| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem." | 1The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: |
| 2Absolute futility," says the Teacher." Absolute futility. Everything is futile." | 2"Futile! Futile!" laments the Teacher, "Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!" |
| 3What does a man gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? | 3What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth? |
| 4A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. | 4A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages. |
| 5The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it returns to its place where it rises. | 5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again. |
| 6Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles. | 6The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns. |
| 7All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full. The streams are flowing to the place, and they flow there again. | 7All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again. |
| 8All things are wearisome; man is unable to speak. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing. | 8All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content 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. | 9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth. |
| 10Can one say about anything," Look, this is new"? It has already existed in the ages before us. | 10Is there anything about which someone can say, "Look at this! It is new!"? It was already done long ago, before our time. |
| 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. | 11No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations. |
| 12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
| 13I applied my mind to seek and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied. | 13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied. |
| 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 reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile--like chasing the wind! |
| 15What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. | 15What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied. |
| 16I said to myself, "Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge." | 16I thought to myself, "I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much 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. | 17So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind! |
| 18For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases. | 18For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache. |
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