Ecclesiastes 2:2

Brenton's Septuagint

I said to laughter, Madness: and to mirth, Why doest thou this:

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?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Insomuch that I saide vnto the man geuen to laughter, thou art mad: and to mirth, what doest thou?

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 I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth, and behold thou good: and, behold, this is also vanity. ² I said to laughter, Madness: and to mirth, Why doest thou this: ³ And I examined whether my heart would excite my flesh as with wine, (though my heart guided me in wisdom,) and I desired to lay hold of mirth, until I should see of what kind is the good to the sons of men, which they should do under the sun all the days of their life. ⁴ I enlarged my work; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards. ⁵ I made me gardens and orchards, and planted in them every kind of fruit-tree. ⁶ I made me pools of water, to water from them the timber-bearing wood. ⁷ I got servants and maidens, and servants were born to me in the house: also I had abundant possession of flocks and herds, beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem. ⁸ Moreover I collected for myself both silver and gold also, and the peculiar treasures of kings and provinces: I procured me singing men and singing women, and delights of the sons of men, a butler and female cupbearers. ⁹ So I became great, and advanced beyond all that were before in Jerusalem: also my wisdom was established to me. ¹⁰ And whatever mine eyes desired, I withheld not from them, I withheld not my heart from all my mirth: for my heart rejoiced in all my labour; and this was my portion of all my labour.

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 saw all the things that he had made, and, behold, they were very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 2:8
And God planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:11
The name of the one, Phisom, this it is which encircles the whole land of Evilat, where there is gold.

Exodus 23:12
Six days shalt thou do thy works, and on the seventh day there shall be rest, that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and that the son of thy maid-servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

Exodus 31:17
It is a perpetual covenant with me and the children of Israel, it is a perpetual sign with me; for in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day he ceased, and rested.

Deuteronomy 5:14
but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do in it no work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, thine ox, and thine ass, and all thy cattle, and the stranger that sojourns in the midst of thee; that thy man-servant may rest, and thy maid, and thine ox, as well as thou.

Isaiah 58:13
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, so as not to do thy pleasure on the holy days, and shalt call the sabbaths delightful, holy to God; if thou shalt not lift up thy foot to work, nor speak a word in anger out of thy mouth,

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.