Ecclesiastes 2:21

Ecc 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.

Ver. 21. For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom.] This seemed to Solomon - whose own case it was like to be - so unworthy a thing, and such a vexation of spirit, that he can never say enough of it; but could find in his heart to cry out with the poet, Tρις κακοδαιμων και τετρακις και πεντακις και δωδεκακις και μυριακις, I am thrice miserable, nay, ten times, nay, a hundred, nay, a thousand times so, that am born to be a provident and a perfect drudge of an idle drone, or perhaps of a mere stranger.

This is also vanity and a great evil.] Not privation of good only, a nothing; but a position of evil, a sad thing; an inconvenience not to be avoided by the most circumspect prudence; for it is written, He taketh {a} the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts {b} of the wise, their inward disceptations, their debating the matter with themselves, that they are vain. {1Co 3:19-20} The rich fool talked to himself, {c} as fools used to do, and set down how everything should be; {Luk 12:17} but it proved somewhat otherwise ere he was a day older.

{a} Dρασσομενος.

{b} διαλογισμους.

{c} Dιελογιζετο.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2:21 work wisely with knowledge and skill: Skill in work is an expression of wisdom (e.g., see Exod 31:1-5). • leave the fruit . . . to someone who hasn’t worked for it: A person who has little personal investment tends to waste it or take foolish risks.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Among other griefs that was not the least, to leave that which he had gotten by great travail, to one that had taken no pain therefore, and whom he knew not whether he were a wise man or a fool.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Suppose "there is a man," &c.

equity--rather "with success," as the Hebrew is rendered (Ecc 11:6), "prosper," though Margin gives "right" [HOLDEN and MAURER].

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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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?

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(21) Equity.—Rather, skill, success (Ecc_4:4; Ecc_5:7). The noun is peculiar to this book. The corresponding verb occurs in Ecc_10:10; Ecc_11:6; Est_8:5.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. 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 Ecc_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. Ecc_4:4, Ecc_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.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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; not anything sinful and criminal, but vexatious and distressing.

(z) R. Joseph Titatzak in loc.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Wisdom. The writings of the wise are often perverted by perverse heretics. (St. Jerome) --- Idle heirs dissipate the possessions, which had been accumulated with such industry. (Calmet) --- Riches tend to encourage the profligacy of the heir. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; who useth great industry, and prudence, and justice too, in the management of his affairs, and therefore might as confidently expect God’s blessing, and the comfort of his labours, as any other man.

That hath not laboured therein, so as I have done; who hath spent his days in sloth and folly.

A great evil; a great disorder in itself, and a great disgrace to this world, and a great torment to a considering mind.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. There is a man — The “man” who has had his labour as stated, is Koheleth himself.

To a man that hath not laboured — If he had had children they would have worked with him to build up the family estate, but it must go to one who has given no aid or sympathy to the work of gathering it. There is a certain beauty in a family co-working to build an estate, like that of the Rothschilds.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom. "In," B, "with," directed and performed with wisdom. The author speaks of himself objectively, as St. Paul (2Co_12:2) says, "I know a man in Christ," etc. His complaint now is, not that his successor may misuse his inheritance (ver. 19), but that this person shall have that on which he has bestowed no skill or toil, shall enjoy what modern phraseology terms "unearned increment." This, which was set forth as One of the blessings of the promised land, (Deu_6:10, Deu_6:11) Koheleth cannot bear to contemplate where it touches himself not from envy or grudging, but from the feeling of dissatisfaction and want of energy which it generates. In (with) knowledge and in (with) equity. Kishron, translated "equity" in the Authorized Version; ajndreia "manliness," in the Septuagint: and sollicitudine in the Vulgate, seems rather here to signify "skill" or "success." It occurs also in Ecc_4:4 and Ecc_5:10, and there only in the Old Testament.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wisdom - Who uses great industry, and prudence, and justice too, in the use and management of his affairs. To a man - Who has spent his days in sloth and folly. A great evil - A great disorder in itself, and a great torment to a considering mind.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

"For there is a man who labours with wisdom, and knowledge, and ability; and to a man who has not laboured for it, must he leave it as his portion: also that is vain, and a great evil." Ewald renders: whose labour aims after wisdom. But בּח וטו do not denote obj. (for the obj. of עמל is certainly the portion which is to be inherited), but are particular designations of the way and manner of the labour. Instead of שׁעמל, there is used the more emphatic form of the noun: שׁעמלו, who had his labour, and performed it; Sa1 7:17, cf. Jer 9:5, Jer 9:6, "Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit," and Hitz. under Job 9:27. Kishron is not ἀνδρεία (lxx), manliness, moral energy (Elster), but aptness, ability, and (as a consequence connecting itself therewith) success, good fortune, thus skilfulness conducting to the end. בּו refers to the object, and יתּננּוּ to the result of the work; חלקו is the second obj.-accus., or, as we rather say, pred.-accus.: as his portion, viz., inheritance.

That what one has gained by skill and good fortune thus falls to the lot of another who perhaps recklessly squanders it, is an evil all the greater in proportion to the labour and care bestowed on its acquisition.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

who works with wisdom, with knowledge, and skill

"who works wisely and skillfully, using the things that he has learned"

who has not made any of it

"who has not worked for any of it"

vapor

The author speaks of useless and meaningless things as if they were mist. See how you translated this in Ecclesiastes 1:14. AT: "as useless as vapor" or "meaningless" (See: Metaphor)

a great tragedy

"a great disaster"

For what profit does the person gain who works so hard and tries in his heart to complete his labors under the sun?

The author uses a rhetorical question to emphasize that the man who works hard gains nothing. Translate "what profit does ... gain" as you did in Ecclesiastes 1:3. AT: "For the person who works so hard and tries in his heart to complete his labors under the sun gains nothing." (See: Rhetorical Question)

works so hard and tries in his heart

These two phrases mean basically the same thing and emphasize how strenuously the person works. (See: Parallelism)

tries in his heart

This is an idiom. AT: "tries anxiously" (See: Idiom)

under the sun

This refers to things that are done on earth. See how you translated this in Ecclesiastes 1:3. AT: "on the earth" (See: Idiom)

painful and stressful

These two words mean basically the same thing and emphasize how difficult the person's work is. (See: Doublet)

his soul does not find rest

Here man's mind is referred to as his "soul" to emphasize his deep thoughts. AT: "his mind does not rest" or "he continues to worry" (See: Idiom and Metonymy)

translationWords

heart

labor

soul

rest

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

For there is a man Its apparent interpretation is according to its simple meaning, but the Midrash Aggadah in Tanhuma (Buber, vol. 1, p. 24) interprets it as an expression referring to the Holy One, blessed be He, concerning Whom it is said (Ezek. 1:26): “and on the likeness of the throne was a likeness like the appearance of a man.”

whose toil is with wisdom as it is said (Prov. 3:19f): “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom...With His knowledge the depths were split,” and to the creatures who did not toil in it, He gave a share in it.

this too is vanity and a great evil And they became a generation of vanity and the evil of man became great on the earth in the Generation of the Flood.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.