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Ecclesiastes 1-2
New American Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 1-2
New American Standard Bible
The Futility of All Endeavors
1 The words of the (A)Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “(B)Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher,
“Futility of futilities! All is futility.”
3 (C)What advantage does a person have in all his work
Which he does under the sun?
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
But the (D)earth [a]remains forever.
5 Also, (E)the sun rises and the sun sets;
And [b]hurrying to its place it rises there again.
6 [c](F)Blowing toward the south,
Then turning toward the north,
The wind continues [d]swirling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns.
7 All the rivers [e]flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers [f]flow,
There they [g]flow again.
8 All things are wearisome;
No one can tell it.
(G)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
9 (H)What has been, it is what will be,
And what has been done, it is what will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one might say,
“See this, it is new”?
It has already existed for ages
Which were before us.
11 There is (I)no remembrance of the [h]earlier things,
And of the later things as well, which will occur,
There will be no remembrance of them
Among those who will come later still.
The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the (J)Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I (K)set my [i]mind to seek and (L)explore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a [j](M)sorry task with which God has given the sons of mankind to be troubled. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is (N)futility and striving after wind. 15 What is (O)crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I [k]said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased (P)wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my [l]mind has observed [m]a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I (Q)applied my [n]mind to know wisdom and to (R)know insanity and foolishness; I realized that this also is (S)striving after wind. 18 Because (T)in much wisdom there is much grief; and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.
The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions
2 I said [o]to myself, “Come now, I will test you with (U)pleasure. So [p]enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 (V)I said of laughter, “It is senseless,” and of pleasure, “What does this accomplish?” 3 I explored with my [q]mind how to (W)refresh my body with wine while my [r]mind was guiding me wisely; and how to seize (X)foolishness, until I could see (Y)what good there is for the sons of mankind [s]to do under heaven for the few [t]years of their lives. 4 I enlarged my works: I (Z)built houses for myself, I planted (AA)vineyards for myself; 5 I made (AB)gardens and (AC)parks for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made (AD)ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and I had [u](AE)slaves born at home. I also possessed flocks and (AF)herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 I also amassed for myself silver and (AG)gold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself (AH)male and female singers, and the pleasures of the sons of mankind: many concubines.
9 Then I became (AI)great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 10 (AJ)All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. I did not restrain my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my (AK)reward for all my labor. 11 So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had [v]exerted, and behold, all was (AL)futility and striving after wind, and there was (AM)no benefit under the sun.
Wisdom Surpasses Foolishness
12 So I turned to (AN)consider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except (AO)what has already been done? 13 Then I saw that (AP)wisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness. 14 The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the (AQ)fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that (AR)one and the same fate happens to [w]both of them. 15 Then I said [x]to myself, “(AS)As is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. (AT)Why then have I been extremely wise?” So [y]I said to myself, “This too is futility.” 16 For there is (AU)no [z]lasting remembrance of the wise, along with the fool, since in the coming days everything will [aa]soon be forgotten. And (AV)how the wise and the fool alike die! 17 So I (AW)hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was [ab]unhappy to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.
The Futility of Labor
18 So I hated (AX)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must (AY)leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or (AZ)a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is (BA)futility. 20 Therefore I [ac]completely despaired over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21 When there is a person who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and (BB)skill, and then (BC)gives his [ad]legacy to one who has not labored for it; this too is futility and a great evil. 22 For what does a person get in (BD)all his labor and in [ae]his striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Because all his days his activity is painful and (BE)irritating; even at night his [af]mind (BF)does not rest. This too is futility.
24 There is (BG)nothing better for a person than to eat and drink, and show [ag]himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is (BH)from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without [ah]Him? 26 For to a person who is good in His sight, (BI)He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may (BJ)give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is (BK)futility and striving after wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:4 Lit stands
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 Lit panting
- Ecclesiastes 1:6 Lit Going
- Ecclesiastes 1:6 Lit turning
- Ecclesiastes 1:7 Lit go
- Ecclesiastes 1:7 Lit go
- Ecclesiastes 1:7 Lit go
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit first; or former
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit evil
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit spoke with my heart, saying
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit an abundance
- Ecclesiastes 1:17 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 2:1 Lit in my heart
- Ecclesiastes 2:1 Lit consider with goodness
- Ecclesiastes 2:3 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 2:3 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 2:3 Lit which they do
- Ecclesiastes 2:3 Lit days
- Ecclesiastes 2:7 Lit sons
- Ecclesiastes 2:11 Lit labored to do
- Ecclesiastes 2:14 Lit all of
- Ecclesiastes 2:15 Lit in my heart
- Ecclesiastes 2:15 Lit I spoke in my heart
- Ecclesiastes 2:16 Lit forever
- Ecclesiastes 2:16 Lit already
- Ecclesiastes 2:17 Lit evil
- Ecclesiastes 2:20 Lit turned aside my heart to despair
- Ecclesiastes 2:21 Lit share
- Ecclesiastes 2:22 Lit the striving of his heart
- Ecclesiastes 2:23 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 2:24 Lit his soul
- Ecclesiastes 2:25 As in LXX; Heb me
Ecclesiastes 1-2
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 1-2
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.
Pleasures Are Meaningless
2 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure(W) to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,”(X) I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine,(Y) and embracing folly(Z)—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself(AA) and planted vineyards.(AB) 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves(AC) who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold(AD) for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.(AE) I acquired male and female singers,(AF) and a harem[b] as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem(AG) before me.(AH) In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;(AI)
nothing was gained under the sun.(AJ)
Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless
12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
and also madness and folly.(AK)
What more can the king’s successor do
than what has already been done?(AL)
13 I saw that wisdom(AM) is better than folly,(AN)
just as light is better than darkness.
14 The wise have eyes in their heads,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
that the same fate overtakes them both.(AO)
15 Then I said to myself,
“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?”(AP)
I said to myself,
“This too is meaningless.”
16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;(AQ)
the days have already come when both have been forgotten.(AR)
Like the fool, the wise too must die!(AS)
Toil Is Meaningless
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(AT) 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.(AU) 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish?(AV) Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?(AW) 23 All their days their work is grief and pain;(AX) even at night their minds do not rest.(AY) This too is meaningless.
24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink(AZ) and find satisfaction in their own toil.(BA) This too, I see, is from the hand of God,(BB) 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?(BC) 26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom,(BD) knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth(BE) to hand it over to the one who pleases God.(BF) This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12
- Ecclesiastes 2:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.