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Good News Translation

Ecclesiastes 2:2

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

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Epicureans;   Investigation;   Pleasure;   Wisdom;   Worldliness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Joy;   Joy-Sorrow;   Laughter;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Joy;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, Book of;   Israel, History of;   Joy;   Laugh;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ecclesiastes;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Laughter;   Winter ;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Canon of the Old Testament;   Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher;   Mad;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Asmodeus;   Joy;   Levi Ii.;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for October 1;  

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?
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?
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 I decided to enjoy myself and find out what happiness is. But I found that this is useless, too. 2 I discovered that laughter is foolish, that pleasure does you no good. 3 Driven on by my desire for wisdom, I decided to cheer myself up with wine and have a good time. I thought that this might be the best way people can spend their short lives on earth. 4 I accomplished great things. I built myself houses and planted vineyards. 5 I planted gardens and orchards, with all kinds of fruit trees in them; 6 I dug ponds to irrigate them. 7 I bought many slaves, and there were slaves born in my household. I owned more livestock than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem. 8 I also piled up silver and gold from the royal treasuries of the lands I ruled. Men and women sang to entertain me, and I had all the women a man could want. 9 Yes, I was great, greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I got. I did not deny myself any pleasure. I was proud of everything I had worked for, and all this was my reward.

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
God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came—that was the sixth day.
Genesis 2:8
Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East, and there he put the man he had formed.
Genesis 2:11
The first river is the Pishon; it flows around the country of Havilah.
Exodus 23:12
"Work six days a week, but do no work on the seventh day, so that your slaves and the foreigners who work for you and even your animals can rest.
Exodus 31:17
It is a permanent sign between the people of Israel and me, because I, the Lord , made heaven and earth in six days, and on the seventh day I stopped working and rested."
Deuteronomy 5:14
but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work—neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. Your slaves must rest just as you do.
Isaiah 58:13
The Lord says, "If you treat the Sabbath as sacred and do not pursue your own interests on that day; if you value my holy day and honor it by not traveling, working, or talking idly on that day,
John 5:17
Jesus answered them, "My Father is always working, and I too must work."
Hebrews 4:4
For somewhere in the Scriptures this is said about the seventh day: "God rested on the seventh day from all his work."

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.


 
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