have joy in his work: this is given by God. 19 He will not give much thought to the days of his life; because God lets him be taken up with the joy of his heart.
  • Eccl 8:15 : 15 So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.
  • Eccl 3:12-13 : 12 I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him. 13 And for every man to take food and drink, and have joy in all his work, is a reward from God.
  • Eccl 9:7-9 : 7 Come, take your bread with joy, and your wine with a glad heart. God has taken pleasure in your works. 8 Let your clothing be white at all times, and let not your head be without oil. 9 Have joy with the woman of your love all the days of your foolish life which he gives you under the sun. Because that is your part in life and in your work which you do under the sun.
  • 1 Cor 15:32 : 32 If, after the way of men, I was fighting with beasts at Ephesus, what profit is it to me? If the dead do not come to life again, let us take our pleasure in feasting, for tomorrow we come to an end.
  • 1 Tim 6:17 : 17 Give orders to those who have money and goods in this life, not to be lifted up in their minds, or to put their hope in the uncertain chances of wealth, but in God who gives us in full measure all things for our use;
  • Deut 12:18 : 18 But they will be your food before the Lord your God in the place of his selection, where you may make a feast of them, with your son and your daughter, and your man-servant and your woman-servant, and the Levite who is living with you: and you will have joy before the Lord your God in everything to which you put your hand.
  • Deut 12:12 : 12 And you will be glad before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, and your men-servants and your women-servants, and the Levite who is with you in your house, because he has no part or heritage among you.
  • Eccl 11:9-9 : 9 Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge. 10 So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.
  • Mal 2:2 : 2 If you will not give ear and take it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the Lord of armies, then I will send the curse on you and will put a curse on your blessing: truly, even now I have put a curse on it, because you do not take it to heart.
  • Luke 12:19-20 : 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have a great amount of goods in store, enough for a number of years; be at rest, take food and wine and be happy. 20 But God said to him, You foolish one, tonight I will take your soul from you, and who then will be the owner of all the things which you have got together?
  • Acts 14:17 : 17 But he was not without witness, because he did good, and gave you rain from heaven and times of fruit, making your hearts full of food and joy.
  • Eccl 6:2 : 2 A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease.
  • Neh 8:10 : 10 Then he said to them, Go away now, and take the fat for your food and the sweet for your drink, and send some to him for whom nothing is made ready: for this day is holy to our Lord: and let there be no grief in your hearts; for the joy of the Lord is your strong place.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 5:17-19
    3 verses
    87%

    17This is what I have seen: it is good and fair for a man to take meat and drink and to have joy in all his work under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; that is his reward.

    18Every man to whom God has given money and wealth and the power to have pleasure in it and to do his part and have joy in his work: this is given by God.

    19He will not give much thought to the days of his life; because God lets him be taken up with the joy of his heart.

  • Eccl 2:25-26
    2 verses
    87%

    25Who may take food or have pleasure without him?

    26To the man with whom he is pleased, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of getting goods together and storing up wealth, to give to him in whom God has pleasure. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.

  • Eccl 3:9-14
    6 verses
    87%

    9What profit has the worker in the work which he does?

    10I saw the work which God has put on the sons of man.

    11He has made everything right in its time; but he has made their hearts without knowledge, so that man is unable to see the works of God, from the first to the last.

    12I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.

    13And for every man to take food and drink, and have joy in all his work, is a reward from God.

    14I am certain that whatever God does will be for ever. No addition may be made to it, nothing may be taken from it; and God has done it so that man may be in fear before him.

  • Eccl 8:14-17
    4 verses
    86%

    14There is a thing which is to no purpose done on the earth: that there are good men to whom is given the same punishment as those who are evil, and there are evil men who get the reward of the good. I say that this again is to no purpose.

    15So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

    16When I gave my mind to the knowledge of wisdom and to seeing the business which is done on the earth (and there are those whose eyes see not sleep by day or by night),

    17Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.

  • Eccl 3:22
    86%

    22So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work--because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?

  • Eccl 2:10-11
    2 verses
    80%

    10And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward.

    11Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

  • Eccl 2:17-23
    7 verses
    79%

    17So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.

    18Hate had I for all my work which I had done, because the man who comes after me will have its fruits.

    19And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

    20So my mind was turned to grief for all the trouble I had taken and all my wisdom under the sun.

    21Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

    22What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?

    23All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose.

  • Eccl 6:7
    77%

    7All the work of man is for his mouth, and still he has a desire for food.

  • Eccl 9:9-10
    2 verses
    77%

    9Have joy with the woman of your love all the days of your foolish life which he gives you under the sun. Because that is your part in life and in your work which you do under the sun.

    10Whatever comes to your hand to do with all your power, do it because there is no work, or thought, or knowledge, or wisdom in the place of the dead to which you are going.

  • Eccl 1:3
    76%

    3What is a man profited by all his work which he does under the sun?

  • Eccl 2:1
    76%

    1I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

  • Eccl 9:7
    76%

    7Come, take your bread with joy, and your wine with a glad heart. God has taken pleasure in your works.

  • Eccl 4:3-4
    2 verses
    76%

    3Yes, happier than the dead or the living seemed he who has not ever been, who has not seen the evil which is done under the sun.

    4And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

  • Eccl 7:14
    75%

    14In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    75%

    11There are words without number for increasing what is to no purpose, but what is man profited by them?

    12Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?

  • Eccl 4:6-9
    4 verses
    75%

    6One hand full of rest is better than two hands full of trouble and desire for wind.

    7Then I came back, and I saw an example of what is to no purpose under the sun.

    8It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.

    9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their work.

  • Eccl 6:1-2
    2 verses
    75%

    1There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is hard on men;

    2A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease.

  • Eccl 6:9
    75%

    9What the eyes see is better than the wandering of desire. This is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

  • Eccl 1:13-14
    2 verses
    75%

    13And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do.

    14I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.

  • Eccl 2:3
    74%

    3I made a search with my heart to give pleasure to my flesh with wine, still guiding my heart with wisdom, and to go after foolish things, so that I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life.

  • Ps 128:2
    74%

    2You will have the fruit of the work of your hands: happy will you be, and all will be well for you.

  • Eccl 9:1
    73%

    1All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them.

  • Eccl 11:8
    73%

    8But even if a man's life is long and he has joy in all his years, let him keep in mind the dark days, because they will be great in number. Whatever may come is to no purpose.