Ecclesiastes 1

New International Version

Everything Is Meaningless

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

²“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”^(C)

³What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?^(D)
⁴Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.^(E)
⁵The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.^(F)
⁶The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
⁷All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.^(G)
⁸All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,^(H)
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.
⁹What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;^(I)
    there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.
¹¹No one remembers the former generations,^(J)
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.^(K)

Wisdom Is Meaningless

¹²I, the Teacher,^(L) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.^(M) ¹³I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.^(N) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!^(O) ¹⁴I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.^(P)

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be straightened;^(Q)
what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me;^(R) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,^(S) and also of madness and folly,^(T) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

¹⁸For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;^(U)
the more knowledge, the more grief.^(V)

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12

Psalm 7:1-9

New International Version

Psalm 7^[a]

A shiggaion^[b]^(A) of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

¹Lord my God, I take refuge^(B) in you;
save and deliver me^(C) from all who pursue me,^(D)
²or they will tear me apart like a lion^(E)
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue^(F) me.

³Lord my God, if I have done this
    and there is guilt on my hands^(G)—
⁴if I have repaid my ally with evil
    or without cause^(H) have robbed my foe—
⁵then let my enemy pursue and overtake^(I) me;
    let him trample my life to the ground^(J)
    and make me sleep in the dust.^[c]^(K)

⁶Arise,^(L) Lord, in your anger;
    rise up against the rage of my enemies.^(M)
    Awake,^(N) my God; decree justice.
⁷Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
    while you sit enthroned over them on high.^(O)
⁸    Let the Lord judge^(P) the peoples.
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,^(Q)
    according to my integrity,^(R) O Most High.^(S)
⁹Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
    and make the righteous secure—^(T)
you, the righteous God^(U)
    who probes minds and hearts.^(V)

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Footnotes

Psalm 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-17 is numbered 7:2-18.
Psalm 7:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 7:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

Luke 2:21-38

New International Version

²¹On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child,^(A) he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.^(B)

Jesus Presented in the Temple

²²When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,^(C) Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”^[a]),^(D) ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”^[b]^(E)

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.^(F) He was waiting for the consolation of Israel,^(G) and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,^(H) ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,^(I)
    you may now dismiss^[c] your servant in peace.^(J)
³⁰For my eyes have seen your salvation,^(K)
³¹    which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”^(L)

³³The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother:^(M) “This child is destined to cause the falling^(N) and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

³⁶There was also a prophet,^(O) Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.^[d]^(P) She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.^(Q) ³⁸Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.^(R)