Ecclesiastes 1
Christian Standard Bible
Everything Is Futile
1 The words of the Teacher,[a](A) son of David, king in Jerusalem.(B)
2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.
“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”(C)
3 What does a person gain for all his efforts
that he labors at under the sun?(D)
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.(E)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
panting, it hurries back to the place(F)
where it rises.
6 Gusting to the south,
turning to the north,
turning, turning, goes the wind,(G)
and the wind returns in its cycles.
7 All the streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things[b] are wearisome,
more than anyone can say.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing(H)
or the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of those who[c] came before;(I)
and of those who will come after
there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.
The Limitations of Wisdom
12 I, the Teacher,(J) have been[d] king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to examine(K) and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven.(L) God has given people[e] this miserable task to keep them occupied.(M) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.[f](N)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(O)
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me,(P) and my mind has thoroughly grasped[g] wisdom and knowledge.” 17 I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge,(Q) madness and folly;(R) I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.(S)
18 For with much wisdom is much sorrow;(T)
as knowledge increases, grief increases.
Ecclesiastes 1
International Standard Version
The Theme
1 The words of the Teacher,[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “Utterly pointless,”[b]
says the Teacher.
“Absolutely pointless;
everything is pointless.”
3 What does a man gain
from all of the work that he undertakes on earth?[c]
The Predictability of Life
4 A generation goes,
a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises,
the sun sets,
then rushes back to where it arose.
6 The wind blows southward,
then northward, constantly circulating,
and the wind comes back again in its courses.
7 All the rivers flow toward the sea,
but the sea is never full;
then rivers return to the headwaters[d] where they began.
8 Everything is wearisome,
more than man is able to express.
The eye is never satisfied by seeing,
nor the ear by hearing.
9 Whatever has happened, will happen again;
whatever has been done, will be done again.
There is nothing new on earth.
10 Does anything exist about which someone might say,
“Look at this! Is this new?”
It happened ages ago;
it existed before we did.
11 No one remembers those in the past,
nor will they be remembered
by those who come after them.
A Testimony to an Unwise Search
12 I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I dedicated myself to using wisdom for study and discovery of everything that is done under heaven.[e] God uses terrible things so human beings will struggle with life.[f] 14 I observed every activity done on earth. My conclusion: all of it is pointless—like chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight;
what is not there cannot be counted.
16 I told myself, “I have become greater and wiser than anyone who ruled before me in Jerusalem—yes, I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 So I dedicated myself to learn about wisdom and knowledge, and about insanity and foolishness. And I discovered that this is also like chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom there is much sorrow;
the more someone adds to knowledge,
the more someone adds to grief.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or Speaker, Or Philosopher, and so throughout the book
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Utter vanity; and so throughout the book
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 Lit. under the sun; i.e. from an earthly perspective; and so throughout the book
- Ecclesiastes 1:7 Lit. place
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 I.e. from a heavenly perspective
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 The Heb. lacks with life
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
