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Ecclesiastes 2:12
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KJ21
Then I turned myself to behold wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the man do that cometh after the king? Even that which hath been already done.
ASV
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been done long ago.
AMP
So I turned to consider [secular] wisdom, madness, and folly; for what will the man do who succeeds the king? Nothing except what has already been done.
AMPC
So I turned to consider [human] wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the man do who succeeds the king? Nothing but what has been done already.
BRG
¶ And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.
CSB
Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the king’s successor be like? He will do what has already been done.
CSBA
Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the king’s successor be like? He will do what has already been done.
CEB
My reflections then turned to wisdom, madness, and folly. What can the king’s heir do but what has already been done?
CJB
So I decided to look more carefully at wisdom, stupidity and foolishness; for what can the man who succeeds the king do, except what has already been done?
CEV
I asked myself, “What can the next king do that I haven't done?” Then I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and stupidity.
DARBY
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly; for what shall the man [do] that cometh after the king?—that which hath already been done.
DRA
I passed further to behold wisdom, and errors and folly, (What is man, said I, that he can follow the King his maker?)
ERV
Then I decided to think about what it means to be wise or to be foolish or to do crazy things. And I thought about the one who will be the next king. The new king will do the same as the kings before him.
EASY
Then I decided to think about wisdom. I also thought about foolish ways to live. I thought, ‘The next king will not do any more than I have already done.’
EHV
I turned my attention to consider wisdom, madness, and stupidity—for what will the man do who will succeed the king? Only what has already been done.
ESV
So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.
ESVUK
So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.
EXB
Then I ·began to think again about being wise, and also about being foolish and doing crazy things [L turned my attention to observe wisdom and mad folly]. After all, what more can anyone who comes after the king do? He can’t do more than what the king has already done [C If the king couldn’t find meaning in life, then no one could].
GNV
¶ And I turned to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: (for who is the man that will come after the King in things, which men now have done?)
GW
Then I turned ⌞my attention⌟ to experience wisdom, madness, and foolishness. For instance, what can the man who replaces the king do? Only what has already been done.
GNT
After all, a king can only do what previous kings have done. So I started thinking about what it meant to be wise or reckless or foolish.
HCSB
Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the man be like who comes after the king? He will do what has already been done.
ICB
Then I began to think again about being wise. And I thought also about being foolish and doing crazy things. But after all, what more can any king do? He can only do what some other king has already done.
ISV
Next I turned to examine wisdom, insanity, and foolishness, because what can a person do who succeeds the king except what has already been accomplished?
JUB
¶ And I turned myself to behold wisdom and those who are mad, and folly; for what can the man do that comes after the king? even that which has already been done.
KJV
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.
AKJV
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.
LSB
So I turned to see wisdom, madness, and simpleminded folly. What will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done?
LEB
Next, I considered wisdom, as well as delusion and folly. What can anyone do who will come after the king that has not already been done?
TLB
Now I began a study of the comparative virtues of wisdom and folly, and anyone else would come to the same conclusion I did—
MSG
And then I took a hard look at what’s smart and what’s stupid. What’s left to do after you’ve been king? That’s a hard act to follow. You just do what you can, and that’s it. But I did see that it’s better to be smart than stupid, just as light is better than darkness. Even so, though the smart ones see where they’re going and the stupid ones grope in the dark, they’re all the same in the end. One fate for all—and that’s it.
MEV
So I turned to consider wisdom, the folly of ideas, and foolish behavior; for what else can a man do who comes after the king? Or what more than those have already done?
NOG
Then I turned my attention to experience wisdom, madness, and foolishness. For instance, what can the man who replaces the king do? Only what has already been done.
NABRE
What about one who succeeds a king? He can do only what has already been done. I went on to the consideration of wisdom, madness and folly.
NASB
So I turned to consider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except what has already been done?
NASB1995
So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done?
NCB
Then my reflections focused on wisdom as well as madness and folly, and I came to the realization that whoever succeeds a king can do nothing, since everything has already been done.
NCV
Then I began to think again about being wise, and also about being foolish and doing crazy things. But after all, what more can anyone do? He can’t do more than what the other king has already done.
NET
Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?
NIRV
I decided to think about wisdom. I also thought about foolish pleasure. What more can a new king do? Can he do anything more than others have already done?
NIV
Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done?
NIVUK
Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done?
NKJV
Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?— Only what he has already done.
NLV
So I turned to think about wisdom and what is crazy and foolish. For what can the man do who comes after the king, except what has already been done?
NLT
So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?).
NRSVA
So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the one do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.
NRSVACE
So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the one do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.
NRSVCE
So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the one do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.
NRSVUE
So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly, for what can the king’s successor do? Only what has already been done.
OJB
And I turned myself to consider chochmah, and holelot, and sichlut; for what can the adam do who cometh after HaMelech? Even that which hath been done already.
RGT
And I turned to behold wisdom and madness and folly. For what may the man who will come after the king do except that which men now have done?
RSV
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.
RSVCE
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.
TLV
Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly. For what more can the one who succeeds the king do than what he has already done?
VOICE
I turned my attention to the ways of wisdom and folly and madness. I asked, “What is left for those who come after the king to do? They can only repeat what he has already done.”
WEB
I turned myself to consider wisdom, madness, and folly; for what can the king’s successor do? Just that which has been done long ago.
WYC
I passed forth to behold wisdom, and errors, and folly; I said, What is a man, that he may follow the king, his maker? (I said, What new thing can even he who followeth the king do?)
YLT
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!
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Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved. ; Christian Standard Bible Anglicised (CSBA) Copyright © 2024 by Holman Bible Publishers.; Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible; Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved. ; Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.; Darby Translation (DARBY) Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?); Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA) Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?); Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International; EasyEnglish Bible (EASY) EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. 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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.; Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International ; King James Version (KJV) Public Domain; Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV) KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.; Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.; Lexham English Bible (LEB) 2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software; Living Bible (TLB) The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.; The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. 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