Ecclesiastes 2:20

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

So I turned my heart to despair over all the hard work with which I had labored under the sun.

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Other Translations

Referenced Verses

  • Gen 43:14 : 14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.
  • Job 17:11-15 : 11 My days have passed, my plans are broken off, and the desires of my heart are gone. 12 They make night into day: ‘The light is near,’ they say, in the presence of darkness. 13 If I hope for Sheol as my home, and I make my bed in darkness, 14 and I call the pit my father, and the worm my mother and sister, 15 then where is my hope? And who can see any hope for me?
  • Ps 39:6-7 : 6 Behold, You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before You. Surely, every man is but a breath. Selah. 7 Surely, man goes about as a shadow; surely, they make an uproar over nothing; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will gather it.
  • 1 Cor 15:19 : 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
  • 2 Cor 1:8-9 : 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the trouble we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened so that we would not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us,
  • 1 Thess 3:3-4 : 3 So that no one would be unsettled by these troubles. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For indeed, when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and as you know.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 2:10-13
    4 verses
    89%

    10 Anything my eyes desired, I did not withhold from them; I did not keep my heart from any pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, for this was my reward for all my efforts.

    11 Yet when I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, behold, everything was meaningless—a chasing after the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

    12 So I turned my attention to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what can anyone do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.

    13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.

  • Eccl 2:17-19
    3 verses
    88%

    17 So I hated life, because the work done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

    18 I hated all my toil under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.

    19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will rule over all the fruit of my labor that I have worked for under the sun. This too is meaningless.

  • Eccl 2:21-26
    6 verses
    87%

    21 For there is a person who labors with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but then must leave everything to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

    22 What does a person gain from all their labor and from the striving of their heart under the sun?

    23 All their days are full of sorrow, and their work is filled with grief; even at night their mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.

    24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their work. This too, I realized, is from the hand of God.

    25 For who can eat or who can enjoy life apart from Him?

    26 To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, He gives the task of gathering and storing wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 1:13-14
    2 verses
    84%

    13 I set my heart to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a burdensome task God has given to the human race to occupy themselves with!

    14 I have seen all the deeds that are done under the sun; they are all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 1:16-17
    2 verses
    82%

    16 I said to myself, 'Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled Jerusalem before me. I have experienced much wisdom and knowledge.'

    17 Then I set my heart to understand wisdom, as well as madness and folly, but I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 4:7-8
    2 verses
    82%

    7 Again, I turned and saw meaninglessness under the sun.

    8 There was a man all alone. He had no son or brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless—a miserable business!

  • Eccl 1:2-3
    2 verses
    82%

    2 “Utterly meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

    3 What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

  • Eccl 2:15
    81%

    15 Then I said in my heart, 'What happens to the fool will also happen to me. So why have I been so very wise?' And I concluded in my heart, 'This too is meaningless.'

  • Eccl 4:4
    80%

    4 And I saw that all toil and all skill in work are driven by one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 8:15-17
    3 verses
    79%

    15 So I praised enjoyment, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and be glad. This will accompany them in their toil through the days of life that God has given them under the sun.

    16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe the work that is done on earth, even though people do not see sleep with their eyes day or night,

    17 then I saw all the work of God, that no one can understand the work that is done under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can comprehend it. Even if the wise claim to know, they cannot truly understand it.

  • Eccl 2:1-4
    4 verses
    79%

    1 I said to myself, 'Come now, I will test you with pleasure to see what is good.' But behold, this too was meaningless.

    2 I said of laughter, 'It is madness,' and of joy, 'What does it accomplish?'

    3 I explored with my heart how to cheer my body with wine, while my mind guided me with wisdom, and how to embrace folly until I could see what is good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

    4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.

  • Eccl 7:25
    78%

    25 I turned my mind to understand, to investigate, and to search out wisdom and the meaning of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.

  • Eccl 3:9-10
    2 verses
    78%

    9 What does the worker gain from all their toil?

    10 I have seen the burden that God has laid on the human race.

  • Eccl 3:22
    77%

    22 So I saw that there is nothing better than for a person to rejoice in their work, for that is their lot. Who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

  • Eccl 12:8
    77%

    8 'Utter futility,' says the Teacher. 'Everything is futile!'

  • Eccl 8:9-10
    2 verses
    76%

    9 I observed all this as I considered all the work done under the sun: a time when one man has power over another to hurt them.

    10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who used to go in and out of the holy place, but now they are forgotten in the city where they acted this way. This too is meaningless.

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    76%

    11 The more words, the more meaningless—and what advantage does that bring to anyone?

    12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few days of their fleeting life? They pass like a shadow. Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

  • Eccl 5:16
    76%

    16 Throughout his days, he eats in darkness, with great frustration, sickness, and anger.

  • Eccl 4:15-16
    2 verses
    76%

    15 I saw all the living who walk under the sun following the youth, the second one, who replaces him.

    16 There is no end to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

  • Eccl 9:1
    75%

    1 So I reflected on all this and set my heart to examine it: that the righteous, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. People do not know whether love or hatred awaits them; everything lies before them.

  • Eccl 6:1
    75%

    1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is great upon humanity.

  • Eccl 3:12
    75%

    12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to rejoice and to do good while they live.

  • Eccl 9:10
    75%

    10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

  • Eccl 9:13
    74%

    13 I also saw this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.

  • Eccl 9:3
    74%

    3 This is the distressing thing about everything that happens under the sun: the same fate befalls all. Moreover, the hearts of humans are full of evil, and madness resides in their hearts during their lives; and after that, they join the dead.

  • Eccl 3:18
    74%

    18 I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man, that God is testing them to show them that they are like animals.

  • Eccl 4:1
    73%

    1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that is done under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter. Power was on the side of their oppressors, and they had no comforter.