“ Laughter,” I said,“ is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?”

我指嬉笑说：“这是狂妄。”论喜乐说：“有何功效呢？”

论嬉笑，我说：“这是狂妄。”论享乐，“这有什么用呢？”

论嬉笑，我说：“这是狂妄。”论享乐，“这有什么用呢？”

我说：“欢笑只不过是一阵狂妄，享乐又有什么用！”

对嬉笑，我说：“那是狂妄”；对享乐，我说：“这有什么作用呢？”

论到欢笑，我说：“这是发狂”；论到享乐，我说：“这有什么用呢？”

我指嬉笑說：「這是狂妄。」論喜樂說：「有何功效呢？」

論嬉笑，我說：「這是狂妄。」論享樂，「這有甚麼用呢？」

論嬉笑，我說：「這是狂妄。」論享樂，「這有甚麼用呢？」

我說：「歡笑只不過是一陣狂妄，享樂又有什麼用！」

對嬉笑，我說：“那是狂妄”；對享樂，我說：“這有甚麼作用呢？”

我指着嬉笑說：『這是狂妄』；指着喜樂說：『這有甚麼作用？』

論到歡笑，我說：「這是發狂」；論到享樂，我說：「這有什麼用呢？」

我謂嬉笑為狂、逸樂何益、

我言嬉戲惟狂、宴樂無益。

我言嬉笑為狂、宴樂何為、

“ Laughter doesn’t make any sense,” I said.“ And what can pleasure do for me?”

I said of laughter,“ It is mad,” and of pleasure,“ What use is it?”

So I said,“ Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?”

I said about laughter,“ It is madness,” and about pleasure,“ What does this accomplish?”

I said of laughter,“ It is senseless,” and of pleasure,“ What does this accomplish?”

I said of laughter—“ Madness!”; and of mirth,“ What does it accomplish?”

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

I said about laughter,“ It is madness,” and about pleasure,“ What does this accomplish?”

I said of laughter,[ It is] mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

I said of partying,“ It is folly,” and of self-indulgent pleasure,“ It accomplishes nothing!”

I said of laughter,“ It is foolishness;” and of mirth,“ What does it accomplish?”

Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief.

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools.Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.

As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do— living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.

You put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror.You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments.You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine!“ Let us eat and drink,” you say,“ for tomorrow we die!”