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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
Lexham English Bible

Prologue

1 The words of the Teacher,[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Motto Introduced

2 “Vanity of vanities!” says the Teacher,[b]
    “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!”

All Toil is Profitless and Repetitious

3 What does a person gain in all his toil
    with which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
    but the earth stands forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down;
    to its place it hurries,[c] and there it rises again.
6 The wind goes to the south and goes around to the north;
    around and around it goes, and on its circuit the wind returns.
7 All the streams flow to the sea,
    but the sea is never full;
to the place where the streams flow,
    there they continue to flow.
8 All things toil continuously;[d]
    no one can ever finish describing this.[e]
The eye is never[f] satisfied with seeing,
    and the ear is never[g] filled with hearing.
9 What has been—it is what will be;
    what has been done—it is what will be done;
        there is nothing new under the sun.
10 There is a thing of which it is said, “Look at this! This is new!”
    But it already existed in ages past before us.
11 There is neither remembrance of former generations,
    nor will there be remembrance of future generations.

Qohelet Introduces His Quest

12 I, the Teacher,[h] was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to seek and to search by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.[i] It is a grievous task God has given to humans.[j] 14 I saw all the works that are done under the sun. Look! Everything is vanity and chasing wind.

15 What is twisted cannot be straightened,[k]
    and what is lacking cannot be counted.[l]

16 I said to myself,[m] “Look! I have become great and have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has preceded[n] me over Jerusalem. I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”[o] 17 So I dedicated myself[p] to learn about wisdom and to learn about delusion and folly. However, I discovered[q] that this also is chasing wind.

18 For in much wisdom is much frustration,[r]
    and whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:1 Hebrew “Qohelet”
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Hebrew “Qohelet”
  3. Ecclesiastes 1:5 The MT reads “it gasps for breath,” which is supported by LXX “to draw breath”; the BHS editors suggest “it returns again”
  4. Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “are wearisome”
  5. Ecclesiastes 1:8 The MT reads “no one is able to speak.” The BHS editors suggest “no one can finish speaking.” On the basis of internal evidence, the latter is adopted in the translation, since it makes better sense in the light of the immediate context
  6. Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “not”
  7. Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “not”
  8. Ecclesiastes 1:12 Hebrew “Qohelet”
  9. Ecclesiastes 1:13 MT reads “under the heavens,” which is supported by LXX; however, several versions (Syriac Peshitta, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate) as well as the Cairo Geniza manuscript read, “under the sun,” cf. 1:3, 9, etc.
  10. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Literally “the sons of the man”
  11. Ecclesiastes 1:15 The MT reads the active “to be straight”; however, the BHS editors suggest the passive “to be straightened,” which is supported by LXX, which reflects a passive form
  12. Ecclesiastes 1:15 The MT reads “to be numbered”; however, the BHS editors suggest “to be supplied,” comparing 1:15b with similar wording in the Babylonian Talmud: “May the Almighty replenish your loss” (b. Berachot 16b)
  13. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally “I myself said to my heart”
  14. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally “before me”
  15. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally “And my mind has seen much wisdom and knowledge”
  16. Ecclesiastes 1:17 Literally “So I gave my heart”
  17. Ecclesiastes 1:17 Or “I knew”
  18. Ecclesiastes 1:18 Or “vexation”
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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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