Ecclesiastes 1:12-18
Evangelical Heritage Version
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12 I, Ecclesiastes, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my heart to seek out and explore with wisdom everything done under the sky.[a] (What a burdensome task[b] God has given the children of Adam to keep them busy!) 14 I have seen all the actions done under the sun, and, look, it is all nothing but vapor. It is all chasing the wind. 15 Whatever is crooked cannot be straightened. Whatever is not there cannot be counted.
16 I thought in my heart, “Look, I have become great and accumulated more wisdom than anyone ruling over Jerusalem before me. My mind[c] has absorbed so much wisdom and knowledge.” 17 I applied my heart to understand wisdom and knowledge, madness and stupidity. I realized that this too is chasing the wind. 18 In fact, with much wisdom comes much frustration.[d] The more knowledge, the more pain!
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Or the heavens
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Or rotten business
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally heart. In Hebrew thought, the heart is the center not only of emotion but also of the intellect.
- Ecclesiastes 1:18 Or grief
Ecclesiastes 1:12-18
New International Version
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher,(A) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.(B) 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.(C) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!(D) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(E)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(F)
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me;(G) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,(H) and also of madness and folly,(I) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
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