| English Standard Version | International Standard Version |
| 1I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. | 1I told myself, "I will test you with pleasure, so enjoy yourself." But this was pointless. |
| 2I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” | 2"Senseless," said I concerning laughter and pleasure, "How practical is this?" |
| 3I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. | 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. |
| 4I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. | 4With respect to my extravagant works, I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself. |
| 5I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. | 5I constructed gardens and orchards for myself, and within them I planted all kinds of fruit trees. |
| 6I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. | 6I built for myself water reservoirs to irrigate forests that produce trees. |
| 7I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. | 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. |
| 8I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. | 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. |
| 9So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. | 9So I became great, greater than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. Throughout all of this, I remained wise. |
| 10And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. | 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. |
| 11Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. | 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. |
| 12So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. | 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? |
| 13Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. | 13I concluded that wisdom is more useful than foolishness, just as light is more useful than darkness. |
| 14The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. | 14The wise use their eyes, but the fool walks in darkness. I also perceived that the same outcome affects them all. |
| 15Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. | 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. |
| 16For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! | 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? |
| 17So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. | 17So I hated life, because whatever is done on earth causes me trouble—it's all pointless, like chasing after the wind. |
| 18I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, | 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. |
| 19and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. | 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. |
| 20So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, | 20So I came to be in despair about everything I had accomplished on earth. |
| 21because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. | 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. |
| 22What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? | 22For what does a person gain from everything that he accomplishes and from his inner life struggles that he undergoes while working on earth? |
| 23For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. | 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! |
| 24There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, | 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, |
| 25for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? | 25for who can eat or enjoy life apart from him? |
| 26For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. | 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. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
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