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Ecclesiastes 1
New American Standard Bible 1995

The Futility of All Endeavor

1 The words of the (A)Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 “[a](B)Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“[b]Vanity of vanities! All is [c]vanity.”

3 (C)What advantage does man have in all his work
Which he does under the sun?
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
But the (D)earth [d]remains forever.
5 Also, (E)the sun rises and the sun sets;
And [e]hastening to its place it rises there again.
6 [f](F)Blowing toward the south,
Then turning toward the north,
The wind continues [g]swirling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns.
7 All the rivers [h]flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers [i]flow,
There they [j]flow again.
8 All things are wearisome;
Man is not able to tell it.
(G)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
9 (H)That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one might say,
“See this, it is new”?
Already it has existed for ages
Which were before us.
11 There is (I)no remembrance of [k]earlier things;
And also of the [l]later things which will occur,
There will be for them no remembrance
Among those who will come [m]later still.

The Futility of Wisdom

12 I, the (J)Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I (K)set my [n]mind to seek and (L)explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is [o]a grievous (M)task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is [p](N)vanity and striving after wind. 15 What is (O)crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I [q]said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased (P)wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my [r]mind has observed [s]a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I (Q)set my [t]mind to know wisdom and to (R)know madness and folly; I realized that this also is (S)striving after wind. 18 Because (T)in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Futility of futilities
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Futility of futilities
  3. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or futile
  4. Ecclesiastes 1:4 Lit stands
  5. Ecclesiastes 1:5 Lit panting
  6. Ecclesiastes 1:6 Lit Going
  7. Ecclesiastes 1:6 Lit turning
  8. Ecclesiastes 1:7 Lit go
  9. Ecclesiastes 1:7 Lit go
  10. Ecclesiastes 1:7 Lit go
  11. Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit first or former
  12. Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit latter or after
  13. Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit latter or after
  14. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit heart
  15. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit an evil
  16. Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or futility
  17. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit spoke with my heart, saying
  18. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit heart
  19. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit an abundance
  20. Ecclesiastes 1:17 Lit heart
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Ecclesiastes 1
Lexham English Bible

Prologue

1 The words of the Teacher,[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Motto Introduced

2 “Vanity of vanities!” says the Teacher,[b]
    “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!”

All Toil is Profitless and Repetitious

3 What does a person gain in all his toil
    with which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
    but the earth stands forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down;
    to its place it hurries,[c] and there it rises again.
6 The wind goes to the south and goes around to the north;
    around and around it goes, and on its circuit the wind returns.
7 All the streams flow to the sea,
    but the sea is never full;
to the place where the streams flow,
    there they continue to flow.
8 All things toil continuously;[d]
    no one can ever finish describing this.[e]
The eye is never[f] satisfied with seeing,
    and the ear is never[g] filled with hearing.
9 What has been—it is what will be;
    what has been done—it is what will be done;
        there is nothing new under the sun.
10 There is a thing of which it is said, “Look at this! This is new!”
    But it already existed in ages past before us.
11 There is neither remembrance of former generations,
    nor will there be remembrance of future generations.

Qohelet Introduces His Quest

12 I, the Teacher,[h] was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to seek and to search by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.[i] It is a grievous task God has given to humans.[j] 14 I saw all the works that are done under the sun. Look! Everything is vanity and chasing wind.

15 What is twisted cannot be straightened,[k]
    and what is lacking cannot be counted.[l]

16 I said to myself,[m] “Look! I have become great and have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has preceded[n] me over Jerusalem. I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”[o] 17 So I dedicated myself[p] to learn about wisdom and to learn about delusion and folly. However, I discovered[q] that this also is chasing wind.

18 For in much wisdom is much frustration,[r]
    and whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:1 Hebrew “Qohelet”
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Hebrew “Qohelet”
  3. Ecclesiastes 1:5 The MT reads “it gasps for breath,” which is supported by LXX “to draw breath”; the BHS editors suggest “it returns again”
  4. Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “are wearisome”
  5. Ecclesiastes 1:8 The MT reads “no one is able to speak.” The BHS editors suggest “no one can finish speaking.” On the basis of internal evidence, the latter is adopted in the translation, since it makes better sense in the light of the immediate context
  6. Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “not”
  7. Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “not”
  8. Ecclesiastes 1:12 Hebrew “Qohelet”
  9. Ecclesiastes 1:13 MT reads “under the heavens,” which is supported by LXX; however, several versions (Syriac Peshitta, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate) as well as the Cairo Geniza manuscript read, “under the sun,” cf. 1:3, 9, etc.
  10. Ecclesiastes 1:13 Literally “the sons of the man”
  11. Ecclesiastes 1:15 The MT reads the active “to be straight”; however, the BHS editors suggest the passive “to be straightened,” which is supported by LXX, which reflects a passive form
  12. Ecclesiastes 1:15 The MT reads “to be numbered”; however, the BHS editors suggest “to be supplied,” comparing 1:15b with similar wording in the Babylonian Talmud: “May the Almighty replenish your loss” (b. Berachot 16b)
  13. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally “I myself said to my heart”
  14. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally “before me”
  15. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Literally “And my mind has seen much wisdom and knowledge”
  16. Ecclesiastes 1:17 Literally “So I gave my heart”
  17. Ecclesiastes 1:17 Or “I knew”
  18. Ecclesiastes 1:18 Or “vexation”
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Proverbs 31
Ecclesiastes 2
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New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

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