Ecclesiastes 1
Legacy Standard Bible
All Is Vanity
1 The words of the [a](A)Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
3 (C)What advantage does man have in all his labor
In which he labors under the sun?
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
But the (D)earth stands forever.
5 Also, (E)the sun rises and the sun sets;
And [e]hastening to its place it rises there again.
6 (F)Going toward the south,
Then [f]circling toward the north,
The wind goes [g]circling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns.
7 All the rivers go into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers go,
There they [h]continually go.
8 All things are wearisome;
Man is not able to speak of 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 been for ages
Which were before us.
11 There is (I)no remembrance of [i]earlier things;
And also of the [j]later things which will be,
There will be for them no remembrance
Among those who will come [k]later still.
The Vanity of Wisdom
12 I, the (J)Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I (K)gave my heart to seek and (L)explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is [l]a grievous (M)endeavor which God has given to the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is [m](N)vanity and striving after wind. 15 What is (O)bent cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I spoke within my heart, saying, “Behold, I have magnified and increased (P)wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my heart has seen an abundance of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I (Q)gave my heart to know wisdom and to (R)know madness and simpleminded folly; I came to know that this also is (S)striving after wind. 18 Because (T)in much wisdom there is much vexation, and whoever increases knowledge increases pain.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or speaker of an assembly, leader of an assembly; or possibly the one who gathers an assembly; Heb Qoheleth
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Futility of futilities
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or Futility of futilities
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Or futile
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 Lit panting
- Ecclesiastes 1:6 Lit turning
- Ecclesiastes 1:6 Lit turning
- Ecclesiastes 1:7 Lit turn to go
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit first, former
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit latter, after
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit latter, after
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit an evil
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or futility
Ecclesiastes 1
New Living Translation
1 These are the words of the Teacher,[a] King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.
Everything Is Meaningless
2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
The Teacher Speaks: The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. 14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
15 What is wrong cannot be made right.
What is missing cannot be recovered.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” 17 So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.
18 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
Footnotes
- 1:1 Hebrew Qoheleth; this term is rendered “the Teacher” throughout this book.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
