Ecclesiastes 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Everything is Futile
1 The words of the Teacher,[a](A) son of David, king in Jerusalem.(B)
2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.
“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”(C)
3 What does a man gain for all his efforts
that he labors at under the sun?(D)
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.(E)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
panting, it returns to its place(F)
where it rises.
6 Gusting to the south,
turning to the north,
turning, turning, goes the wind,(G)
and the wind returns in its cycles.
7 All the streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
The streams are flowing to the place,
and they flow there again.
8 All things[b] are wearisome;
man is unable to speak.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing(H)
or the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of those who[c] came before;(I)
and of those who[d] will come after
there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.
The Limitations of Wisdom
12 I, the Teacher,(J) have been[e] king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to seek(K) and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven.(L) God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.(M) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.[f](N)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(O)
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself,[g] “Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me,(P) and my mind has thoroughly grasped[h] wisdom and knowledge.” 17 I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge,(Q) madness and folly;(R) I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.[i](S)
18 For with much wisdom is much sorrow;(T)
as knowledge increases, grief increases.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or of Qoheleth, or of the Leader of the Assembly
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or words
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or of the things that
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or of the things that
- Ecclesiastes 1:12 Or Teacher, was
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or a feeding on wind, or an affliction of spirit
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit said with my heart
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Or discerned
- Ecclesiastes 1:17 Or a feeding on wind, or an affliction of spirit
Galatians 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Greeting
1 Paul,(A) an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father(B) who raised Him from the dead(C)— 2 and all the brothers who are with me:
To the churches of Galatia.[a](D)
3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord[b] Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins(E) to rescue us from this present evil age,(F) according to the will of our God and Father.(G) 5 To whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
No Other Gospel
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called(H) you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel,(I) but there are some(J) who are troubling you and want to change the good news[c] about the Messiah. 8 But even if we or an angel(K) from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you,(L) a curse be on him![d] 9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received,(M) a curse be on him!
10 For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God?(N) Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.
Paul Defends His Apostleship
11 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not based on human thought.[e] 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation(O) from Jesus Christ.(P)
13 For you have heard about my former way of life(Q) in Judaism:(R) I persecuted(S) God’s church to an extreme degree and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.(T) 15 But when God, who from my birth set me apart and called(U) me by His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son(V) in me, so that I could preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.[f] 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem(W) to those who had become apostles(X) before me; instead I went to Arabia(Y) and came back to Damascus.(Z)
18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem(AA) to get to know Cephas,[g](AB) and I stayed with him 15 days. 19 But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James,(AC) the Lord’s brother. 20 Now I am not lying in what I write to you. God is my witness.[h]
21 Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria(AD) and Cilicia.(AE) 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches in Christ; 23 they simply kept hearing: “He who formerly persecuted(AF) us now preaches the faith(AG) he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.
Footnotes
- Galatians 1:2 A Roman province in what is now Turkey
- Galatians 1:3 Other mss read God our Father and the Lord
- Galatians 1:7 Or gospel
- Galatians 1:8 Or you, let him be condemned, or you, let him be condemned to hell; Gk anathema
- Galatians 1:11 Lit not according to man
- Galatians 1:16 Lit flesh and blood
- Galatians 1:18 Other mss read Peter
- Galatians 1:20 Lit Behold, before God
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