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Ecclesiastes 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Everything is Futile
1 The words of the Teacher,[a](A) son of David, king in Jerusalem.(B)
2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.
“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”(C)
3 What does a man gain for all his efforts
that he labors at under the sun?(D)
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.(E)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
panting, it returns to its place(F)
where it rises.
6 Gusting to the south,
turning to the north,
turning, turning, goes the wind,(G)
and the wind returns in its cycles.
7 All the streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
The streams are flowing to the place,
and they flow there again.
8 All things[b] are wearisome;
man is unable to speak.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing(H)
or the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of those who[c] came before;(I)
and of those who[d] will come after
there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.
The Limitations of Wisdom
12 I, the Teacher,(J) have been[e] king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to seek(K) and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven.(L) God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.(M) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.[f](N)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(O)
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself,[g] “Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me,(P) and my mind has thoroughly grasped[h] wisdom and knowledge.” 17 I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge,(Q) madness and folly;(R) I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.[i](S)
18 For with much wisdom is much sorrow;(T)
as knowledge increases, grief increases.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or of Qoheleth, or of the Leader of the Assembly
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or words
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or of the things that
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or of the things that
- Ecclesiastes 1:12 Or Teacher, was
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or a feeding on wind, or an affliction of spirit
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit said with my heart
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Or discerned
- Ecclesiastes 1:17 Or a feeding on wind, or an affliction of spirit
Ecclesiastes 1
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 1
New International Version
Everything Is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher,[a](A) son of David, king in Jerusalem:(B)
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”(C)
3 What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?(D)
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.(E)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.(F)
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.(G)
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,(H)
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;(I)
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,(J)
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.(K)
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher,(L) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.(M) 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.(N) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!(O) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(P)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(Q)
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me;(R) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,(S) and also of madness and folly,(T) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12
Ecclesiastes 1
New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 1
New Living Translation
1 These are the words of the Teacher,[a] King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.
Everything Is Meaningless
2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
The Teacher Speaks: The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. 14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
15 What is wrong cannot be made right.
What is missing cannot be recovered.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” 17 So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.
18 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
Footnotes
- 1:1 Hebrew Qoheleth; this term is rendered “the Teacher” throughout this book.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.