| New Living Translation | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 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. | 1I said to myself, "Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good." But it turned out to be futile. |
| 2So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” | 2I said about laughter, "It is madness," and about pleasure, "What does this accomplish?" |
| 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. | 3I explored with my mind how to let my body enjoy life with wine and how to grasp folly--my mind still guiding me with wisdom--until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. |
| 4I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. | 4I increased my achievements. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. |
| 5I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. | 5I made gardens and parks for myself and planted every kind of fruit tree in them. |
| 6I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. | 6I constructed reservoirs of water for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees. |
| 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. | 7I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house. I also owned many herds of cattle and flocks, more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. |
| 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! | 8I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered male and female singers for myself, and many concubines, the delights of men. |
| 9So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. | 9So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me. |
| 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. | 10All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles. |
| 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 | 11When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun. |
| 12So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king? ). | 12Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the man be like who comes after the king? He will do what has already been done. |
| 13I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. | 13And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness. |
| 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. | 14The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both. |
| 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!” | 15So I said to myself, "What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?" And I said to myself that this is also futile. |
| 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. | 16For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies just like the fool? |
| 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 | 17Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind. |
| 18I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. | 18I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. |
| 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! | 19And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. |
| 20So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world. | 20So I began to give myself over to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun. |
| 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. | 21When there is a man whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong. |
| 22So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? | 22For what does a man get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? |
| 23Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless. | 23For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile. |
| 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. | 24There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God's hand, |
| 25For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? | 25because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from Him? |
| 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. | 26For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God's sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. |
| 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. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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