Ecclesiastes 1
New King James Version
The Vanity of Life
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, (A)king in Jerusalem.
3 (D)What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he [b]toils under the sun?
4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
(E)But the earth abides forever.
5 (F)The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And [c]hastens to the place where it arose.
6 (G)The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.
7 (H)All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.
8 All things are [d]full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
(I)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 (J)That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
11 There is (K)no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after.
The Grief of Wisdom
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my heart to seek and (L)search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; (M)this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be [e]exercised. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
15 (N)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
And what is lacking cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained (O)more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has [f]understood great wisdom and knowledge.” 17 (P)And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.
18 For (Q)in much wisdom is much grief,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Absurdity, Frustration, Futility, Nonsense; and so throughout the book
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 labors
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 Is eager for, lit. panting
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 wearisome
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Or afflicted
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit. seen
Ecclesiastes 1
21st Century King James Version
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “Vanity of vanities,” saith the Preacher. “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
3 What profit hath a man from all his labor which he doeth under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteneth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done, is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, “See, this is new”? It hath been already in olden times which were before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things, neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those that shall come after.
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven. This sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, “Lo, I have come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem; yea, my heart had great experience in wisdom and knowledge.”
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. But I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.