Ecclesiastes 2:19 Commentary and Bible Study

Not only does the man who accumulates this world’s good work for another, but even worse, complains Solomon, we have no power over who that other will be, who it is that gets their hands on our goods. Yes, they may go to our children, although he appears unsure whether his son would inherit the wisdom of his father. On the other hand, they may go to another, and who can tell what unexpected events may place them in the hands of someone who we knew absolutely nothing about? Who can tell if their new owner will be a wise man of a fool, one who will treat them with respect or who is totally incapable of appreciating them or the effort that went into gaining them? We can control little enough of what takes place in our own lifetimes let alone what happens in the future after we are gone from the earth. Yet this one will own all that we worked for and regard all that we now possess as rightfully his to do with as he pleases. If he is a wise man, Solomon implies it would be some comfort to him, but if he is a fool, he is likely to waste what has come into his hands and spend it on mere trifles. In order to get it, Solomon had to use all his wisdom and to expend great amounts of labour, and yet now it is thoughtlessly squandered.