American Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 2:1
1I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity.
Ecclesiastes 2:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
- New International Version (NIV)I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I said in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself." But behold, this also was vanity.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity.
Context of Ecclesiastes 2:1
I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity. 2I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it? 3I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven all the days of their life.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 2Ecclesiastes 2:1 word by word
אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי אֲנִי֙ בְּלִבִּ֔י לְכָה־נָּ֛א אֲנַסְּכָ֛ה בְשִׂמְחָ֖ה וּרְאֵ֣ה בְט֑וֹב וְהִנֵּ֥ה גַם־ה֖וּא הָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:1
- Ecclesiastes 2:15Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then said I in my heart, that this also is vanity.
- Ecclesiastes 1:16I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom above all that were before me in Jerusalem; yea, my heart hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
- Ecclesiastes 3:17I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
- Psalms 10:6He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved; To all generations I shall not be in adversity.
- Psalms 14:1The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works; There is none that doeth good.
- Psalms 27:8When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Jehovah, will I seek.
- Psalms 30:6As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved.
- Luke 12:19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.
- Genesis 11:3And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
- 2 Kings 5:5And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
- Isaiah 5:5And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
- James 4:13Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:
- James 5:1Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.
- Ecclesiastes 8:15Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that shall abide with him in his labor all the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
- Isaiah 50:5The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away backward.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1I will prove thee with mirth - This is well expressed by the author so often referred to. Having tried speculative knowledge in vain, passion and appetite whisper: - "From the rugged thorny road Of wisdom, which so ill repays thy toil, Turn back, and enter pleasure's flowery paths. Go, take thy fill of joy, to passion give The reins; nor let one serious thought restrain What youth and affluence prompt."Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Solomon‘s trial of God‘s second gift, namely, riches, and the enjoyment which riches supply; this brought him to the sane result (compare Ecclesiastes 1:12). Comparing Solomon‘s action with Luke 12:16-21, it must be remembered that Solomon‘s object was the acquisition of wisdom, not self-indulgence, and that he did not fail to look forward to the certainty of death overtaking him.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The vanity and vexation of mirth, sensual pleasure, riches, and pomp. (Eccl. 2:1-11) Human wisdom insufficient. (Eccl. 2:12-17) This world to be used according to the will of God. (Eccl. 2:18-26) Verses 1-11 Solomon soon found mirth and pleasure to be vanity. What does noisy, flashy mirth towards making a man happy? The manifold devices of men's hearts, to get satisfaction from the world, and their changing from one thing to another, are like the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-11The Teacher says seeking pleasure for its own sake is empty. Even great achievements are like smoke.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-26Ec 2:1-26. He next tries pleasure and luxury, retaining however, his worldly "wisdom" (Ec 3:9), but all proves "vanity" in respect to the chief good. 1. I said ... heart--(Lu 12:19). thee--my heart, I will test whether thou canst find that solid good in pleasure which was not in "worldly wisdom." But this also proves to be "vanity" (Is 50:11).Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 2:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries