Ecclesiastes 1

New King James Version

The Vanity of Life

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

²“Vanity^(B)^[a] of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, ^(C)all is vanity.”

³^(D)What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he ^[b]toils under the sun?
⁴One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
^(E)But the earth abides forever.
⁵^(F)The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And ^[c]hastens to the place where it arose.
⁶^(G)The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.
⁷^(H)All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.
⁸All things are ^[d]full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
^(I)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.

⁹^(J)That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
¹¹There is ^(K)no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after.

The Grief of Wisdom

¹²I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³And I set my heart to seek and ^(L)search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; ^(M)this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be ^[e]exercised. ¹⁴I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁵^(N)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
And what is lacking cannot be numbered.

¹⁶I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained ^(O)more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has ^[f]understood great wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷^(P)And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.

¹⁸For ^(Q)in much wisdom is much grief,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Absurdity, Frustration, Futility, Nonsense; and so throughout the book
Ecclesiastes 1:3 labors
Ecclesiastes 1:5 Is eager for, lit. panting
Ecclesiastes 1:8 wearisome
Ecclesiastes 1:13 Or afflicted
Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit. seen

1 Peter 5

New King James Version

Shepherd the Flock

5 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a ^(A)witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the ^(B)glory that will be revealed: ²^(C)Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, ^(D)not by compulsion but ^[a]willingly, ^(E)not for dishonest gain but eagerly; ³nor as ^(F)being ^[b]lords over ^(G)those entrusted to you, but ^(H)being examples to the flock; ⁴and when ^(I)the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive ^(J)the crown of glory that does not fade away.

Submit to God, Resist the Devil

⁵Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, ^(K)all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

^(L)“God resists the proud,
But ^(M)gives grace to the humble.”

⁶Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

⁸Be ^[c]sober, be ^[d]vigilant; ^[e]because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰But ^[f]may the God of all grace, ^(N)who called ^[g]us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, ^[h]perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ¹¹^(O)To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Farewell and Peace

¹²By ^(P)Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying ^(Q)that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.

¹³She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does ^(R)Mark my son. ¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Footnotes

1 Peter 5:2 NU adds according to God
1 Peter 5:3 masters
1 Peter 5:8 self-controlled
1 Peter 5:8 watchful
1 Peter 5:8 NU, M omit because
1 Peter 5:10 NU the God of all grace,
1 Peter 5:10 NU, M you
1 Peter 5:10 NU will perfect

Ecclesiastes 2:1-23

New King James Version

The Vanity of Pleasure^(A)

2 I said ^(B)in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with ^(C)mirth; ^[a]therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, ^(D)this also was vanity. ²I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” ³^(E)I searched in my heart how ^[b]to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was ^(F)good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

⁴I made my works great, I built myself ^(G)houses, and planted myself vineyards. ⁵I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶I made myself water pools from which to ^[c]water the growing trees of the grove. ⁷I acquired male and female servants, and had ^[d]servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. ⁸^(H)I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and ^[e]musical instruments of all kinds.

⁹^(I)So I became great and ^[f]excelled ^(J)more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

¹⁰Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And ^(K)this was my ^[g]reward from all my labor.
¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was ^(L)vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.

The End of the Wise and the Fool

¹²Then I turned myself to consider wisdom ^(M)and madness and folly;
For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—
Only what he has already ^(N)done.
¹³Then I saw that wisdom ^(O)excels folly
As light excels darkness.
¹⁴^(P)The wise man’s eyes are in his head,
But the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I myself perceived
That ^(Q)the same event happens to them all.

¹⁵So I said in my heart,
“As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“This also is vanity.”
¹⁶For there is ^(R)no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever,
Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die?
As the fool!

¹⁷Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁸Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because ^(S)I must leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. ²¹For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his ^[h]heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²²^(T)For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? ²³For all his days are ^(U)sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.

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Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 2:1 gladness
Ecclesiastes 2:3 Lit. to draw my flesh
Ecclesiastes 2:6 irrigate
Ecclesiastes 2:7 Lit. sons of my house
Ecclesiastes 2:8 Exact meaning unknown
Ecclesiastes 2:9 Lit. increased
Ecclesiastes 2:10 Lit. portion
Ecclesiastes 2:21 Lit. portion

1 John 1:1-2:6

New King James Version

What Was Heard, Seen, and Touched^(A)

1 That ^(B)which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have ^(C)seen with our eyes, ^(D)which we have looked upon, and ^(E)our hands have handled, concerning the ^(F)Word of life— ²^(G)the life ^(H)was manifested, and we have seen, ^(I)and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was ^(J)with the Father and was manifested to us— ³that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is ^(K)with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. ⁴And these things we write to you ^(L)that ^[a]your joy may be full.

Fellowship with Him and One Another

⁵^(M)This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that ^(N)God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ⁶^(O)If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷But if we ^(P)walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(Q)the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we ^(R)confess our sins, He is ^(S)faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to ^(T)cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we ^(U)make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

The Test of Knowing Christ

2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(V)we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ²And ^(W)He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^(X)also for the whole world.

The Test of Knowing Him

³Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(Y)liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But ^(Z)whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God ^[b]is perfected ^(AA)in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶^(AB)He who says he abides in Him ^(AC)ought himself also to walk just as He walked.