Ecclesiastes 2:8

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures taken from kingdoms and provinces. I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual delight– a harem of beautiful concubines!

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Referenced Verses

  • 1 Kgs 10:10 : 10 She gave the king 120 talents of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched.
  • 2 Sam 19:35 : 35 I am presently eighty years old. Am I able to discern good and bad? Can I taste what I eat and drink? Am I still able to hear the voices of male and female singers? Why should I continue to be a burden to my lord the king?
  • 1 Kgs 9:28 : 28 They sailed to Ophir, took from there 420 talents of gold, and then brought them to King Solomon.
  • 1 Kgs 10:14 : 14 Solomon’s Wealth Solomon received 666 talents of gold per year,
  • 1 Kgs 10:21 : 21 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time.
  • 1 Kgs 14:21-22 : 21 Rehoboam’s Reign over Judah Now Rehoboam son of Solomon ruled in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home. His mother was an Ammonite woman named Naamah. 22 Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD. They made him more jealous by their sins than their ancestors had done.
  • 1 Kgs 14:27 : 27 King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace.
  • 1 Chr 25:1 : 1 David Organizes the Musicians David and the army officers selected some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy as they played stringed instruments and cymbals. The following men were assigned this responsibility:
  • 1 Chr 25:6 : 6 All of these were under the supervision of their fathers; they were musicians in the LORD’s temple, playing cymbals and stringed instruments as they served in God’s temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the supervision of the king.
  • 2 Chr 9:11 : 11 With the timber the king made steps for the LORD’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that.)
  • 2 Chr 9:15-21 : 15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of hammered gold were used for each shield. 16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. 17 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps leading up to the throne, and a gold footstool was attached to the throne. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. 19 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. 20 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. 21 The king had a fleet of large merchant ships manned by Huram’s men that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
  • Ezra 2:65 : 65 not counting their male and female servants, who numbered 7,337. They also had 200 male and female singers
  • Job 21:11-12 : 11 They allow their children to run like a flock; their little ones dance about. 12 They sing to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp, and make merry to the sound of the flute.
  • Ps 150:3-5 : 3 Praise him with the blast of the horn! Praise him with the lyre and the harp! 4 Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing! Praise him with stringed instruments and the flute! 5 Praise him with loud cymbals! Praise him with clanging cymbals!
  • Dan 3:5 : 5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has erected.
  • Dan 3:7 : 7 Therefore when they all heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and language groups began bowing down and paying homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected.
  • Dan 3:15 : 15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?”
  • Amos 6:5 : 5 They sing to the tune of stringed instruments; like David they invent musical instruments.
  • 1 Kgs 9:14 : 14 Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 2:1-7
    7 verses
    83%

    1Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure I thought to myself,“Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.” But I found that it also is futile.

    2I said of partying,“It is folly,” and of self-indulgent pleasure,“It accomplishes nothing!”

    3I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine(all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom) and the effects of behaving foolishly, so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.

    4Futility of Materialism I increased my possessions: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself.

    5I designed royal gardens and parks for myself, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

    6I constructed pools of water for myself, to irrigate my grove of flourishing trees.

    7I purchased male and female slaves, and I owned slaves who were born in my house; I also possessed more livestock– both herds and flocks– than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem.

  • Eccl 2:9-12
    4 verses
    80%

    9So I was far wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem, yet I maintained my objectivity:

    10I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. So all my accomplishments gave me joy; this was my reward for all my effort.

    11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”

    12Wisdom is Better than Folly Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?

  • Eccl 1:16-17
    2 verses
    72%

    16Futility of Secular Wisdom I thought to myself,“I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”

    17So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind!

  • Prov 8:31
    71%

    31rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and delighting in its people.

  • Job 31:25
    71%

    25if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth, or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,

  • Eccl 2:25-26
    2 verses
    70%

    25For no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart from him.

    26For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth– only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile– like chasing the wind!

  • Eccl 1:12-13
    2 verses
    70%

    12Futility of Secular Accomplishment I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

    13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.

  • Ezek 28:4
    69%

    4By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself; you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.

  • 2 Chr 9:14
    68%

    14besides what he collected from the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

  • Prov 8:18-19
    2 verses
    68%

    18Riches and honor are with me, long-lasting wealth and righteousness.

    19My fruit is better than the purest gold, and my harvest is better than choice silver.

  • Eccl 8:15
    68%

    15Enjoy Life In Spite of Its Injustices So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.

  • 2 Chr 9:12
    68%

    12King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, more than what she had brought him. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants.

  • Job 3:15
    68%

    15or with princes who possessed gold, who filled their palaces with silver.

  • 2 Chr 9:9
    67%

    9She gave the king 120 talents of gold and a very large quantity of spices and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched.

  • 1 Kgs 10:13
    67%

    13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants.

  • Eccl 9:13
    67%

    13Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:

  • 1 Chr 22:14
    67%

    14Now, look, I have made every effort to supply what is needed to build the LORD’s temple. I have stored up 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed, as well as wood and stones. Feel free to add more!

  • Ezra 8:26
    67%

    26I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver vessels worth 100 talents, 100 talents of gold,

  • Eccl 7:25
    67%

    25True Righteousness and Wisdom Are Virtually Nonexistent I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend the role of wisdom in the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly.

  • 2 Chr 1:12
    67%

    12you are granted wisdom and discernment. Furthermore I am giving you riches, wealth, and honor surpassing that of any king before or after you.”

  • Song 8:11-12
    2 verses
    67%

    11Solomon’s Vineyard and the Beloved’s VineyardThe Beloved to Her Lover: Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-Hamon; he leased out the vineyard to those who maintained it. Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.

    12My vineyard, which belongs to me, is at my disposal alone. The thousand shekels belong to you, O Solomon, and two hundred shekels belong to those who maintain it for its fruit.

  • Eccl 2:20
    66%

    20So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.

  • Eccl 2:15
    66%

    15So I thought to myself,“The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?” So I lamented to myself,“The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”

  • 1 Kgs 10:10
    66%

    10She gave the king 120 talents of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched.

  • Eccl 7:27
    66%

    27The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.

  • 2 Chr 9:22-23
    2 verses
    66%

    22King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth.

    23All the kings of the earth wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.

  • 1 Chr 29:2-3
    2 verses
    66%

    2So I have made every effort to provide what is needed for the temple of my God, including the gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, as well as a large amount of onyx, settings of antimony and other stones, all kinds of precious stones, and alabaster.

    3Now, to show my commitment to the temple of my God, I donate my personal treasure of gold and silver to the temple of my God, in addition to all that I have already supplied for this holy temple.

  • Ezek 23:42
    66%

    42The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, including all kinds of men; even Sabeans were brought from the desert. The sisters put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads.

  • 2 Chr 32:27
    66%

    27Hezekiah was very wealthy and greatly respected. He made storehouses for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all his other valuable possessions.

  • 1 Kgs 10:22
    66%

    22Along with Hiram’s fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

  • 1 Kgs 4:32
    66%

    32He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs.

  • Isa 10:14
    66%

    14My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest, as one gathers up abandoned eggs, I gathered up the whole earth. There was no wing flapping, or open mouth chirping.”

  • Amos 6:5
    66%

    5They sing to the tune of stringed instruments; like David they invent musical instruments.

  • 1 Kgs 10:15
    66%

    15besides what he collected from the merchants, traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land.