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Ecclesiastes 1
Legacy Standard Bible

All Is Vanity

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

2 “[b](B)Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“[c]Vanity of vanities! All is [d]vanity.”

3 (C)What advantage does man have in all his labor
In which he labors under the sun?
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
But the (D)earth stands forever.
5 Also, (E)the sun rises and the sun sets;
And [e]hastening to its place it rises there again.
6 (F)Going toward the south,
Then [f]circling toward the north,
The wind goes [g]circling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns.
7 All the rivers go into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers go,
There they [h]continually go.
8 All things are wearisome;
Man is not able to speak of it.
(G)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
9 (H)That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one might say,
“See this, it is new”?
Already it has been for ages
Which were before us.
11 There is (I)no remembrance of [i]earlier things;
And also of the [j]later things which will be,
There will be for them no remembrance
Among those who will come [k]later still.

The Vanity of Wisdom

12 I, the (J)Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I (K)gave my heart to seek and (L)explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is [l]a grievous (M)endeavor which God has given to the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is [m](N)vanity and striving after wind. 15 What is (O)bent cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I spoke within my heart, saying, “Behold, I have magnified and increased (P)wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my heart has seen an abundance of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I (Q)gave my heart to know wisdom and to (R)know madness and simpleminded folly; I came to know that this also is (S)striving after wind. 18 Because (T)in much wisdom there is much vexation, and whoever increases knowledge increases pain.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or speaker of an assembly, leader of an assembly; or possibly the one who gathers an assembly; Heb Qoheleth
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Futility of futilities
  3. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Futility of futilities
  4. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or futile
  5. Ecclesiastes 1:5 Lit panting
  6. Ecclesiastes 1:6 Lit turning
  7. Ecclesiastes 1:6 Lit turning
  8. Ecclesiastes 1:7 Lit turn to go
  9. Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit first, former
  10. Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit latter, after
  11. Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit latter, after
  12. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit an evil
  13. Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or futility
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Ecclesiastes 1
Evangelical Heritage Version

The Heading

1 The words of Ecclesiastes,[a] David’s son, king in Jerusalem.

The Problem

2 “Nothing but vapor,”[b] Ecclesiastes said. “Totally vapor. Everything is just vapor that vanishes.”

3 What does anyone gain by all his hard work, at which he works hard under the sun? 4 A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth keeps standing forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets. It hurries back, panting and out of breath, to its starting point, where it rises again. 6 The wind goes round and round. Blowing south, then blowing north, the wind keeps going around in circles. 7 All streams keep flowing to the sea, but the sea is never full. The streams keep coming back to the same place, and then they flow out again.

8 Everything is tedious and tiresome, more than one can tell. No eye ever sees enough, and no ear ever gets its fill of hearing.

9 Whatever has been is what will be again, and whatever has already been done is what will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there a single thing about which one can say, “Look, this is new”? It was already here ages ago, long before us. 11 No one remembers the people who[c] came before us, and as for those who are coming—after they are gone, no one will remember them either.

Search for a Solution

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.[d] (What a burdensome task[e] 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[f] 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.[g] The more knowledge, the more pain!

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:1 See the introduction on the origin and meaning of the name Ecclesiastes.
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Other possible translations are mist, breath, futility, or emptiness. Since vapor does not last, it serves as an appropriate symbol for everything that is transient, futile, or useless.
  3. Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or the events that
  4. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Or the heavens
  5. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Or rotten business
  6. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally heart. In Hebrew thought, the heart is the center not only of emotion but also of the intellect.
  7. Ecclesiastes 1:18 Or grief
Listen to Ecclesiastes 1
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Ecclesiastes 1
New International Version

Everything Is Meaningless

1 The words of the Teacher,[a](A) son of David, king in Jerusalem:(B)

2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”(C)

3 What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?(D)
4 Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.(E)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.(F)
6 The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.(G)
8 All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,(H)
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;(I)
    there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,(J)
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.(K)

Wisdom Is Meaningless

12 I, the Teacher,(L) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.(M) 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.(N) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!(O) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(P)

15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(Q)
    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;(R) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,(S) and also of madness and folly,(T) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;(U)
    the more knowledge, the more grief.(V)

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12
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Proverbs 31
Ecclesiastes 2
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