Ecclesiastes 2
1 I said in my heart, 'Pray, come, I try thee with mirth, and look thou on gladness;' and lo, even it [is] vanity.
εἶπον ἐγὼ ἐν καρδίᾳ μου δεῦρο δὴ πειράσω σε ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ καὶ ἰδὲ ἐν ἀγαθῷ καὶ ἰδοὺ καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης
2 Of laughter I said, 'Foolish!' and of mirth, 'What [is] this it is doing?'
τῷ γέλωτι εἶπα περιφορὰν καὶ τῇ εὐφροσύνῃ τί τοῦτο ποιεῖς
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.
κατεσκεψάμην ἐν καρδίᾳ μου τοῦ ἑλκύσαι εἰς οἶνον τὴν σάρκα μου καὶ καρδία μου ὡδήγησεν ἐν σοφίᾳ καὶ τοῦ κρατῆσαι ἐπ’ ἀφροσύνῃ ἕως οὗ ἴδω ποῖον τὸ ἀγαθὸν τοῖς υἱοῖς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὃ ποιήσουσιν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον ἀριθμὸν ἡμερῶν ζωῆς αὐτῶν
4 I made great my works, I builded for me houses, I planted for me vineyards.
ἐμεγάλυνα ποίημά μου ᾠκοδόμησά μοι οἴκους ἐφύτευσά μοι ἀμπελῶνας
5 I made for me gardens and paradises, and I planted in them trees of every fruit.
ἐποίησά μοι κήπους καὶ παραδείσους καὶ ἐφύτευσα ἐν αὐτοῖς ξύλον πᾶν καρποῦ
6 I made for me pools of water, to water from them a forest shooting forth trees.
ἐποίησά μοι κολυμβήθρας ὑδάτων τοῦ ποτίσαι ἀπ’ αὐτῶν δρυμὸν βλαστῶντα ξύλα
7 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.
ἐκτησάμην δούλους καὶ παιδίσκας καὶ οἰκογενεῖς ἐγένοντό μοι καί γε κτῆσις βουκολίου καὶ ποιμνίου πολλὴ ἐγένετό μοι ὑπὲρ πάντας τοὺς γενομένους ἔμπροσθέν μου ἐν Ιερουσαλημ
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.
συνήγαγόν μοι καί γε ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον καὶ περιουσιασμοὺς βασιλέων καὶ τῶν χωρῶν ἐποίησά μοι ᾄδοντας καὶ ᾀδούσας καὶ ἐντρυφήματα υἱῶν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οἰνοχόον καὶ οἰνοχόας
9 And I became great, and increased above every one who had been before me in Jerusalem; also, my wisdom stood with me.
καὶ ἐμεγαλύνθην καὶ προσέθηκα παρὰ πάντας τοὺς γενομένους ἔμπροσθέν μου ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καί γε σοφία μου ἐστάθη μοι
10 And all that mine eyes asked I kept not back from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labour, and this hath been my portion, from all my labour,
καὶ πᾶν ὃ ᾔτησαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου οὐχ ὑφεῖλον ἀπ’ αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀπεκώλυσα τὴν καρδίαν μου ἀπὸ πάσης εὐφροσύνης ὅτι καρδία μου εὐφράνθη ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ μου καὶ τοῦτο ἐγένετο μερίς μου ἀπὸ παντὸς μόχθου μου
11 and I have looked on all my works that my hands have done, and on the labour that I have laboured to do, and lo, the whole [is] vanity and vexation of spirit, and there is no advantage under the sun!
καὶ ἐπέβλεψα ἐγὼ ἐν πᾶσιν ποιήμασίν μου οἷς ἐποίησαν αἱ χεῖρές μου καὶ ἐν μόχθῳ ᾧ ἐμόχθησα τοῦ ποιεῖν καὶ ἰδοὺ τὰ πάντα ματαιότης καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν περισσεία ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον
12 And I turned to see wisdom, and madness, and folly, but what [is] the man who cometh after the king? that which [is] already — they have done it!
καὶ ἐπέβλεψα ἐγὼ τοῦ ἰδεῖν σοφίαν καὶ περιφορὰν καὶ ἀφροσύνην ὅτι τίς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἐπελεύσεται ὀπίσω τῆς βουλῆς τὰ ὅσα ἐποίησεν αὐτήν
