Ecclesiastes 6:11
New Living Translation
11 The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they?
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Ecclesiastes 4:16
New Living Translation
16 Endless crowds stand around him,[a] but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
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- 4:16 Hebrew There is no end to all the people, to all those who are before them.
Ecclesiastes 5:7
New Living Translation
7 Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
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Hosea 12:1
New Living Translation
12 [a]The people of Israel[b] feed on the wind;
they chase after the east wind all day long.
They pile up lies and violence;
they are making an alliance with Assyria
while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt.
Ecclesiastes 4:8
New Living Translation
8 This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.
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Ecclesiastes 4:1-4
New Living Translation
4 Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. 2 So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. 3 But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.
4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
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Ecclesiastes 3:19
New Living Translation
19 For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe[a] and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless!
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- 3:19 Or both have the same spirit.
Ecclesiastes 2:3-11
New Living Translation
3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
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Ecclesiastes 1:17-18
New Living Translation
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.
Ecclesiastes 1:6-9
New Living Translation
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.
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Psalm 73:6
New Living Translation
6 They wear pride like a jeweled necklace
and clothe themselves with cruelty.
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.