ECC 2:15 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for Bible-translators and others doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still early looks into the drafted texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) I said to myself, “The fool’s end will also come to me,
⇔ so what use was it being so wise back then?”
⇔ Then I told myself that that also is pointless,

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ εἶπα ἐγὼ ἐν καρδίᾳ μου, ὡς συνάντημα τοῦ ἄφρονος καί γε ἐμοὶ συναντήσεταί μοι, καὶ ἱνατί ἐσοφισάμην ἐγώ; περισσὸν ἐλάλησα ἐν καρδίᾳ μου, ὅτι καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης, διότι ὁ ἄφρων ἐκ περισσεύματος λαλεῖ·
(Kai eipa egō en kardia mou, hōs sunantaʸma tou afronos kai ge emoi sunantaʸsetai moi, kai hinati esofisamaʸn egō; perisson elalaʸsa en kardia mou, hoti kai ge touto mataiotaʸs, dioti ho afrōn ek perisseumatos lalei;)

BrTr And I said in my heart, As the event of the fool is, so shall it be to me, even to me; and to what purpose have I gained wisdom? I said moreover in my heart, This is also vanity, because the fool speaks of his abundance.

ULT ¶ And I spoke, I with my heart, “As the happening of the fool, even to me—it will happen to me! And why was I, I, wise then, abundantly?” And I said to my heart that also this is vapor.

UST This made me say to myself, “I am going to die just as inevitably as stupid people! In this way, all my hard work to become an exceedingly wise person, so that I might live and think well, appears to have made no difference! What was the point?” I reminded myself that even my attempts to become wise and live a longer and more fulfilled life were as fleeting and insubstantial as the fading mist of my breath.

BSB So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?”
§ And I said to myself that this too is futile.

MSB (Same as BSB above)

OEB No OEB ECC book available

WEBBE Then I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me!
⇔ Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?”
⇔ So I lamented to myself,
⇔ “The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”

LSV and I said in my heart, “As it happens with the fool, it happens also with me, and why am I then more wise?” And I spoke in my heart, that also this [is] vanity:

FBV Then I thought to myself, “If I'm going to end up the same as a fool, what's the point of being so wise?” So I thought to myself, “This is also hard to understand!”

T4T So I said to myself,
⇔ “I am very wise, but I will die at the end of my life, like foolish people do.
⇔ So ◄how has it benefited me to be very wise?/it certainly has not benefited me to be very wise [RHQ]►.
⇔ I do not understand why people consider that it is valuable to be wise.

LEB So I said _⌊to myself_⌋,[fn] “_⌊If I also suffer the same fate as the fool_⌋,[fn] _⌊what advantage is my great wisdom_⌋?”[fn] So I said _⌊to myself_⌋,[fn] “This also is vanity!”

2:15 Literally “in my heart”

2:15 Literally “Just as the fate of the fool—so it will happen to me!”

2:15 Literally “why have I been so exceedingly wise?”

BBE Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.

Moff So I said to myself, “If the fool’s fate is to be my fate, what is the use of all my wisdom? This too is vain,”

JPS Then said I in my heart: 'As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise?' Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

ASV Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then said I in my heart, that this also is vanity.

DRA And I said in my heart: If the death of the fool and mine shall be one, what doth it avail me, that I have applied myself more to the study of wisdom? And speaking with my own mind, I perceived that this also was vanity.

YLT and I said in my heart, 'As it happeneth with the fool, it happeneth also with me, and why am I then more wise?' And I spake in my heart, that also this [is] vanity:

Drby And I said in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool so will it happen even to me; and why was I then so wise? Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

RV Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also was vanity.

SLT And I said in my heart, As the event of the foolish one, also I, it will meet me; and wherefore then was I more wise? And I spake in my heart, This is also vanity.

Wbstr Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

KJB-1769 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.[fn]

2.15 happeneth even…: Heb. happeneth to me, even to me

KJB-1611 [fn]Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the foole, so it happeneth euen to me, and why was I then more wise? then I said in my heart, That this also is vanitie.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes)

2:15 Hebr. happeneth to me, euen to me.

Bshps Then thought I in my mynde, yf it happen vnto the foole as it doth vnto me, what needeth me then to labour any more for wisdome? So I confessed within my heart that this also was but vanitie.
(Then thought I in my mind, if it happen unto the fool as it doth/does unto me, what needeth/needs me then to labour anymore for wisdom? So I confessed within my heart that this also was but vanity.)

