Revised Standard Version RSV
The Latin Vulgate VUL
1 I said to myself, "Come now, I will make a test of pleasure; enjoy yourself." But behold, this also was vanity.
1
dixi ego in corde meo vadam et affluam deliciis et fruar bonis et vidi quod hoc quoque esset vanitas
2 I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?"
2
risum reputavi errorem et gaudio dixi quid frustra deciperis
3 I searched with my mind how to cheer my body with wine--my mind still guiding me with wisdom--and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven during the few days of their life.
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 I made great works; I built houses and planted vineyards for myself;
4
magnificavi opera mea aedificavi mihi domos plantavi vineas
5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.
5
feci hortos et pomeria et consevi ea cuncti generis arboribus
6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.
6
extruxi mihi piscinas aquarum ut inrigarem silvam lignorum germinantium
7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house; I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.
7
possedi servos et ancillas multamque familiam habui armenta quoque et magnos ovium greges ultra omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Hierusalem
8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces; I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, man's delight.
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 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me.
9
et supergressus sum opibus omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Hierusalem sapientia quoque perseveravit mecum
10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.
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 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
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 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what he has already done.
12
transivi ad contemplandam sapientiam erroresque et stultitiam quid est inquam homo ut sequi possit regem factorem suum
13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.
13
et vidi quia tantum praecederet sapientia stultitiam quantum differt lux tenebris
14 The wise man has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I perceived that one fate comes to all of them.
14
sapientis oculi in capite eius stultus in tenebris ambulat et didici quod unus utriusque esset interitus
15 Then I said to myself, "What befalls the fool will befall me also; why then have I been so very wise?" And I said to myself that this also is vanity.
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 For of the wise man as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise man dies just like the fool!
16
non enim erit memoria sapientis similiter ut stulti in perpetuum et futura tempora oblivione cuncta pariter obruent moritur doctus similiter et indoctus
17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
17
et idcirco taeduit me vitae meae videntem mala esse universa sub sole et cuncta vanitatem atque adflictionem spiritus
18 I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me;
18
rursum detestatus sum omnem industriam meam quae sub sole studiosissime laboravi habiturus heredem post me
19 and who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
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 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun,
20
unde cessavi renuntiavitque cor meum ultra laborare sub sole
21 because sometimes a man who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by a man who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
21
nam cum alius laboret in sapientia et doctrina et sollicitudine homini otioso quaesita dimittit et hoc ergo vanitas et magnum malum
22 What has a man from all the toil and strain with which he toils beneath the sun?
22
quid enim proderit homini de universo labore suo et adflictione spiritus qua sub sole cruciatus est
23 For all his days are full of pain, and his work is a vexation; even in the night his mind does not rest. This also is vanity.
23
cuncti dies eius doloribus et aerumnis pleni sunt nec per noctem mente requiescit et haec non vanitas est
24 There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God;
24
nonne melius est comedere et bibere et ostendere animae suae bona de laboribus suis et hoc de manu Dei est
25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
25
quis ita vorabit et deliciis affluet ut ego
26 For to the man who pleases him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of gathering and heaping, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
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
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.