| Christian Standard Bible | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. |
| 2"Absolute futility," says the Teacher. "Absolute futility. Everything is futile." | 2"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." |
| 3What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? | 3What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun? |
| 4A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. | 4A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever. |
| 5The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it returns to the place where it rises. | 5Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again. |
| 6Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles. | 6Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. |
| 7All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. | 7All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again. |
| 8All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing. | 8All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. |
| 9What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. | 9That 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. |
| 10Can one say about anything, "Look, this is new"? It has already existed in the ages before us. | 10Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new "? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. |
| 11There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them. | 11There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still. |
| 12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
| 13I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied. | 13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. |
| 14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind. | 14I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. |
| 15What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. | 15What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. |
| 16I said to myself, "See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge." | 16I said to myself, "Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge." |
| 17I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind. | 17And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. |
| 18For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases. | 18Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain. |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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