Gnva Then I thought in mine heart, It befalleth vnto me, as it befalleth to ye foole. Why therefore doe I then labour to be more wise? And I sayd in mine heart, that this also is vanitie.
(Then I thought in mine heart, It befalleth unto me, as it befalleth to ye/you_all fool. Why therefore do I then labour to be more wise? And I said in mine heart, that this also is vanity.)

Cvdl Then thought I in my mynde: Yf it happen vnto the foole as it doth vnto me, what nedeth me then to laboure eny more for wy?dome? So I confessed within my harte, that this also was but vanite.
(Then thought I in my mind: If it happen unto the fool as it doth/does unto me, what needeth/needs me then to labour any more for wisdom? So I confessed within my heart, that this also was but vanity.)

Wycl And Y seide in myn herte, If o deth schal be bothe of the fool and of me, what profitith it to me, that Y yaf more bisynesse to wisdom? And Y spak with my soule, and perseyuede, that this also was vanyte.
(And I said in mine heart, If o death shall be both of the fool and of me, what profiteth/profits it to me, that I gave more business to wisdom? And I spake with my soul, and perceived, that this also was vanity.)

Luth Da dachte ich in meinem Herzen: Weil es denn dem Narren gehet wie mir, warum habe ich denn nach Weisheit gestanden? Da dachte ich in meinem Herzen, daß solches auch eitel sei.
(So thought I in my heart(s): Since/Because it because/than to_him fool(n) goes as/like to_me, why have I because/than after wise_(people) confessed? So thought I in my heart(s), that such also vain be.)

ClVg Et dixi in corde meo: Si unus et stulti et meus occasus erit, quid mihi prodest quod majorem sapientiæ dedi operam? Locutusque cum mente mea, animadverti quod hoc quoque esset vanitas.
(And I_said in/into/on heart mine: When/But_if one and fools and mine settings will_be, what to_me benefit that greater of_wisdom I_gave attention? And_he_spoke when/with mind my, knownced that this too was vanity.)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / euphemism

כְּ⁠מִקְרֵ֤ה הַ⁠כְּסִיל֙ גַּם־אֲנִ֣י יִקְרֵ֔⁠נִי

like,the_fate_of of,the_fool also/yet I it,will_happen_to_me

Solomon is referring to death in a polite way by calling it a happening. He means that he will die just as the fool dies. If this expression does not have that meaning for your readers, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [As the fool dies, so also will I die!]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

וְ⁠לָ֧⁠מָּה חָכַ֛מְתִּי אֲנִ֖י אָ֣ז יוֹתֵ֑ר

and=for=what? wise I then very

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of memory, you could express the same idea in another way.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

כְּ⁠מִקְרֵ֤ה הַ⁠כְּסִיל֙

like,the_fate_of of,the_fool

Solomon is using the question form to express his conclusion that being wise made no ultimate difference since he will die just like the fool. If a speaker of your language would not use the question form for that purpose, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: [As the fool dies]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ⁠אָמַ֨רְתִּֽי אֲנִ֜י בְּ⁠לִבִּ֗⁠י

and,I_said I in,heart_of,my

The word heart here represents a person’s thoughts and reflections. Solomon means that he said to himself. You may have a comparable expression in your language, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [I said to myself]

Note 5 topic: writing-pronouns

וְ⁠אָמַ֨רְתִּֽי אֲנִ֜י בְּ⁠לִבִּ֗⁠י

and,I_said I in,heart_of,my

Solomon is stating the pronoun I separately, even though the verb translated as spoke already includes this meaning. He is doing that to emphasize that he himself is the one confronting this truth about death. If a speaker of your language would use an explicit pronoun for the same purpose, you may want to use that construction in your translation. If not, your language may have other ways of showing the meaning here.

Note 6 topic: writing-pronouns

וְ⁠לָ֧⁠מָּה חָכַ֛מְתִּי אֲנִ֖י אָ֣ז

and=for=what? wise I then

Solomon is stating the pronoun I separately, even though the verb translated as was already includes this meaning. He is doing that to emphasize his own personal frustration with this conclusion. If a speaker of your language would use an explicit pronoun for the same purpose, you may want to use that construction in your translation. If not, your language may have other ways of showing the meaning here.

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

שֶׁ⁠גַּם־זֶ֖ה הָֽבֶל

(cmp),also this Abel

Solomon is speaking as if the transience of human memory were vapor, which disappears quickly and lacks substance. Your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [also this will not last]

Parallel ECC 2:15