Ecclesiastes Chapter 2 verse 2 Holy Bible
I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it?
read chapter 2 in ASV
Of laughing I said, It is foolish; and of joy--What use is it?
read chapter 2 in BBE
I said of laughter, Madness! and of mirth, What availeth it?
read chapter 2 in DARBY
I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
read chapter 2 in KJV
read chapter 2 in WBT
I said of laughter, "It is foolishness;" and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?"
read chapter 2 in WEB
Of laughter I said, `Foolish!' and of mirth, `What `is' this it is doing?'
read chapter 2 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 2. - I said of laughter, It is mad. Laughter and mirth are personified, hence treated as masculine. He uses the term "mad" in reference to the statement in Ecclesiastes 1:17, "I gave my heart to know madness and folly." Septuagint, "I said to laughter, Error (περιφοράν);" Vulgate, Risum reputavi errorem. Neither of these is as accurate as the Authorized Version. Of mirth, What doeth it? What does it effect towards real happiness and contentment? How does it help to fill the void, to give lasting satisfaction? So we have in Proverbs 14:13, "Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of mirth is heaviness;" though the context is different. The Vulgate renders loosely, Quid frustra deeiperis?
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers-2Proverbs 14:13.Mad.--Psalm 102:9.
