Ecclesiastes 2:2

Bishop's Bible

Insomuch that I saide vnto the man geuen to laughter, thou art mad: and to mirth, what doest thou?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I said about laughter, “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

Hebrew Names Version
I said of laughter, "It is foolishness;" and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?"

King James Version
I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

English Standard Version
I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?"

New American Standard Bible
I said of laughter, "It is senseless," and of pleasure, "What does this accomplish?"

New Century Version
It is foolish to laugh all the time, and having fun doesn't accomplish anything.

Amplified Bible
I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"

World English Bible
I said of laughter, "It is foolishness;" and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
I saide of laughter, Thou art mad: and of ioy, What is this that thou doest?

Legacy Standard Bible
I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of gladness, "What does it do?"

Berean Standard Bible
I said of laughter, "It is folly," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"

Contemporary English Version
Laughing and having fun is crazy. What good does it do?

Complete Jewish Bible
Of laughter I said, "This is stupid," and of pleasure, "What's the use of it?"

Darby Translation
I said of laughter, Madness! and of mirth, What availeth it?

Easy-to-Read Version
It is foolish to laugh all the time. Having fun does not do any good.

George Lamsa Translation
I said of laughter, What pleasure is there in it? and of mirth, What do you accomplish?

Good News Translation
I discovered that laughter is foolish, that pleasure does you no good.

Lexham English Bible
I said of laughter, "It is folly!" and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"

Literal Translation
I said of laughter, It is madness, and of mirth, What does it do?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
in so moch that I sayde vnto laughter: thou art madd, and to myrth: what doest thou?

American Standard Version
I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it?

Bible in Basic English
Of laughing I said, It is foolish; and of joy--What use is it?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
I said of laughter: 'It is mad'; and of mirth: 'What doth it accomplish?'

King James Version (1611)
I saide of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
I said to laughter, Madness: and to mirth, Why doest thou this:

English Revised Version
I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And leiyyng Y arrettide errour, and Y seide to ioye, What art thou disseyued in veyn?

Update Bible Version
I said of laughter, It is insane; and of mirth, What does it do?

Webster's Bible Translation
I said of laughter, [It is] mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

New English Translation
I said of partying, "It is folly," and of self-indulgent pleasure, "It accomplishes nothing!"

New King James Version
I said of laughter--"Madness!"; and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?"

New Living Translation
So I said, "Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?"

New Life Bible
I said of laughing, "It is crazy," and of fun, "What use is it?"

New Revised Standard
I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Of laughter, I said, Madness! and, of mirth, What can it do?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Laughter I counted error: and to mirth I said: Why art thou vainly deceived?

Revised Standard Version
I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?"

Young's Literal Translation
Of laughter I said, `Foolish!' and of mirth, `What [is] this it is doing?'

New American Standard Bible (1995)
I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"

Contextual Overview

¹ Then sayde I thus in my heart: Nowe go to, I will take myne ease, and haue good dayes: But lo, that is vanitie also. ² Insomuch that I saide vnto the man geuen to laughter, thou art mad: and to mirth, what doest thou? ³ So I thought in my heart to geue my fleshe vnto wine, and agayne to apply my mynde vnto wisdome, and to comprehende foolishnesse: vntyll the tyme that among all the thynges which are vnder the sunne, I myght see what were best for men to do so long as they liue vnder heauen. ⁴ I made gorgious faire workes: I builded my houses, and planted vineyardes. ⁵ I made me orchardes and gardens of pleasure, and planted trees in them of all maner of fruites. ⁶ I made pooles of water, to water the greene and fruitfull trees withall. ⁷ I bought seruauntes and maydens, and had a great housholde: As for cattel and sheepe, I had more substaunce of them then all they that were before me in Hierusalem. ⁸ I gathered together siluer and golde, and the chiefe treasures of kynges and landes: I haue prouided me men singgers and women singers, and the delites of the sonnes of men, as a woman taken captiue, and women taken captiues. ⁹ And I was greater and in more worship then all my predecessours in Hierusalem: For wisdome remayned with me. ¹⁰ And loke whatsoeuer myne eyes desired, I let them haue it: and wherin soeuer my heart delited or had any pleasure, I withhelde it not from it: Thus my heart reioyced in all that I did, and this was my portion of all my trauayle.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I said: Solomon is not speaking here of sober enjoyment of the things of the world, but of intemperate pleasure, whose two attendants, laughter and mirth, are introduced by a beautiful prosopopoeia, as two persons, whom he treats with the utmost contempt.