13 And I saw that there is an advantage to wisdom above folly, like the advantage of the light above the darkness.
καὶ εἶδον ἐγὼ ὅτι ἔστιν περισσεία τῇ σοφίᾳ ὑπὲρ τὴν ἀφροσύνην ὡς περισσεία τοῦ φωτὸς ὑπὲρ τὸ σκότος
14 The wise! — his eyes [are] in his head, and the fool in darkness is walking, and I also knew that one event happeneth with them all;
τοῦ σοφοῦ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐν κεφαλῇ αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ ἄφρων ἐν σκότει πορεύεται καὶ ἔγνων καί γε ἐγὼ ὅτι συνάντημα ἓν συναντήσεται τοῖς πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς
15 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:
καὶ εἶπα ἐγὼ ἐν καρδίᾳ μου ὡς συνάντημα τοῦ ἄφρονος καί γε ἐμοὶ συναντήσεταί μοι καὶ ἵνα τί ἐσοφισάμην ἐγὼ τότε περισσὸν ἐλάλησα ἐν καρδίᾳ μου διότι ἄφρων ἐκ περισσεύματος λαλεῖ ὅτι καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης
16 That there is no remembrance to the wise — with the fool — to the age, for that which [is] already, [in] the days that are coming is all forgotten, and how dieth the wise? with the fool!
ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν μνήμη τοῦ σοφοῦ μετὰ τοῦ ἄφρονος εἰς αἰῶνα καθότι ἤδη αἱ ἡμέραι αἱ ἐρχόμεναι τὰ πάντα ἐπελήσθη καὶ πῶς ἀποθανεῖται ὁ σοφὸς μετὰ τοῦ ἄφρονος
17 And I have hated life, for sad to me [is] the work that hath been done under the sun, for the whole [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
καὶ ἐμίσησα σὺν τὴν ζωήν ὅτι πονηρὸν ἐπ’ ἐμὲ τὸ ποίημα τὸ πεποιημένον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον ὅτι τὰ πάντα ματαιότης καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος
18 And I have hated all my labour that I labour at under the sun, because I leave it to a man who is after me.
καὶ ἐμίσησα ἐγὼ σὺν πάντα μόχθον μου ὃν ἐγὼ μοχθῶ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον ὅτι ἀφίω αὐτὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ γινομένῳ μετ’ ἐμέ
19 And who knoweth whether he is wise or foolish? yet he doth rule over all my labour that I have laboured at, and that I have done wisely under the sun! this also [is] vanity.
καὶ τίς οἶδεν εἰ σοφὸς ἔσται ἢ ἄφρων καὶ ἐξουσιάζεται ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ μου ᾧ ἐμόχθησα καὶ ᾧ ἐσοφισάμην ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης
20 And I turned round to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labour that I laboured at under the sun.
καὶ ἐπέστρεψα ἐγὼ τοῦ ἀποτάξασθαι τῇ καρδίᾳ μου ἐπὶ παντὶ τῷ μόχθῳ ᾧ ἐμόχθησα ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον
21 For there is a man whose labour [is] in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity, and to a man who hath not laboured therein he giveth it — his portion! Even this [is] vanity and a great evil.
ὅτι ἔστιν ἄνθρωπος οὗ μόχθος αὐτοῦ ἐν σοφίᾳ καὶ ἐν γνώσει καὶ ἐν ἀνδρείᾳ καὶ ἄνθρωπος ὃς οὐκ ἐμόχθησεν ἐν αὐτῷ δώσει αὐτῷ μερίδα αὐτοῦ καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης καὶ πονηρία μεγάλη
22 For what hath been to a man by all his labour, and by the thought of his heart that he laboured at under the sun?
ὅτι τί γίνεται τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν προαιρέσει καρδίας αὐτοῦ ᾧ αὐτὸς μοχθεῖ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον
23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail sadness; even at night his heart hath not lain down; this also [is] vanity.
ὅτι πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ ἀλγημάτων καὶ θυμοῦ περισπασμὸς αὐτοῦ καί γε ἐν νυκτὶ οὐ κοιμᾶται ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης ἐστίν
24 There is nothing good in a man who eateth, and hath drunk, and hath shewn his soul good in his labour. This also I have seen that it [is] from the hand of God.
οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαθὸν ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ ὃ φάγεται καὶ ὃ πίεται καὶ ὃ δείξει τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ ἀγαθὸν ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ καί γε τοῦτο εἶδον ἐγὼ ὅτι ἀπὸ χειρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν
25 For who eateth and who hasteth out more than I?
ὅτι τίς φάγεται καὶ τίς φείσεται πάρεξ αὐτοῦ
26 For to a man who [is] good before Him, He hath given wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; and to a sinner He hath given travail, to gather and to heap up, to give to the good before God. Even this [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
ὅτι τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ ἀγαθῷ πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ ἔδωκεν σοφίαν καὶ γνῶσιν καὶ εὐφροσύνην καὶ τῷ ἁμαρτάνοντι ἔδωκεν περισπασμὸν τοῦ προσθεῖναι καὶ τοῦ συναγαγεῖν τοῦ δοῦναι τῷ ἀγαθῷ πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος
