Passage

Ecclesiastes 2.4-6

Book: Ecclesiastes · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

2. I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it? 3. I 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.

4. I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; 5. I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit; 6. I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared;

I bought men-servants and maid-servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem; 8. I gathered me also silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I gat me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, musical instruments, and that of all sorts. (Ecclesiastes 2:2-8, ASV)

WEB

2. I said of laughter, “It is foolishness”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” 3. I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold of folly, until I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven all the days of their lives.

4. I made myself great works. I built myself houses. I planted myself vineyards. 5. I made myself gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit. 6. I made myself pools of water, to water from it the forest where trees were reared.

I bought male servants and female servants, and had servants born in my house. I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all who were before me in Jerusalem; 8. I also gathered silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces. I got myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men, musical instruments, and that of all sorts. (Ecclesiastes 2:2-8, WEB)

KJV

2. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? 3. I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. ^{to give: Heb. to draw my flesh with wine} ^{all: Heb. the number of the days of their life}

4. I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: 5. I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: 6. I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:

I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: ^{servants born: Heb. sons of my house} 8. I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. ^{musical: Heb. musical instrument and instruments} (Ecclesiastes 2:2-8, KJV)

YLT

2. Of laughter I said, 'Foolish!' and of mirth, 'What [is] this it is doing?' 3. I have sought in my heart to draw out with wine my appetite, (and my heart leading in wisdom), and to take hold on folly till that I see where [is] this, the good to the sons of man of that which they do under the heavens, the number of the days of their lives.

4. I made great my works, I builded for me houses, I planted for me vineyards. 5. I made for me gardens and paradises, and I planted in them trees of every fruit. 6. I made for me pools of water, to water from them a forest shooting forth trees.

I got men-servants, and maid-servants, and sons of the house were to me; also, I had much substance, herd and flock, above all who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8. I gathered for me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. I prepared for me men-singers and women-singers, and the luxuries of the sons of man, a wife and wives. (Ecclesiastes 2:2-8, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.