Ecclesiastes 1

English Standard Version

All Is Vanity

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

²^(C)Vanity^[b] of vanities, says ^(D)the Preacher,
    ^(E)vanity of vanities! ^(F)All is vanity.
³^(G)What ^(H)does man gain by all the toil
    at which he toils under the sun?
⁴A generation goes, and a generation comes,
    but ^(I)the earth remains forever.
⁵^(J)The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
    and hastens^[c] to the place where it rises.
⁶^(K)The wind blows to the south
    and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
    and on its circuits the wind returns.
⁷All ^(L)streams run to the sea,
    but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
    there they flow again.
⁸All things are full of weariness;
    a man cannot utter it;
^(M)the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
    nor the ear filled with hearing.
⁹^(N)What has been is what will be,
    and what has been done is what will be done,
    and there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰Is there a thing of which it is said,
    “See, this is new”?
It has been ^(O)already
    in the ages before us.
¹¹There is no ^(P)remembrance of former things,^[d]
    nor will there be any remembrance
of later things^[e] yet to be
    among those who come after.

The Vanity of Wisdom

¹²I ^(Q)the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³And I ^(R)applied my heart^[f] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy ^(S)business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹⁴I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is ^(T)vanity^[g] and a striving after wind.^[h]

¹⁵^(U)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said in my heart, “I have acquired great ^(V)wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷And I ^(W)applied my heart to know wisdom and to know ^(X)madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but ^(Y)a striving after wind.

¹⁸For ^(Z)in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or Convener, or Collector; Hebrew Qoheleth (so throughout Ecclesiastes)
Ecclesiastes 1:2 The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context). It appears five times in this verse and in 29 other verses in Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 1:5 Or and returns panting
Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or former people
Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or later people
Ecclesiastes 1:13 The Hebrew term denotes the center of one's inner life, including mind, will, and emotions
Ecclesiastes 1:14 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or a feeding on wind; compare Hosea 12:1 (also in Ecclesiastes 1:17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9)

Ecclesiastes 1:2

English Standard Version

²^(A)Vanity^[a] of vanities, says ^(B)the Preacher,
^(C)vanity of vanities! ^(D)All is vanity.

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Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 1:2 The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context). It appears five times in this verse and in 29 other verses in Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 1:2 in all English translations

Ecclesiastes 12

English Standard Version

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

12 Remember also your Creator in ^(A)the days of your youth, before ^(B)the evil days come and the years draw near of which ^(C)you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; ²before ^(D)the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, ³in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and ^(E)those who look through the windows are dimmed, ⁴and ^(F)the doors on the street are shut—when ^(G)the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all ^(H)the daughters of song are brought low— ⁵they are afraid also of what is high, and ^(I)terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,^[a] and desire fails, because man is going to his ^(J)eternal ^(K)home, and the ^(L)mourners go about the streets— ⁶before the silver cord is snapped, or ^(M)the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is ^(N)shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, ⁷and ^(O)the dust returns to the earth as it was, and ^(P)the spirit returns to God ^(Q)who gave it. ⁸^(R)Vanity^[b] of vanities, says ^(S)the Preacher; all is vanity.

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

⁹Besides being wise, ^(T)the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging ^(U)many proverbs with great care. ¹⁰^(V)The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

¹¹^(W)The words of the wise are like goads, and like ^(X)nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are ^(Y)given by ^(Z)one Shepherd. ¹²My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making ^(AA)many books there is no end, and ^(AB)much study is a weariness of the flesh.

¹³The end of the matter; all has been heard. ^(AC)Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.^[c] ¹⁴For ^(AD)God will bring every deed into judgment, with^[d] every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 12:5 Or is a burden
Ecclesiastes 12:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (three times in this verse); see note on 1:2
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Or the duty of all mankind
Ecclesiastes 12:14 Or into the judgment on

Ecclesiastes 2:18-26

English Standard Version

The Vanity of Toil

¹⁸I hated ^(A)all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must ^(B)leave it to the man who will come after me, ¹⁹and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰So I ^(C)turned about and gave my heart up to despair ^(D)over all the toil of my labors under the sun, ²¹because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²²What has a man from ^(E)all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? ²³For ^(F)all his days are full of sorrow, and his ^(G)work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

²⁴^(H)There is nothing better for a person than that he should ^(I)eat and drink and find enjoyment^[a] in his toil. This also, I saw, is ^(J)from the hand of God, ²⁵for apart from him^[b] who can eat or who can have enjoyment? ²⁶For to the one who pleases him ^(K)God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given ^(L)the business of gathering and collecting, ^(M)only to give to one who pleases God. ^(N)This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

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Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 2:24 Or and make his soul see good
Ecclesiastes 2:25 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts apart from me