Parallel Bible results for "ecclesiastes 2"

Ecclesiastes 2

The Message Bible MSG

1 I said to myself, "Let's go for it - experiment with pleasure, have a good time!" But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke.

2 What do I think of the fun-filled life? Insane! Inane! My verdict on the pursuit of happiness? Who needs it?

3 With the help of a bottle of wine and all the wisdom I could muster, I tried my level best to penetrate the absurdity of life. I wanted to get a handle on anything useful we mortals might do during the years we spend on this earth. I Never Said No to Myself

4 Oh, I did great things: built houses, planted vineyards,

5 designed gardens and parks and planted a variety of fruit trees in them,

6 made pools of water to irrigate the groves of trees.

7 I bought slaves, male and female, who had children, giving me even more slaves; then I acquired large herds and flocks, larger than any before me in Jerusalem.

8 I piled up silver and gold, loot from kings and kingdoms. I gathered a chorus of singers to entertain me with song, and - most exquisite of all pleasures - voluptuous maidens for my bed.

9 Oh, how I prospered! I left all my predecessors in Jerusalem far behind, left them behind in the dust. What's more, I kept a clear head through it all.

10 Everything I wanted I took - I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task - my reward to myself for a hard day's work!

11 Then I took a good look at everything I'd done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing.

12 And then I took a hard look at what's smart and what's stupid. What's left to do after you've been king? That's a hard act to follow. You just do what you can, and that's it.

13 But I did see that it's better to be smart than stupid, just as light is better than darkness.

14 Even so, though the smart ones see where they're going and the stupid ones grope in the dark, they're all the same in the end. One fate for all - and that's it.

15 When I realized that my fate's the same as the fool's, I had to ask myself, "So why bother being wise?" It's all smoke, nothing but smoke.

16 The smart and the stupid both disappear out of sight. In a day or two they're both forgotten. Yes, both the smart and the stupid die, and that's it.

17 I hate life. As far as I can see, what happens on earth is a bad business. It's smoke - and spitting into the wind.

18 And I hated everything I'd accomplished and accumulated on this earth. I can't take it with me - no, I have to leave it to whoever comes after me.

19 Whether they're worthy or worthless - and who's to tell? - they'll take over the earthly results of my intense thinking and hard work. Smoke.

20 That's when I called it quits, gave up on anything that could be hoped for on this earth.

21 What's the point of working your fingers to the bone if you hand over what you worked for to someone who never lifted a finger for it? Smoke, that's what it is. A bad business from start to finish.

22 So what do you get from a life of hard labor?

23 Pain and grief from dawn to dusk. Never a decent night's rest. Nothing but smoke.

24 The best you can do with your life is have a good time and get by the best you can. The way I see it, that's it - divine fate.

25 Whether we feast or fast, it's up to God.

26 God may give wisdom and knowledge and joy to his favorites, but sinners are assigned a life of hard labor, and end up turning their wages over to God's favorites. Nothing but smoke - and spitting into the wind.

The Latin Vulgate VUL

1 dixi ego in corde meo vadam et affluam deliciis et fruar bonis et vidi quod hoc quoque esset vanitas

2 risum reputavi errorem et gaudio dixi quid frustra deciperis

3 cogitavi in corde meo abstrahere a vino carnem meam ut animum meum transferrem ad sapientiam devitaremque stultitiam donec viderem quid esset utile filiis hominum quod facto opus est sub sole numero dierum vitae suae

4 magnificavi opera mea aedificavi mihi domos plantavi vineas

5 feci hortos et pomeria et consevi ea cuncti generis arboribus

6 extruxi mihi piscinas aquarum ut inrigarem silvam lignorum germinantium

7 possedi servos et ancillas multamque familiam habui armenta quoque et magnos ovium greges ultra omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Hierusalem

8 coacervavi mihi argentum et aurum et substantias regum ac provinciarum feci mihi cantores et cantrices et delicias filiorum hominum scyphos et urceos in ministerio ad vina fundenda

9 et supergressus sum opibus omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Hierusalem sapientia quoque perseveravit mecum

10 et omnia quae desideraverunt oculi mei non negavi eis nec prohibui cor quin omni voluptate frueretur et oblectaret se in his quae paraveram et hanc ratus sum partem meam si uterer labore meo

11 cumque me convertissem ad universa opera quae fecerant manus meae et ad labores in quibus frustra sudaveram vidi in omnibus vanitatem et adflictionem animi et nihil permanere sub sole

12 transivi ad contemplandam sapientiam erroresque et stultitiam quid est inquam homo ut sequi possit regem factorem suum

13 et vidi quia tantum praecederet sapientia stultitiam quantum differt lux tenebris

14 sapientis oculi in capite eius stultus in tenebris ambulat et didici quod unus utriusque esset interitus

15 et dixi in corde meo si unus et stulti et meus occasus erit quid mihi prodest quod maiorem sapientiae dedi operam locutusque cum mente mea animadverti quod hoc quoque esset vanitas

16 non enim erit memoria sapientis similiter ut stulti in perpetuum et futura tempora oblivione cuncta pariter obruent moritur doctus similiter et indoctus

17 et idcirco taeduit me vitae meae videntem mala esse universa sub sole et cuncta vanitatem atque adflictionem spiritus

18 rursum detestatus sum omnem industriam meam quae sub sole studiosissime laboravi habiturus heredem post me

19 quem ignoro utrum sapiens an stultus futurus sit et dominabitur in laboribus meis quibus desudavi et sollicitus fui et est quicquam tam vanum

20 unde cessavi renuntiavitque cor meum ultra laborare sub sole

21 nam cum alius laboret in sapientia et doctrina et sollicitudine homini otioso quaesita dimittit et hoc ergo vanitas et magnum malum

22 quid enim proderit homini de universo labore suo et adflictione spiritus qua sub sole cruciatus est

23 cuncti dies eius doloribus et aerumnis pleni sunt nec per noctem mente requiescit et haec non vanitas est

24 nonne melius est comedere et bibere et ostendere animae suae bona de laboribus suis et hoc de manu Dei est

25 quis ita vorabit et deliciis affluet ut ego

26 homini bono in conspectu suo dedit Deus sapientiam et scientiam et laetitiam peccatori autem dedit adflictionem et curam superfluam ut addat et congreget et tradat ei qui placuit Deo sed et hoc vanitas et cassa sollicitudo mentis