Ecclesiastes 2:4 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

Solomon here, in pursuit of the summum bonum?the felicity of man, adjourns out of his study, his library, his elaboratory, his council-chamber, where he had in vain sought for it, into the park and the playhouse, his garden and his summer-house; he exchanges the company of the philosophers and grave senators for that of the wits and gallants, and the beaux-esprits, of his court, to try if he could find true satisfaction and happiness among them. Here he takes a great step downward, from the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:4

I made me great works ,.... He did not spend his time in trifling things, as Domitian F1 Sueton. Vit. Domitian. c. 3. Aurel. Victor. De. Caesar. & Epitome. , in catching and killing flies; but in devising, designing, directing, and superintending great works of art and skill, becoming the grandeur of his state, and the greatness of his mind: the Midrash restrains it to his great throne of ivory, overlaid with gold, 1 Kings 10:18 , but it is a general expression, including all the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 2:4

I builded me houses - Palace after palace; the house of the forest of Lebanon, 1 Kings 7:1 , etc.; a house for the queen; the temple, etc., 2 Chronicles 8:1 , etc.; 1 Kings 9:10 , etc., besides many other buildings of various kinds. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

Section 2. Vanity of striving after pleasure and wealth. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:4

This commences a new experience in the pursuit of his object. Leaving this life of self-indulgence, he takes to art and culture, the details being drawn from the accounts of the historical Solomon. I made me great works ; literally, I made great my works ; Septuagint, ἐμεγάλυνα ποίημά per ; Vulgate, Magnificavi opera mea . Among these works the temple, with all its wonderful structural preparations, is not specially mentioned, perhaps because no one could think of Solomon... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 2:4

Compare 1 Kings 7:1-12; 1 Kings 9:15-19; 1 Kings 10:14-27; and 2 Chronicles 8:4. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 2:4-7

Ecclesiastes 2:4-7. I made me great works Magnificent works, for my honour and delight. I builded me houses Of which see 1 Kings 7:1, &c.; 9:15, &c.; Song of Solomon 8:11. I made me gardens Hebrew, paradises, or gardens of pleasure; I planted trees, &c. Mixing pleasure and profit together. I made me pools of water Because the rain there fell but seldom; to water therewith the wood The nurseries of young trees, which, for the multitude of them, were like a wood or... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:1-26

Lessons from experience (1:12-2:26)Writing as Solomon, the author now looks back and describes the experiences of a truly wise and wealthy man who searched for a meaning to life. First he tried the study of wisdom, but it led only to misery and frustration. Some things could not be made to fit any sort of consistent pattern; others, which in theory may have solved some problems, in practice did not exist (12-15). His learning and experience enabled him to tell the difference between wisdom and... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 2:4

made me great works = increased or multiplied my possessions. works. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6 , for the results and effects gained by work. Compare Exodus 23:12 . 1 Samuel 25:2 .Isaiah 26:12 . read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 2:4

4. (1 Kings 7:1-8; 1 Kings 9:1; 1 Kings 9:19; 1 Kings 10:18, &c.). vineyards— (1 Kings 10:18- :). read more