| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity. | 1I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. |
| 2I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” | 2So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” |
| 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. | 3After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world. |
| 4I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. | 4I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. |
| 5I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. | 5I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. |
| 6I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. | 6I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. |
| 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 bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. |
| 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 collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire! |
| 9So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. | 9So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. |
| 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. | 10Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. |
| 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. | 11But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. The Wise and the Foolish |
| 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. | 12So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king? ). |
| 13Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness. | 13I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better 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. | 14For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. |
| 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.” | 15Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” |
| 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 the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten. |
| 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 came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind. The Futility of Work |
| 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. | 18I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. |
| 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 can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! |
| 20Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. | 20So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world. |
| 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. | 21Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. |
| 22For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? | 22So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? |
| 23For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. | 23Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless. |
| 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. | 24So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. |
| 25For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? | 25For who can eat or enjoy anything 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. | 26God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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