It is: Ecclesiastes 7:2-6, Proverbs 14:13, Isaiah 22:12, Isaiah 22:13, Amos 6:3-6, 1 Peter 4:2-4

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 25:36 - merry Ecclesiastes 7:6 - as Ecclesiastes 10:19 - feast Matthew 13:45 - seeking Luke 6:25 - laugh James 4:9 - let

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
And God sawe euery thyng that he had made: and beholde, it was exceedyng good. And the euenyng & the mornyng were the sixth day.

Genesis 2:8
And the Lord God planted a garden eastwarde in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had shapen.

Genesis 2:11
The name of ye first is Pison, the same is it that compasseth the whole lande of Hauilah, where there is golde:

Exodus 23:12
Sixe daies thou shalt do thy worke, and in the seuenth day thou shalt rest: that thyne oxe and thyne asse may rest, and the sonne of thy mayde and the straunger may be refreshed.

Exodus 31:17
For it is a signe betweene me and the children of Israel for euer: for in six dayes the Lorde made heauen and earth, and in the seuenth day he rested and was refreshed.

Deuteronomy 5:14
But the seuenth day is the Sabbath of the Lorde thy God: thou shalt not do any worke, thou nor thy sonne, nor thy daughter, nor thy man seruaunt, nor thy mayde, nor thine oxe, nor thine asse, nor any of thy cattell, nor the straunger that is within thy gates: that thy man seruaunt, and thy mayde, may rest as well as thou.

Isaiah 58:13
Yea if thou turne thy feete from the sabbath, so that thou do not the thing whiche pleaseth thy selfe in my holy day, and thou call the pleasaunt, holy, and glorious sabbath of the Lorde, and that thou geue hym the honour, so that thou do not after thyne owne imagination, neither seeke thyne owne wyll, nor speake thyne owne wordes:

John 5:17
And Iesus aunswered them: My father worketh hitherto, and I worke.

Hebrews 4:4
For he spake in a certayne place of the seuenth daye on this wyse: And God dyd rest the seuenth daye from all his workes.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I said of laughter, [it is] mad,.... The risible faculty in man is given him for some usefulness; and when used in a moderate way, and kept within due bounds, is of service to him, and conduces to the health of his body, and the pleasure of his mind; but when used on every trivial occasion, and at every foolish thing that is said or done, and indulged to excess, it is mere madness, and makes a man look more like a madman and a fool than a wise man; it lasts but for a while, and the end of it is heaviness, Ecclesiastes 7:6. Or, "I said to laughter, [thou art] mad" x; and therefore will have nothing to do with thee in the excessive and criminal way, but shun thee, as one would do a mad man: this therefore is not to be reckoned into the pleasure he bid his soul go to and enjoy;

and of mirth, what doth it? what good does do? of what profit and advantage is it to man? If the question is concerning innocent mirth, the answer may be given out of Proverbs 15:13; but if of carnal sinful mirth, there is no good arises from that to the body or mind; or any kind of happiness to be enjoyed that way, and therefore no trial is to be made of it. What the wise man proposed to make trial of, and did, follows in the next verses.

x לשחוק אמרתי מהולל "risui dixi, insanis", Mercerus, Drusius, Amama; "vel insanus es", Piscator, Schmidt, Rambachius.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 2:2. I said of laughter, It is mad — Literally "To laughter I said, O mad one! and to mirth, What is this one doing?"

Solomon does not speak here of a sober enjoyment of the things of this world, but of intemperate pleasure, whose two attendants, laughter and mirth are introduced by a beautiful prosopopoeia as two persons; and the contemptuous manner wherewith he treats them has something remarkably striking. He tells the former to her face that she is mad; but as to the latter, he thinks her so much beneath his notice, that he only points at her, and instantly turns his back.