Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

New American Standard Bible

The Futility of Wisdom

¹² I, the ^(A)Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ And I ^(B)set my ^[a]mind to seek and ^(C)explore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a ^[b](D)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 ^(E)futility and striving after wind. ¹⁵ What is ^(F)crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶ I ^[c]said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased ^(G)wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my ^[d]mind has observed ^[e]a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷ And I ^(H)applied my ^[f]mind to know wisdom and to ^(I)know insanity and foolishness; I realized that this also is ^(J)striving after wind. ¹⁸ Because ^(K)in much wisdom there is much grief; and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.