Ecclesiastes 1:12-18
New American Standard Bible
The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the (A)Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I (B)set my [a]mind to seek and (C)explore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a [b](D)sorry task with which God has given the sons of mankind to be troubled. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is (E)futility and striving after wind. 15 What is (F)crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I [c]said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased (G)wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my [d]mind has observed [e]a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I (H)applied my [f]mind to know wisdom and to (I)know insanity and foolishness; I realized that this also is (J)striving after wind. 18 Because (K)in much wisdom there is much grief; and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 Lit evil
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit spoke with my heart, saying
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit heart
- Ecclesiastes 1:16 Lit an abundance
- Ecclesiastes 1:17 Lit heart
Ecclesiastes 1:12-18
New Living Translation
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.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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.
