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
New Living Translation
1 These are the words of the Teacher,[a] King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.
Everything Is Meaningless
2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
The Teacher Speaks: The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. 14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
15 What is wrong cannot be made right.
What is missing cannot be recovered.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” 17 So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.
18 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
Footnotes
- 1:1 Hebrew Qoheleth; this term is rendered “the Teacher” throughout this book.
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.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
