Ecclesiastes 2:24

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Ecclesiastes 2:22–26 · Berean Standard Bible

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.

Hebrew words

Data created by STEPBible.org based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

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Cross-references

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge lists these related verses. Scripture text comes from the Berean Standard Bible.

Ecclesiastes 3:12

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,

Ecclesiastes 3:13

and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:22

I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?

Ecclesiastes 5:18

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.

Ecclesiastes 8:15

So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 9:7

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

Ecclesiastes 9:8

Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head.

Ecclesiastes 9:9

Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 11:9

Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.

Ecclesiastes 11:10

So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.

Deuteronomy 12:12

And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

Deuteronomy 12:18

Instead, you must eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in all you do,

Nehemiah 8:10

Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Acts 14:17

Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”

1 Timothy 6:17

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

Ecclesiastes 5:19

Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.

Ecclesiastes 6:2

God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

Malachi 2:2

If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart.

Luke 12:19

Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

Luke 12:20

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’