Ecclesiastes 2 ISV NIV Parallel

◄ Ecclesiastes 2 ►

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1I told myself, "I will test you with pleasure, so enjoy yourself." But this was pointless.

1I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless.

2"Senseless," said I concerning laughter and pleasure, "How practical is this?"

2"Laughter," I said, "is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?"

3I decided to indulge in wine, while still remaining committed to wisdom. I also tried to indulge in foolishness, just enough to determine whether it was good for human beings under heaven given the short time of their lives.

3I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly--my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

4With respect to my extravagant works, I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself.

4I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.

5I constructed gardens and orchards for myself, and within them I planted all kinds of fruit trees.

5I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

6I built for myself water reservoirs to irrigate forests that produce trees.

6I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.

7I acquired male and female slaves, and had other slaves born in my house. I also acquired for myself increasing numbers of herds and flocks—more than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem.

7I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.

8I also accumulated silver, gold, and the wealth of kings and their kingdoms. I gathered around me both male and female singers, along with what delights a man—all sorts of mistresses.

8I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well--the delights of a man's heart.

9So I became great, greater than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. Throughout all of this, I remained wise.

9I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

10Whenever I wanted something I had seen, I never refused that desire. Instead, I enjoyed everything I did, and this became the reward in what I had undertaken.

10I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil.

11Then I examined all of my accomplishments that I had brought about by my own efforts, including the work that I had labored so hard to complete—and it was all pointless, like chasing after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained on earth.

11Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

12Next I turned to examine wisdom, insanity, and foolishness, because what can a person do who succeeds the king except what has already been accomplished?

12Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done?

13I concluded that wisdom is more useful than foolishness, just as light is more useful than darkness.

13I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.

14The wise use their eyes, but the fool walks in darkness. I also perceived that the same outcome affects them all.

14The wise have eyes in their heads, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both.

15Then I told myself, "Whatever happens to the fool will happen also to me. Therefore what's the point in being so wise?" And I told myself that this also is pointless.

15Then I said to myself, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?" I said to myself, "This too is meaningless."

16For neither the wise nor the fool will be long remembered, since in days to come everything will be forgotten. The wise man dies the same way as the fool, does he not?

16For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten. Like the fool, the wise too must die!

17So I hated life, because whatever is done on earth causes me trouble—it's all pointless, like chasing after the wind.

17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

18Then I despised everything I had worked for on earth, that is, the things that I will leave to the person who will succeed me.

18I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.

19And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Either way, he will take possession of everything that I have done on earth, especially where I have excelled. This also is pointless.

19And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.

20So I came to be in despair about everything I had accomplished on earth.

20So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.

21For sometimes people who strive to obtain wisdom, knowledge, and equity leave everything as an inheritance to a person who never worked for it. This, too, is pointless and greatly troublesome.

21For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

22For what does a person gain from everything that he accomplishes and from his inner life struggles that he undergoes while working on earth?

22What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?

23Indeed, all of his days are filled with sorrow, and his struggles bring grief. In fact, his mind remains restless throughout the night. This is pointless, too!

23All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

24The only worthwhile thing for a human being is to eat, drink, and enjoy life's goodness that he finds in what he accomplishes. This, I observed, is also from the hand of God himself,

24A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,

25for who can eat or enjoy life apart from him?

25for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?

26After all, to the person who is good in God's sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner he gives the troublesome task of acquiring and accumulating in order to leave it to someone who is good in the sight of God. This also is pointless and chasing after the wind.

26To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

New International Version (NIV)

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