Ecclesiastes 2:18-20
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What's easy to miss here is that Solomon isn't just complaining about mortality; he's deeply troubled by the utter lack of control he has over who inherits his life's work. It’s not just that someone else will enjoy his achievements, but that this successor might be a fool or a knave, undoing everything he built. This highlights a profound frustration with the vanity of toil when its legacy rests on such uncertain grounds.
I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun,
English Standard Version (ESV)
Fresh off exploring all the "wisdom" life has to offer, the Teacher realizes all his hard work and achievements will ultimately pass to someone else. He feels a profound disgust not just with the thought of death, but with the entire cycle of toiling for results that won't truly last, especially knowing the heir might not even appreciate or use the gains wisely. This feeling gnaws at him, adding a bitter edge to his experiences.
Imagine pouring your entire life into something – a career, a project, a passion – only to realize it will end up in someone else's hands. This is the sting Solomon felt.
Solomon expresses a profound disillusionment with his life's work. It wasn't just the physical exhaustion of his labor, but the deep-seated frustration that all his achievements, his riches, his buildings, would inevitably pass to another. He didn't know if this successor would be wise or foolish, godly or wicked. This uncertainty, coupled with the fact that his own enjoyment of these fruits was fleeting, soured his entire experience.
This isn't just about material possessions. It’s about the legacy we build and the fear that our efforts might be squandered or unappreciated by those who follow. The thought that our painstaking work might ultimately serve no lasting good, from a human perspective, is a heavy burden.
What if all your wisdom and hard work could be enjoyed just as easily by someone who has done nothing at all? This is the unsettling realization that troubled Solomon.
Solomon's distress stems not just from leaving his labor behind, but from the indiscriminate nature of that departure. The wise man, who toiled and gained, must relinquish his gains to a successor who might be a fool. This successor could squander the wealth, ruin the reputation, or simply enjoy the fruits of wisdom without possessing any wisdom themselves.
This highlights a key theme in Ecclesiastes: the apparent unfairness and ultimate vanity of human endeavors when viewed solely from an earthly perspective. The 'man who will come after' could be anyone – a wise heir, an unworthy successor, or even a complete stranger. The wisdom and effort invested by the wise man offer no guarantee for the outcome in the hands of the next generation.
Ask a follow-up
If everything we build eventually crumbles or passes to another, where can we find lasting meaning and satisfaction?
Solomon's deep lament in this verse reveals the emptiness of pursuing labor and accumulation for their own sake, or solely for the legacy they leave behind. When viewed from the perspective of ultimate mortality and the uncertainty of succession, even the greatest human achievements can feel hollow. This is the 'vanity' that pervades the book.
However, the text hints at a way forward. Later in Ecclesiastes, Solomon suggests that true enjoyment comes not from the fruits of labor alone, but from God. 'There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This too, I saw, is from the hand of God' (Ecclesiastes 2:24). The antidote to the bitter taste of fleeting legacy is found in acknowledging God as the giver of all good things, including the ability to enjoy present blessings, and in seeking a 'lasting portion' in Him, as Henry suggests.
Understand the original words
ye'ush · Hebrew Noun
A state of loss of hope, frustration, or hopelessness. In the Bible, it often reflects the internal emotional state of someone contemplating the limitations and apparent pointlessness of human effort when viewed apart from eternal divine purpose.
This verse echoes the sentiment of toil without ultimate personal gain, highlighting the emptiness of working endlessly without anyone to share it with or to pass it on to.
Ecclesiastes 5:13-14Here, the vanity of accumulating riches is further emphasized, as all that has been gathered is often lost or taken away, leaving nothing for the one who toiled.
Ecclesiastes 6:2This passage directly addresses the sorrow of a person who has acquired great wealth but has no one to inherit it, reinforcing the emptiness the author feels in Ecclesiastes 2:18.
Luke 12:16-20Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool who hoards possessions but dies before he can enjoy them, showing that earthly treasures are temporary and cannot be taken with us.
Matthew 6:19-20Jesus contrasts earthly treasures that can be lost or taken away with heavenly treasures that are eternal, offering a solution to the despair of leaving one's labor behind.
clarkeEcclesiastes 2:18: "Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me."
I hated all my labor - Because, 1. It has not answered the end for which it was instituted. 2. I can enjoy the fruits of it but a short time. 3. I must leave it to others, and know not whether a wise man, a knave, or a fool will possess it.
pooleEcclesiastes 2:18: "Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me."
I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun; all these riches and buildings, and other fruits of my labour, were the matter of my repentance, and aggravations of my misery, because I must, and that everlastingly, part with them, and leave them all behind me.
What's easy to miss here is that Solomon isn't just complaining about mortality; he's deeply troubled by the utter lack of control he has over who inherits his life's work. It’s not just that someone else will enjoy his achievements, but that this successor might be a fool or a knave, undoing everything he built. This highlights a profound frustration with the vanity of toil when its legacy rests on such uncertain grounds.
Fresh off exploring all the "wisdom" life has to offer, the Teacher realizes all his hard work and achievements will ultimately pass to someone else. He feels a profound disgust not just with the thought of death, but with the entire cycle of toiling for results that won't truly last, especially knowing the heir might not even appreciate or use the gains wisely. This feeling gnaws at him, adding a bitter edge to his experiences.
Fresh off exploring all the "wisdom" life has to offer, the Teacher realizes all his hard work and achievements will ultimately pass to someone else. He feels a profound disgust not just with the thought of death, but with the entire cycle of toiling for results that won't truly last, especially knowing the heir might not even appreciate or use the gains wisely. This feeling gnaws at him, adding a bitter edge to his experiences.
"I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the…" — What's easy to miss here is that Solomon isn't just complaining about mortality; he's deeply troubled by the utter lack of control he has over who inherits his life's work. It’s not just that someone…
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Last reviewed October 2026
