the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Ecclesiastes 2:2
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I said about laughter, “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”
I said of laughter, "It is foolishness;" and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?"
I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?"
I said of laughter, "It is senseless," and of pleasure, "What does this accomplish?"
It is foolish to laugh all the time, and having fun doesn't accomplish anything.
I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"
I said of laughter, "It is foolishness;" and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?"
I saide of laughter, Thou art mad: and of ioy, What is this that thou doest?
I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of gladness, "What does it do?"
I said of laughter, "It is folly," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"
Laughing and having fun is crazy. What good does it do?
Of laughter I said, "This is stupid," and of pleasure, "What's the use of it?"
I said of laughter, Madness! and of mirth, What availeth it?
It is foolish to laugh all the time. Having fun does not do any good.
I said of laughter, What pleasure is there in it? and of mirth, What do you accomplish?
I discovered that laughter is foolish, that pleasure does you no good.
I said of laughter, "It is folly!" and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"
I said of laughter, It is madness, and of mirth, What does it do?
in so moch that I sayde vnto laughter: thou art madd, and to myrth: what doest thou?
I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it?
I said of laughter: 'It is mad'; and of mirth: 'What doth it accomplish?'
I saide of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
Insomuch that I saide vnto the man geuen to laughter, thou art mad: and to mirth, what doest thou?
I said to laughter, Madness: and to mirth, Why doest thou this:
I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
And leiyyng Y arrettide errour, and Y seide to ioye, What art thou disseyued in veyn?
I said of laughter, It is insane; and of mirth, What does it do?
I said of laughter, [It is] mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
I said of partying, "It is folly," and of self-indulgent pleasure, "It accomplishes nothing!"
I said of laughter--"Madness!"; and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?"
So I said, "Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?"
I said of laughing, "It is crazy," and of fun, "What use is it?"
I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?"
Of laughter, I said, Madness! and, of mirth, What can it do?
Laughter I counted error: and to mirth I said: Why art thou vainly deceived?
I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?"
Of laughter I said, `Foolish!' and of mirth, `What [is] this it is doing?'
I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"
Contextual Overview
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
And God saw everything which he had made and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
And the Lord God made a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had made.
The name of the first is Pishon, which goes round about all the land of Havilah where there is gold.
For six days do your work, and on the seventh day keep the Sabbath; so that your ox and your ass may have rest, together with the son of your servant and the man from a strange land living among you.
It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever; because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he took his rest and had pleasure in it.
But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on that day do no work, you or your son or your daughter, or your man-servant or your woman-servant, or your ox or your ass or any of your cattle, or the man from a strange country who is living among you; so that your man-servant and your woman-servant may have rest as well as you.
If you keep the Sabbath with care, not doing your business on my holy day; and if the Sabbath seems to you a delight, and the new moon of the Lord a thing to be honoured; and if you give respect to him by not doing your business, or going after your pleasure, or saying unholy words;
But his answer was: My Father is still working even now, and so I am working.
For in one place he has said of the seventh day, And God had rest from all his works on the seventh day;
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.
