Ecclesiastes 2:2 Parallel Translations
NASB: I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?" (NASB ©1995)
GWT: I thought, "Laughter doesn't make any sense. What does pleasure accomplish?"(GOD'S WORD®)
KJV: I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
ASV: I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it?
BBE: Of laughing I said, It is foolish; and of joy--What use is it?
DBY: I said of laughter, Madness! and of mirth, What availeth it?
ERV: I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
JPS: I said of laughter: 'It is mad'; and of mirth: 'What doth it accomplish?'
WBS: I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
WEB: I said of laughter, "It is foolishness;" and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?"
YLT: Of laughter I said, 'Foolish!' and of mirth, 'What is this it is doing?'
Ecclesiastes 2:2 Cross References
XREF:Proverbs 14:13 Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, And the end of joy may be grief.

Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

Ecclesiastes 7:6 For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool; And this too is futility. (NASB ©1995)
Commentaries and Concordances
WES: 2:2 It is mad - This is an act of madness, more fit for fools who know nothing, than for wise men in this sinful, and dangerous, and deplorable state of mankind. What doth it - What good doth it? Or how can it make men happy? I challenge all the Epicures in the world to give me a solid answer.
MHC: 2:1-11 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 restlessness of a man in a fever. Perceiving it was folly to give himself to wine, he next tried the costly amusements of princes. The poor, when they read such a description, are ready to feel discontent. But the remedy against all such feelings is in the estimate of it all by the owner himself. All was vanity and vexation of spirit: and the same things would yield the same result to us, as to Solomon. Having food and raiment, let us therewith be content. His wisdom remained with him; a strong understanding, with great human knowledge. But every earthly pleasure, when unconnected with better blessings, leaves the mind as eager and unsatisfied as before. Happiness arises not from the situation in which we are placed. It is only through Jesus Christ that final blessedness can be attained.
CONC:Accomplish Availeth Foolish Foolishness Joy Laughing Laughter Mad Madness Mirth Pleasure
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New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.

GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved.
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