The Futility of All Endeavors

1 The words of the ^(A)Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

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.

A Time for Everything

3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a ^(BL)time for every matter under heaven—

^9 (BT)What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰ I have seen the ^(BU)task which God has given the sons of mankind with which to ^[ai]occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Mankind

¹¹ He has ^(BV)made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind ^(BW)will find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

¹² I know that there is ^(BX)nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; ¹³ moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the ^(BY)gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. And God has so worked, that people will ^[aj](BZ)fear Him. ^15 (CA)That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God ^[ak]seeks what has passed by.

¹⁶ Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is ^(CB)wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. ¹⁷ I said ^[al]to myself, “^(CC)God will judge the righteous and the wicked,” for a ^(CD)time for every matter and for every deed ^[am]is there. ¹⁸ I said ^[an]to myself regarding the sons of mankind, “God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as ^(CE)animals, they to themselves.” ^19 (CF)For the fate of the sons of mankind and the fate of animals ^[ao]is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for mankind over animals, for all is futility. ²⁰ All go to the same place. All came from the ^(CG)dust and all return to the dust. ²¹ Who knows that the ^(CH)spirit of the sons of mankind ascends upward and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth? ²² I have seen that ^(CI)nothing is better than when a person is happy in his activities, for that is his ^[ap]lot. For who will bring him to see ^(CJ)what will occur after him?

Their Ministry Commended

6 And ^(A)working together with Him, ^(B)we also urge you not to receive ^(C)the grace of God in vain— ² for He says,

Behold, now is “a favorable time,” behold, now is “a day of salvation”— ^3 (E)giving no reason for taking offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, ⁴ but in everything ^(F)commending ourselves as ^[a](G)servants of God, ^(H)in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in difficulties, ⁵ in ^(I)beatings, in imprisonments, in ^(J)[b]mob attacks, in labors, in sleeplessness, in ^(K)hunger, ⁶ in purity, in ^(L)knowledge, in ^(M)patience, in kindness, in the ^(N)Holy Spirit, in ^(O)genuine love, ⁷ in ^(P)the word of truth, and in ^(Q)the power of God; by ^(R)the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, ⁸ by glory and ^(S)dishonor, by ^(T)evil report and good report; regarded as ^(U)deceivers and yet ^(V)true; ⁹ as unknown and yet well known, as ^(W)dying and yet behold, ^(X)we are alive; as ^[c]punished and yet not put to death, ¹⁰ as ^(Y)sorrowful yet always ^(Z)rejoicing, as ^(AA)poor yet making many rich, as ^(AB)having nothing and yet possessing ^(AC)all things.

^11 (AD)Our mouth ^[d]has spoken freely to you, you Corinthians, our ^(AE)heart is opened wide. ¹² You are not restrained ^[e]by us, but ^(AF)you are restrained in your own ^[f]affections. ¹³ Now in the same way in ^(AG)exchange—I am speaking as to ^(AH)children—open wide your hearts to us, you as well.

God, the Refuge of His People.

For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, ^[a]set to Alamoth. A Song.