Ecclesiastes 2:9

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7 I acquired male and female servants, and had¹ servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me.

8 ^aI also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and¹ musical instruments of all kinds.

9 ^aSo I became great and¹ excelled ^bmore than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And ^athis was my reward from all my labor.

11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was ^avanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.

The End of the Wise and the Fool

12 Then I turned myself to consider wisdom ^aand madness and folly;
For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—
Only what he has already ^bdone.

13 Then I saw that wisdom ^aexcels folly
As light excels darkness.

14 ^aThe wise man’s eyes are in his head,
But the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I myself perceived
That ^bthe same event happens to them all.

15 So I said in my heart,
“As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“This also is vanity.”

16 For there is ^ano more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever,
Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die?
As the fool!

17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

18 Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because ^aI must leave it to the man who will come after me.

Verse Comparison: Ecclesiastes 2:9

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American Standard Version
So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

Amplified® Bible
So I became great and increased more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me {and} stood by me.

Contemporary English Version
I was the most famous person who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was very wise.

Darby English Version
And I became great, and increased more than all that had been before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

Good News Bible
Yes, I was great, greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and my wisdom never failed me.

King James Version
So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

New American Standard Bible
Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

New International Version
I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

New King James Version
So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

Revised Standard Version
So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me.

Young's Literal Translation
And I became great, and increased above every one who had been before me in Jerusalem; also, my wisdom stood with me.

New English Translation
So¹ I was far wealthier² than all my predecessors in Jerusalem, yet I maintained my objectivity:³

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