the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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Updated Bible Version
Ecclesiastes 2:2
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I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of gladness, "What does it do?"
I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"
Insomuch that I saide vnto the man geuen to laughter, thou art mad: and to mirth, what doest thou?
I said of laughter, Madness! and of mirth, What availeth it?
I said of laughter--"Madness!"; and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?"
I said of laughter, It is madness, and of mirth, What does it do?
It is foolish to laugh all the time. Having fun does not do any good.
I said of laughter, "It is foolishness;" and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?"
I saide of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
in so moch that I sayde vnto laughter: thou art madd, and to myrth: what doest thou?
I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"
I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it?
Of laughing I said, It is foolish; and of joy--What use is it?
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!"
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 saide of laughter, Thou art mad: and of ioy, What is this that thou doest?
I said of laughter, What pleasure is there in it? and of mirth, What do you 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 doth 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 to laughter, Madness: and to mirth, Why doest thou this:
I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
I said of laughter, "It is folly," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"
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 folly!" and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?"
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 discovered that laughter is foolish, that pleasure does you no good.
I said about laughter, "It is madness," and about pleasure, "What does this accomplish?"
And leiyyng Y arrettide errour, and Y seide to ioye, What art thou disseyued in veyn?
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?'
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 that he had made, and, look, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
And Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your female slave, and the sojourner, may be refreshed.
It is a sign between me and the sons of Israel forever: for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God: you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger that is inside your gates; that your male slave and your female slave may rest as well as you.
If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, [and] the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking [your own] words:
But Jesus answered them, My Father works even until now, and I work.
For he has said somewhere of the seventh [day] on this wise, And God rested on the seventh day from all his works;
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.
