| New King James Version | International Standard Version |
| 1I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity. | 1I told myself, "I will test you with pleasure, so enjoy yourself." But this was pointless. |
| 2I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” | 2"Senseless," said I concerning laughter and pleasure, "How practical is this?" |
| 3I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives. | 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 my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. | 4With respect to my extravagant works, I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself. |
| 5I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. | 5I constructed gardens and orchards for myself, and within them I planted all kinds of fruit trees. |
| 6I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. | 6I built for myself water reservoirs to irrigate forests that produce trees. |
| 7I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. | 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 special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds. | 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 excelled more than 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. |
| 10Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor. | 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 looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit 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. |
| 12Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?— Only what he has already 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 wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness. | 13I concluded that wisdom is more useful than foolishness, just as light is more useful than darkness. |
| 14The wise man’s eyes are in his head, But the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived That the same event happens to them all. | 14The wise use their eyes, but the fool walks in darkness. I also perceived that the same outcome affects them all. |
| 15So I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “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 there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As 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? |
| 17Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. | 17So I hated life, because whatever is done on earth causes me trouble—it's all pointless, like chasing after the wind. |
| 18Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because 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 rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise 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. |
| 20Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. | 20So I came to be in despair about everything I had accomplished on earth. |
| 21For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored 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. |
| 22For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under 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 sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no 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! |
| 24Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was 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 who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? | 25for who can eat or enjoy life apart from him? |
| 26For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the 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. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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