God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 2:1
1I thought to myself, “Now I want to experiment with pleasure and enjoy myself.” But even this was pointless.
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 thought to myself, “Now I want to experiment with pleasure and enjoy myself.” But even this was pointless. 2I thought, “Laughter doesn’t make any sense. What does pleasure accomplish?” 3I explored ways to make myself feel better by drinking wine. I also explored ways to do ⌞some⌟ foolish things. During all that time, wisdom continued to control my mind. I was able to determine whether this was good for mortals to do during their brief lives under heaven.
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
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 2:1
- Ecclesiastes 2:15I thought to myself, “⌞If⌟ the destiny that waits for the fool waits for me as well, then what is the advantage in being wise?” So I thought that even this is pointless.
- Ecclesiastes 1:16I thought to myself, “I have grown wiser than anyone who ⌞has ruled⌟ Jerusalem before me. I’ve had a lot of experience with wisdom and knowledge.”
- Ecclesiastes 3:17I thought to myself, “God will judge righteous people as well as wicked people, because there is a specific time for every activity and every work that is done.”
- Psalms 10:6He says to himself, “Nothing can shake me. I’ll never face any trouble.”
- Psalms 14:1Godless fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They do disgusting things. There is no one who does good things.
- Psalms 27:8⌞When you said,⌟ “Seek my face,” my heart said to you, “O Lord, I will seek your face.”
- Psalms 30:6When all was well with me, I said, “I will never be shaken.”
- Luke 12:19Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up a lot of good things for years to come. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’
- Genesis 11:3They said to one another, “Let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used bricks as stones and tar as mortar.
- 2 Kings 5:5The king of Aram said, “You may go. I will also send a letter to the king of Israel.” When Naaman left, he took 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and 10 sets of clothing with him.
- Isaiah 5:5Now then, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will tear away its hedge so that it can be devoured and tear down its wall so that it can be trampled.
- James 4:13Pay attention to this! You’re saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go into some city, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money.”
- James 5:1Pay attention to this if you’re rich. Cry and moan about the misery that is coming to you.
- Ecclesiastes 8:15So I recommend the enjoyment ⌞of life⌟. People have nothing better to do under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves. This joy will stay with them while they work hard during their brief lives which God has given them under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 11:9You young people should enjoy yourselves while you’re young. You should let your hearts make you happy when you’re young. Follow wherever your heart leads you and whatever your eyes see. But realize that God will make you give an account for all these things when he judges everyone.
- Isaiah 50:5The Almighty Lord will open my ears. I will not rebel, nor will I turn away ⌞from him⌟.
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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