Ecclesiastes 1-2
New King James Version
The Vanity of Life
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, (A)king in Jerusalem.
3 (D)What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he [b]toils under the sun?
4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
(E)But the earth abides forever.
5 (F)The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And [c]hastens to the place where it arose.
6 (G)The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.
7 (H)All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.
8 All things are [d]full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
(I)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 (J)That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
11 There is (K)no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after.
The Grief of Wisdom
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my heart to seek and (L)search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; (M)this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be [e]exercised. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
15 (N)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
And what is lacking cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained (O)more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has [f]understood great wisdom and knowledge.” 17 (P)And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.
18 For (Q)in much wisdom is much grief,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
The Vanity of Pleasure(R)
2 I said (S)in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with (T)mirth; [g]therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, (U)this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” 3 (V)I searched in my heart how [h]to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was (W)good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.
4 I made my works great, I built myself (X)houses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made myself water pools from which to [i]water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female servants, and had [j]servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 8 (Y)I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and [k]musical instruments of all kinds.
9 (Z)So I became great and [l]excelled (AA)more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And (AB)this was my [m]reward from all my labor.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was (AC)vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.
The End of the Wise and the Fool
12 Then I turned myself to consider wisdom (AD)and madness and folly;
For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—
Only what he has already (AE)done.
13 Then I saw that wisdom (AF)excels folly
As light excels darkness.
14 (AG)The wise man’s eyes are in his head,
But the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I myself perceived
That (AH)the same event happens to them all.
15 So I said in my heart,
“As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“This also is vanity.”
16 For there is (AI)no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever,
Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die?
As the fool!
17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
18 Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because (AJ)I must leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. 21 For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his [n]heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 (AK)For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? 23 For all his days are (AL)sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
24 (AM)Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, [o]more than I? 26 For God gives (AN)wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that (AO)he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Absurdity, Frustration, Futility, Nonsense; and so throughout the book
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 labors
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 Is eager for, lit. panting
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 wearisome
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Or afflicted
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit. seen
- Ecclesiastes 2:1 gladness
- Ecclesiastes 2:3 Lit. to draw my flesh
- Ecclesiastes 2:6 irrigate
- Ecclesiastes 2:7 Lit. sons of my house
- Ecclesiastes 2:8 Exact meaning unknown
- Ecclesiastes 2:9 Lit. increased
- Ecclesiastes 2:10 Lit. portion
- Ecclesiastes 2:21 Lit. portion
- Ecclesiastes 2:25 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. without Him
Psalm 102:1-11
New King James Version
The Lord’s Eternal Love
A Prayer of the afflicted, (A)when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry come to You.
2 (B)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days [a]are (C)consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a hearth.
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my [b]skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I lie awake,
And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.
8 My enemies reproach me all day long;
Those who deride me swear an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.
Footnotes
- Psalm 102:3 Lit. end in
- Psalm 102:5 flesh
Proverbs 24:1-2
New King James Version
Do Not Envy Evil Men
24 Do not be (A)envious of evil men,
Nor desire to be with them;
2 For their heart devises violence,
And their lips talk of troublemaking.
1 Corinthians 7:20-40
New King James Version
20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 21 Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. 22 For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is (A)the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is (B)Christ’s slave. 23 (C)You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, let each one remain with (D)God in that state in which he was called.
To the Unmarried and Widows
25 Now concerning virgins: (E)I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one (F)whom the Lord in His mercy has made (G)trustworthy. 26 I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress—(H)that it is good for a man to remain as he is: 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you.
29 But (I)this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31 and those who use this world as not (J)misusing it. For (K)the form of this world is passing away.
32 But I want you to be without [a]care. (L)He who is unmarried [b]cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. 34 There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman (M)cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. 35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.
36 But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his [c]virgin, if she is past the flower of youth, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin; let them marry. 37 Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his [d]virgin, does well. 38 (N)So then he who gives [e]her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.
39 (O)A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, (P)only in the Lord. 40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, (Q)according to my judgment—and (R)I think I also have the Spirit of God.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Corinthians 7:32 concern
- 1 Corinthians 7:32 is concerned about
- 1 Corinthians 7:36 Or virgin daughter
- 1 Corinthians 7:37 Or virgin daughter
- 1 Corinthians 7:38 NU his own virgin
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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