Beginning
The Futility of All Endeavor
1 The words of the (A)Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
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.
The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions
2 I said [u]to myself, “Come now, I will test you with (U)pleasure. So [v]enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 (V)I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my [w]mind how to (W)stimulate my body with wine while my [x]mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of (X)folly, until I could see (Y)what good there is for the sons of men [y]to do under heaven the few [z]years of their lives. 4 I enlarged my works: I (Z)built houses for myself, I planted (AA)vineyards for myself; 5 I made (AB)gardens and (AC)parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made (AD)ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and I had [aa](AE)homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and (AF)herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 Also, I collected for myself silver and (AG)gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself (AH)male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines.
9 Then I became (AI)great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 10 (AJ)All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my (AK)reward for all my labor. 11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had [ab]exerted, and behold all was [ac](AL)vanity and striving after wind and there was (AM)no profit under the sun.
Wisdom Excels Folly
12 So I turned to (AN)consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except (AO)what has already been done? 13 And I saw that (AP)wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. 14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the (AQ)fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that (AR)one fate befalls them both. 15 Then I said [ad]to myself, “(AS)As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. (AT)Why then have I been extremely wise?” So [ae]I said to myself, “This too is vanity.” 16 For there is (AU)no [af]lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And (AV)how the wise man and the fool alike die! 17 So I (AW)hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was [ag]grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.
The Futility of Labor
18 Thus I hated (AX)all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must (AY)leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or (AZ)a fool? Yet he will have [ah]control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is (BA)vanity. 20 Therefore I [ai]completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and (BB)skill, then he (BC)gives his [aj]legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what does a man get in (BD)all his labor and in [ak]his striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Because all his days his task is painful and (BE)grievous; even at night his [al]mind (BF)does not rest. This too is vanity.
24 There is (BG)nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and [am]tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is (BH)from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without [an]Him? 26 For to a person who is good in His sight (BI)He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may (BJ)give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is (BK)vanity and striving after wind.
A Time for Everything
3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a (BL)time for every [ao]event under heaven—
2 A time to give birth and a (BM)time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A (BN)time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to (BO)weep and a time to (BP)laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to (BQ)dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to (BR)be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to (BS)hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
9 (BT)What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the (BU)task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.
God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man
11 He has (BV)made everything [ap]appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, [aq]yet so that man (BW)will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
12 I know that there is (BX)nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the (BY)gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should [ar](BZ)fear Him. 15 That (CA)which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.
16 Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is (CB)wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. 17 I said [as]to myself, “(CC)God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a (CD)time for every [at]matter and for every deed is there. 18 I said [au]to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but (CE)beasts.” 19 (CF)For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts [av]is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is [aw]vanity. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the (CG)dust and all return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the (CH)breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? 22 I have seen that (CI)nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see (CJ)what will occur after him?
The Evils of Oppression
4 Then I looked again at all the acts of (CK)oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had (CL)no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. 2 So (CM)I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. 3 But (CN)better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
4 I have seen that every labor and every (CO)skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is [ax](CP)vanity and striving after wind. 5 The fool (CQ)folds his hands and (CR)consumes his own flesh. 6 One hand full of rest is (CS)better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.
7 Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. 8 There was a certain man without a [ay]dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, (CT)his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And (CU)for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a (CV)grievous task.
9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if [az]either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not [ba]another to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they [bb]keep warm, but (CW)how can one be warm alone? 12 And if [bc]one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
13 A (CX)poor yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive [bd]instruction. 14 For he has come (CY)out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15 I have seen all the living under the sun throng to the side of the second lad who [be]replaces him. 16 There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him, for this too is (CZ)vanity and striving after wind.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.