Ecclesiastes 2:1

In 11 translations

BSB

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.

KJV

I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.

WEB

I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure;” and behold, this also was vanity.

ASV

I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity.

LSV

I said in my heart, “Pray, come, I try you with mirth, and look on gladness”; and behold, even it [is] vanity.

YLT

I said in my heart, 'Pray, come, I try thee with mirth, and look thou on gladness;' and lo, even it [is] vanity.

DBY

I said in my heart, Come now, I will try thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure. But behold, this also is vanity.

DRC

I said in my heart: I will go, and abound with delights, and enjoy good things. And I saw that this also was vanity.

GNV

I said in mine heart, Goe to nowe, I will proue thee with ioy: therefore take thou pleasure in pleasant things: and beholde, this also is vanitie.

JPS

I said in my heart: 'Come now, I will try thee with mirth, and enjoy pleasure'; and, behold, this also was vanity.

LXXE

I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth, and behold thou good: and, behold, this is also vanity.

Word by word Hebrew · tap a word

Words in brackets are English the glossers added; the Hebrew has no word for them, and they can carry a choice of tense or meaning.

Original-language editions

WLC

אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי אֲנִי֙ בְּלִבִּ֔י לְכָה־נָּ֛א אֲנַסְּכָ֛ה בְשִׂמְחָ֖ה וּרְאֵ֣ה בְט֑וֹב וְהִנֵּ֥ה גַם־ה֖וּא הָֽבֶל׃

LXX-Br

Εἶπον ἐγὼ ἐν καρδίᾳ μου, δεῦρο δὴ πειράσω σε ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ, καὶ ἴδε ἐν ἀγαθῷ· καὶ ἰδοὺ καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης.

In the reference works topics that cite this verse

From public-domain Bible dictionaries and topical indexes (1884–1915).

Cross-references most cited first

• Luke 12:19Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
• Ecclesiastes 8:15So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives…
• Psalms 27:8My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek.
• James 5:1Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
• James 5:5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.
• Psalms 10:6He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.”
• Ecclesiastes 7:4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
• Ecclesiastes 2:15So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.
• Isaiah 50:11Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who array yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and of the firebrands you have lit! This is what you will receive from My hand: You will lie down in a place of…
• Titus 3:3For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
• Genesis 11:3–4And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. “Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that…
• Revelation 18:7–8As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’ Therefore her plagues will…
• Isaiah 50:5The Lord GOD has opened My ears, and I have not been rebellious, nor have I turned back.
• Ecclesiastes 3:17–18I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.” I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves…
• James 4:13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”
• Ecclesiastes 1:16–17I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” So I set my mind to know wisdom and…

From the OpenBible.info cross-reference set (votes from readers; not every link is a quotation or allusion).