I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.Ecclesiastes 2:1
Original language and places
Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.
Original language (Hebrew)
אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי אֲנִי֙ בְּלִבִּ֔י לְכָה־נָּ֛א אֲנַסְּכָ֛ה בְשִׂמְחָ֖ה וּרְאֵ֣ה בְט֑וֹב וְהִנֵּ֥ה גַם־ה֖וּא הָֽבֶל׃
- אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי'a.Mar.ti“I said”Verb, qal, perfect, 1st person, common, singular · from אָמַר · “to say” · Strong's H0559
- אֲנִי֙'a.Ni“I”Pronoun, personal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from אֲנִי, אָֽנֹכִ֫י · “I” · Strong's H0589
- בְּלִבִּ֔יbe.li.Bi“in heart my”Preposition + Noun, masculine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from לֵב · “heart” · Strong's H3820A
- לְכָה־le.khah-“come !”Verb, qal, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, singular + Suffix, paragogic he · from הָלַךְ · “come[hortative]” · Strong's H1980K
- נָּ֛אna'“please”Particle, interjection · from נָא · “please” · Strong's H4994
- אֲנַסְּכָ֛ה'a.na.se.Khah“let me put to [the] test you”Verb, piel, imperfect, 1st person, common, singular + Suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular · from נָסָה · “test” · Strong's H5254G
- בְשִׂמְחָ֖הve.sim.Chah“with pleasure”Preposition + Noun, feminine, singular, absolute · from שִׂמְחָה · “joy” · Strong's H8057
- וּרְאֵ֣הu.re.'Eh“and look”Conjunction + Verb, qal, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, singular · from רָאָה · “enjoy” · Strong's H7200K
- בְט֑וֹבve.Tov“on good”Preposition + Adjective, masculine, singular, absolute · from טוֹב · “good” · Strong's H2896B
- וְהִנֵּ֥הve.hi.Neh“and there!”Conjunction + Particle, interjection · from הִנֵּה · “behold” · Strong's H2009
- גַם־gam-“also”Adverb · from גַּם · “also” · Strong's H1571
- ה֖וּאhu'“it”Pronoun, personal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from הוּא · “he; she; it” · Strong's H1931
- הָֽבֶל׃Ha.vel“[was] futility”Noun, masculine, singular, absolute · from הֶ֫בֶל · “vanity” · Strong's H1892
- Hebrew and Aramaic words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)