Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. New Living Translation I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. English Standard Version I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. Berean Standard Bible I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile. King James Bible I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. New King James Version I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity. New American Standard Bible I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. NASB 1995 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. NASB 1977 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. Legacy Standard Bible I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with gladness, so that you shall see good things.” And behold, it too was vanity. Amplified Bible I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure and gratification; so enjoy yourself and have a good time.” But behold, this too was vanity (futility, meaninglessness). Christian Standard Bible I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile. Holman Christian Standard Bible I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile. American Standard Version I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity. Contemporary English Version I said to myself, "Have fun and enjoy yourself!" But this didn't make sense. English Revised Version I SAID in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity. GOD'S WORD® Translation I thought to myself, "Now I want to experiment with pleasure and enjoy myself." But even this was pointless. Good News Translation I decided to enjoy myself and find out what happiness is. But I found that this is useless, too. International Standard Version I told myself, "I will test you with pleasure, so enjoy yourself." But this was pointless. Majority Standard Bible I said to myself, ?Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!? But it proved to be futile. NET Bible I thought to myself, "Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile." But I found that it also is futile. New Heart English Bible I said in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure;" and look, this also was vanity. Webster's Bible Translation I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and behold, this also is vanity. World English Bible I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure;” and behold, this also was vanity. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionI said in my heart, “Pray, come, I try you with mirth, and look on gladness”; and behold, even it [is] vanity. Young's Literal Translation I said in my heart, 'Pray, come, I try thee with mirth, and look thou on gladness;' and lo, even it is vanity. Smith's Literal Translation I said in my heart, Go now, I will prove thee with gladness, and look thou upon good: and behold, this also vanity. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleI said in my heart: I will go, and abound with delights, and enjoy good things. And I saw that this also was vanity. Catholic Public Domain Version I said in my heart: “I will go forth and overflow with delights, and I will enjoy good things.” And I saw that this, too, is emptiness. New American Bible I said in my heart, “Come, now, let me try you with pleasure and the enjoyment of good things.” See, this too was vanity. New Revised Standard Version I said to myself, “Come now, I will make a test of pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But again, this also was vanity. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleI SAID to my heart, Come now, I will prove you with joy; therefore enjoy good things; and, behold, this also is vanity. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated And I said I to my heart: come, "prove yourself with joy and see good", and, behold , this also is futility OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917I said in my heart: 'Come now, I will try thee with mirth, and enjoy pleasure'; and, behold, this also was vanity. Brenton Septuagint Translation I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth, and behold thou good: and, behold, this is also vanity. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Futility of Pleasure1I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile. 2I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?”… Cross References Proverbs 14:13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in sorrow. Luke 12:19-20 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!”’ / 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?’ Isaiah 22:13 But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 1 Corinthians 15:32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” James 4:9 Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom. Proverbs 21:17 He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich. 1 Timothy 5:6 But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still alive. Isaiah 5:11-12 Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine. / At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands. 2 Timothy 3:4 traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, Proverbs 23:29-35 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? / Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. / Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. ... 1 Peter 4:3 For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. Isaiah 47:8 So now hear this, O lover of luxury who sits securely, who says to herself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or know the loss of children.’ Galatians 5:19-21 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; / idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, / and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Jeremiah 15:17 I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation. Romans 13:13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Treasury of Scripture I said in my heart, Go to now, I will prove you with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. said Ecclesiastes 2:15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. Ecclesiastes 1:16,17 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge… Ecclesiastes 3:17,18 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work… go to Genesis 11:3,4,7 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter… 2 Kings 5:5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. Isaiah 5:5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: i will Ecclesiastes 8:15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun. Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Isaiah 50:5,11 The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back… Jump to Previous Enjoy Find Futility Gladness Good Heart Joy Meaningless Mirth Pleasure Prove Proved Purpose Test Thought Try VanityJump to Next Enjoy Find Futility Gladness Good Heart Joy Meaningless Mirth Pleasure Prove Proved Purpose Test Thought Try VanityEcclesiastes 2 1. the vanity of human courses is the work of pleasure12. Though the wise be better than the fool, yet both have one event 18. The vanity of human labor, in leaving it they know not to whom 24. Nothing better than joy in our labor but that is God's gift I said to myself This phrase indicates a personal introspection and dialogue. The Hebrew root here is "אָמַר" (amar), which means to say or declare. It reflects the internal conversation of the Preacher, traditionally understood to be Solomon, who is engaging in a self-reflective journey. This introspection is crucial as it sets the stage for the exploration of human experience and wisdom. In a historical context, Solomon, known for his wisdom, wealth, and power, is uniquely positioned to conduct such an experiment on the meaning of life. Come now I will test you with pleasure enjoy what is good But it proved to be futile Go to now.--Numbers 22:6; Judges 19:11. Enjoy.--Heb., see. Verses 1-11. - Section 2. Vanity of striving after pleasure and wealth. Verse 1. - Dissatisfied with the result of the pursuit of wisdom, Koheleth embarks on a course of sensual pleasure, if so be this may yield some effect more substantial and permanent. I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth. The heart is addressed as the seat of the emotions and affections. The Vulgate misses the direct address to the heart, which the words, rightly interpreted, imply, translating, Vadam et offluam delieiis. The Septuagint correctly gives, Δεῦρο δὴ πειράσω σε ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ. It is like the rich fool's language in Christ's parable, "I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry" (Luke 12:10). Therefore enjoy pleasure; literally, see good (Ecclesiastes 6:6). "To see" is often used figuratively in the sense of "to experience, or enjoy." Wright compares the expressions, "see death" (Luke 2:26), "see life" (John 3:36). We may find the like in Psalm 34:13; Jeremiah 29:32; Obadiah 1:13 (comp. Ecclesiastes 9:9). The king now tries to find the summum bonum in pleasure, in selfish enjoyment without thought of others. Commentators, as they saw Stoicism in the first chapter, so read Epieureanism into this. We shall have occasion to refer to this idea further on (see on Ecclesiastes 3:22). Of this new experiment the result was the same as before. Behold, this also is vanity. This experience is confirmed in the next verse.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Iאֲנִי֙ (’ă·nî) Pronoun - first person common singular Strong's 589: I said אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי (’ā·mar·tî) Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular Strong's 559: To utter, say to myself, בְּלִבִּ֔י (bə·lib·bî) Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre “Come לְכָה־ (lə·ḵāh-) Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk now, נָּ֛א (nā) Interjection Strong's 4994: I pray', 'now', 'then' I will test אֲנַסְּכָ֛ה (’ă·nas·sə·ḵāh) Verb - Piel - Imperfect Cohortative if contextual - first person common singular | second person masculine singular Strong's 5254: To test, to attempt you with pleasure; בְשִׂמְחָ֖ה (ḇə·śim·ḥāh) Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 8057: Blithesomeness, glee enjoy וּרְאֵ֣ה (ū·rə·’êh) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular Strong's 7200: To see what is good!” בְט֑וֹב (ḇə·ṭō·wḇ) Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good But it ה֖וּא (hū) Pronoun - third person masculine singular Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are proved וְהִנֵּ֥ה (wə·hin·nêh) Conjunctive waw | Interjection Strong's 2009: Lo! behold! to be futile. הָֽבֶל׃ (hā·ḇel) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 1892: Emptiness, vanity, transitory, unsatisfactory Links Ecclesiastes 2:1 NIVEcclesiastes 2:1 NLT Ecclesiastes 2:1 ESV Ecclesiastes 2:1 NASB Ecclesiastes 2:1 KJV Ecclesiastes 2:1 BibleApps.com Ecclesiastes 2:1 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 2:1 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 2:1 French Bible Ecclesiastes 2:1 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 2:1 I said in my heart Come now (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.) |
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