| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New Living Translation |
| 1I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself." And behold, it too was futility. | 1I 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. |
| 2I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?" | 2So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” |
| 3I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives. | 3After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world. |
| 4I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; | 4I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. |
| 5I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; | 5I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. |
| 6I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. | 6I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. |
| 7I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. | 7I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. |
| 8Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men-- many concubines. | 8I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire! |
| 9Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. | 9So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. |
| 10All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. | 10Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. |
| 11Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. | 11But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. The Wise and the Foolish |
| 12So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done? | 12So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king? ). |
| 13And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. | 13I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. |
| 14The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both. | 14For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. |
| 15Then I said to myself, "As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?" So I said to myself, "This too is vanity." | 15Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” |
| 16For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die! | 16For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten. |
| 17So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind. | 17So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind. The Futility of Work |
| 18Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. | 18I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. |
| 19And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity. | 19And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! |
| 20Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. | 20So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world. |
| 21When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. | 21Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. |
| 22For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? | 22So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? |
| 23Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity. | 23Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless. |
| 24There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. | 24So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. |
| 25For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? | 25For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? |
| 26For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God's sight. This too is vanity and striving after wind. | 26God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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