All Is Vanity

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

The Vanity of Wisdom

¹² I ^(Q)the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ And I ^(R)applied my heart^[f] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy ^(S)business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹⁴ I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is ^(T)vanity^[g] and a striving after wind.^[h]

¹⁶ I said in my heart, “I have acquired great ^(V)wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷ And I ^(W)applied my heart to know wisdom and to know ^(X)madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but ^(Y)a striving after wind.

Shepherd the Flock of God

5 So I exhort the elders among you, ^(A)as a fellow elder and ^(B)a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: ^2 (C)shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,^{[a] (D)}not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;^{[b] (E)}not for shameful gain, but eagerly; ³ not ^(F)domineering over those in your charge, but ^(G)being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when ^(H)the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the ^(I)unfading ^(J)crown of glory. ⁵ Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. ^(K)Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ^(L)“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

^6 (M)Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ^7 (N)casting all your anxieties on him, because ^(O)he cares for you. ^8 (P)Be sober-minded; ^(Q)be watchful. Your ^(R)adversary the devil ^(S)prowls around ^(T)like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ^9 (U)Resist him, ^(V)firm in your faith, knowing that ^(W)the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰ And ^(X)after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, ^(Y)who has called you to his ^(Z)eternal glory in Christ, will himself ^(AA)restore, ^(AB)confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ^11 (AC)To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

¹² By ^(AD)Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, ^(AE)I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is ^(AF)the true grace of God. ^(AG)Stand firm in it. ¹³ She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does ^(AH)Mark, my son. ^14 (AI)Greet one another with the kiss of love.

^(AJ)Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

The Vanity of Self-Indulgence

2 I ^(A)said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.^{[a] 2} I ^(B)said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” ³ I ^(C)searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on ^(D)folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. ⁴ I made great works. I ^(E)built houses and planted ^(F)vineyards for myself. ⁵ I made myself ^(G)gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. ⁶ I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves, and had ^(H)slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of ^(I)herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. ⁸ I also gathered for myself silver and ^(J)gold and the treasure of ^(K)kings and ^(L)provinces. I got ^(M)singers, both men and women, and many ^(N)concubines,^[b] the delight of the sons of man.

⁹ So I became great and ^(O)surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my ^(P)wisdom remained with me. ¹⁰ And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart ^(Q)found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my ^(R)reward for all my toil. ¹¹ Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was ^(S)vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing ^(T)to be gained under the sun.

The Vanity of Living Wisely

^12 (U)So I turned to consider ^(V)wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only ^(W)what has already been done. ¹³ Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. ^14 (X)The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the ^(Y)same event happens to all of them. ¹⁵ Then I said in my heart, ^(Z)“What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. ¹⁶ For of the wise as of the fool there is ^(AA)no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. ^(AB)How the wise dies just like the fool! ¹⁷ So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for ^(AC)all is vanity and a striving after wind.

The Vanity of Toil

¹⁸ I hated ^(AD)all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must ^(AE)leave it to the man who will come after me, ¹⁹ and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰ So I ^(AF)turned about and gave my heart up to despair ^(AG)over all the toil of my labors under the sun, ²¹ because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²² What has a man from ^(AH)all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? ²³ For ^(AI)all his days are full of sorrow, and his ^(AJ)work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

The Word of Life

1 ^(A)That which was ^(B)from the beginning, ^(C)which we have heard, ^(D)which we have seen with our eyes, ^(E)which we looked upon and ^(F)have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ^2 (G)the life ^(H)was made manifest, and we have seen it, and ^(I)testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, ^(J)which was with the Father and ^(K)was made manifest to us— ^3 (L)that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed ^(M)our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing these things so ^(N)that our^[a] joy may be complete.

Walking in the Light

^5 (O)This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that ^(P)God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ^6 (Q)If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and ^(R)do not practice the truth. ⁷ But ^(S)if we walk in the light, ^(T)as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(U)the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ^8 (V)If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and ^(W)the truth is not in us. ^9 (X)If we confess our sins, he is ^(Y)faithful and just to forgive us our sins and ^(Z)to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, ^(AA)we make him a liar, and ^(AB)his word is not in us.

Christ Our Advocate

2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, ^(AC)we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ^2 (AD)He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^(AE)also for the sins of the whole world. ³ And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we ^(AF)keep his commandments. ⁴ Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments ^(AG)is a liar, and ^(AH)the truth is not in him, ⁵ but whoever ^(AI)keeps his word, in him truly ^(AJ)the love of God is perfected. ^(AK)By this we may know that we are in him: ⁶ whoever says he ^(AL)abides in him ^(AM)ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.