Ecclesiastes 2 NIV CSB Parallel

◄ Ecclesiastes 2 ►

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Christian Standard Bible

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.

1I said to myself, "Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good." But it turned out to be futile.

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

2I said about laughter, "It is madness," and about pleasure, "What does this accomplish?"

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.

3I explored with my mind the pull of wine on my body--my mind still guiding me with wisdom--and how to grasp folly, until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

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

4I increased my achievements. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.

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

5I made gardens and parks for myself and planted every kind of fruit tree in them.

6I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.

6I constructed reservoirs for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees.

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.

7I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house. I also owned livestock--large herds and flocks--more than all who were before me in Jerusalem.

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.

8I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered male and female singers for myself, and many concubines, the delights of men.

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

9So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me.

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.

10All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.

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.

11When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

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?

12Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the king's successor be like? He will do what has already been done.

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

13And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.

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.

14The wise person has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.

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."

15So I said to myself, "What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?" And I said to myself that this is also futile.

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!

16For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool?

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.

17Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

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

18I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.

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.

19And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

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

20So I began to give myself over to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun.

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.

21When there is a person whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a person who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.

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

22For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

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

23For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

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,

24There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God's hand,

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

25because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from him?

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.

26For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God's sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

New International Version (NIV)

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