Ecclesiastes 1
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Futility of All Endeavor
1 The words of the (A)Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
3 (C)What advantage does man have in all his work
Which he does under the sun?
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
But the (D)earth [d]remains forever.
5 Also, (E)the sun rises and the sun sets;
And [e]hastening to its place it rises there again.
6 [f](F)Blowing toward the south,
Then turning toward the north,
The wind continues [g]swirling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns.
7 All the rivers [h]flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers [i]flow,
There they [j]flow again.
8 All things are wearisome;
Man is not able to tell it.
(G)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
9 (H)That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which 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”?
Already it has existed for ages
Which were before us.
11 There is (I)no remembrance of [k]earlier things;
And also of the [l]later things which will occur,
There will be for them no remembrance
Among those who will come [m]later still.
The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the (J)Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I (K)set my [n]mind to seek and (L)explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is [o]a grievous (M)task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is [p](N)vanity and striving after wind. 15 What is (O)crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I [q]said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased (P)wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my [r]mind has observed [s]a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I (Q)set my [t]mind to know wisdom and to (R)know madness and folly; 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.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Futility of futilities
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Futility of futilities
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or futile
- 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 1:11 Lit latter or after
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit latter or after
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit an evil
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or futility
- 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
Psalm 7:1-9
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord [b]concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Lord my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)deliver me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul (C)like a lion,
[d]Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)rewarded evil to [e]my friend,
Or have (F)plundered [f]him who without cause was my adversary,
5 Let the enemy pursue [g]my soul and overtake [h]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. [i]Selah.
6 (G)Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
(H)Lift up Yourself against (I)the rage of my adversaries,
And (J)arouse Yourself [j]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And over [k]them return on high.
8 The Lord (L)judges the peoples;
[l](M)Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)tries the hearts and [m]minds.
Footnotes
- Psalm 7:1 I.e. Dithyrambic rhythm; or wild passionate song
- Psalm 7:1 Or concerning the words of
- Psalm 7:2 Or me
- Psalm 7:2 Or Rending it in pieces, while
- Psalm 7:4 Lit him who was at peace with me
- Psalm 7:4 Or my adversary without cause
- Psalm 7:5 Or me
- Psalm 7:5 Or me
- Psalm 7:5 Selah may mean: Pause, Crescendo or Musical interlude
- Psalm 7:6 One ancient version reads O my God
- Psalm 7:7 Lit it
- Psalm 7:8 Lit Judge
- Psalm 7:9 Lit kidneys, figurative for inner man
Luke 2:21-38
New American Standard Bible 1995
Jesus Presented at the Temple
21 And when (A)eight days had passed, [a]before His circumcision, (B)His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22 (C)And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “(D)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “(E)A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was (F)righteous and devout, (G)looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And (H)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not (I)see death before he had seen the Lord’s [b]Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, [c](J)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
(K)According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have (L)seen Your salvation,
31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 (M)A Light [d]of revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And His father and (N)mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary (O)His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for (P)the fall and [e]rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— 35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was a (Q)prophetess, [f]Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of (R)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in [g]years (S)and had lived with her husband seven years after her [h]marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with (T)fastings and prayers. 38 At that very [i]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were (U)looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
