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Ecclesiastes 1
New King James Version
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
Modern English Version
Ecclesiastes 1
Modern English Version
All Is Vanity
1 These are the words of the Preacher, the son of David and king in Jerusalem.
2 “Vanity[a] of vanities,”
says the Preacher;
“vanity of vanities,
all is vanity.”
3 What benefit is there to a man in all his labors
that he toils under the sun?
4 A generation comes, and a generation goes,
but the earth continually remains.
5 The sun comes up, and the sun goes down,
and hurries to the place where it rises.
6 It moves to the south,
and then moves around to the north;
the wind continually travels around,
and it keeps turning on its circuit.
7 All the streams flow into the sea,
and the sea is never filled up.
And to the place where the streams flow,
there they continually return to flow.
8 All matters are wearisome;
a man is not able to speak to them.
The eye is not satisfied with what it sees,
and the ear is not content with what it hears.
9 What has been is the same as what will be,
and what has been done is the same as what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a matter where it is said,
“See, this is truly new”?
Long ago in the past
every matter has already been in our midst.
11 There is not a memory for the former things,
and moreover, there will not be
a memory for the things coming after,
even those things that are yet to come.
The Burden of Wisdom
12 I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I set my heart to seek and to investigate with wisdom everything that is done under heaven. It is a burdensome task that God has given to the sons of men, by which they may be occupied. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and indeed, all is vanity and like chasing the wind.
15 What is bent cannot be straightened,
and what is missing cannot be counted.
16 I spoke in my heart, saying, “I have been great and increased in wisdom more than anyone else who has been before me in Jerusalem, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know the folly of ideas and to know foolish behavior, and I know that this as well is like chasing the wind.
18 For in an abundance of wisdom is an abundance of frustration,
and he who increases in knowledge also increases in sorrow.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Heb. suggests something futile, temporal, or obscure.
Eclesiastés 1
Reina-Valera 1960
Eclesiastés 1
Reina-Valera 1960
Todo es vanidad
1 Palabras del Predicador, hijo de David, rey en Jerusalén.
2 Vanidad de vanidades, dijo el Predicador; vanidad de vanidades, todo es vanidad. 3 ¿Qué provecho tiene el hombre de todo su trabajo con que se afana debajo del sol? 4 Generación va, y generación viene; mas la tierra siempre permanece. 5 Sale el sol, y se pone el sol, y se apresura a volver al lugar de donde se levanta. 6 El viento tira hacia el sur, y rodea al norte; va girando de continuo, y a sus giros vuelve el viento de nuevo. 7 Los ríos todos van al mar, y el mar no se llena; al lugar de donde los ríos vinieron, allí vuelven para correr de nuevo. 8 Todas las cosas son fatigosas más de lo que el hombre puede expresar; nunca se sacia el ojo de ver, ni el oído de oír. 9 ¿Qué es lo que fue? Lo mismo que será. ¿Qué es lo que ha sido hecho? Lo mismo que se hará; y nada hay nuevo debajo del sol. 10 ¿Hay algo de que se puede decir: He aquí esto es nuevo? Ya fue en los siglos que nos han precedido. 11 No hay memoria de lo que precedió, ni tampoco de lo que sucederá habrá memoria en los que serán después.
La experiencia del Predicador
12 Yo el Predicador fui rey sobre Israel en Jerusalén. 13 Y di mi corazón a inquirir y a buscar con sabiduría sobre todo lo que se hace debajo del cielo; este penoso trabajo dio Dios a los hijos de los hombres, para que se ocupen en él. 14 Miré todas las obras que se hacen debajo del sol; y he aquí, todo ello es vanidad y aflicción de espíritu. 15 Lo torcido no se puede enderezar, y lo incompleto no puede contarse.
16 Hablé yo en mi corazón, diciendo: He aquí yo me he engrandecido, y he crecido en sabiduría(A) sobre todos los que fueron antes de mí en Jerusalén; y mi corazón ha percibido mucha sabiduría y ciencia. 17 Y dediqué mi corazón a conocer la sabiduría, y también a entender las locuras y los desvaríos; conocí que aun esto era aflicción de espíritu. 18 Porque en la mucha sabiduría hay mucha molestia; y quien añade ciencia, añade dolor.
Ecclesiastes 1
Young's Literal Translation
Ecclesiastes 1
Young's Literal Translation
1 Words of a preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole [is] vanity.
3 What advantage [is] to man by all his labour that he laboureth at under the sun?
4 A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth to the age is standing.
5 Also, the sun hath risen, and the sun hath gone in, and unto its place panting it is rising there.
6 Going unto the south, and turning round unto the north, turning round, turning round, the wind is going, and by its circuits the wind hath returned.
7 All the streams are going unto the sea, and the sea is not full; unto a place whither the streams are going, thither they are turning back to go.
8 All these things are wearying; a man is not able to speak, the eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor filled is the ear from hearing.
9 What [is] that which hath been? it [is] that which is, and what [is] that which hath been done? it [is] that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.
10 There is a thing of which [one] saith: `See this, it [is] new!' already it hath been in the ages that were before us!
11 There is not a remembrance of former [generations]; and also of the latter that are, there is no remembrance of them with those that are at the last.
12 I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that hath been done under the heavens. It [is] a sad travail God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.
14 I have seen all the works that have been done under the sun, and lo, the whole [is] vanity and vexation of spirit!
15 A crooked thing [one] is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered.
16 I -- I spake with my heart, saying, `I, lo, I have magnified and added wisdom above every one who hath been before me at Jerusalem, and my heart hath seen abundantly wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this [is] vexation of spirit;
18 for, in abundance of wisdom [is] abundance of sadness, and he who addeth knowledge addeth pain.'
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Modern English Version (MEV)
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Reina-Valera 1960 (RVR1960) 
Reina-Valera 1960 ® © Sociedades Bíblicas en América Latina, 1960. Renovado © Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas, 1988. Utilizado con permiso. Si desea más información visite americanbible.org, unitedbiblesocieties.org, vivelabiblia.com, unitedbiblesocieties.org/es/casa/, www.rvr60.bible