Ecclesiastes 2:18-26

Can work be received as a gift when its results cannot be controlled?

Berean Standard Bible

18 I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. 20 So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun. 21 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil. 22 For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile. 24 Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. 25 For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment? 26 To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

What is the context?

The problem shifts from losing life to surrendering the results of labor. A successor will control what the Teacher worked to build, and he cannot ensure that successor’s wisdom.

The passage describes the distress of effort, grief, and a mind unable to rest. It challenges the expectation that skill and toil can secure complete ownership of the future.

The final lines then recognize eating, drinking, and enjoying work as coming from God’s hand. Receiving good in the present differs from demanding that work yield an indestructible estate.

The contrast between the person pleasing God and the sinner remains within the inquiry’s unsettling account of gain. It should not become a promise that every believer will acquire another person’s wealth.

How is this passage commonly understood?

Wesley takes enjoyment as thankful acceptance of God’s comforts and a special gift rather than the automatic result of accumulation. His printed verse 25 asks who could pursue enjoyment more than the speaker; the BSB instead asks who can enjoy apart from God. Both should be reported according to their own wording.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

Where can I study this further?

No deeper study linked yet.

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