Ecclesiastes 1:1-2
New American Standard Bible
The Futility of All Endeavors
1 The words of the (A)Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “(B)Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher,
“Futility of futilities! All is futility.”
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2
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.
Read full chapter
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2
New King James Version
The Vanity of Life
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, (A)king in Jerusalem.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Absurdity, Frustration, Futility, Nonsense; and so throughout the book
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2
English Standard Version
All Is Vanity
1 The words of (A)the Preacher,[a] the son of David, (B)king in Jerusalem.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
