| New King James Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem. |
| 2“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” | 2"Absolute futility," says the Teacher. "Absolute futility. Everything is futile." |
| 3What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? | 3What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? |
| 4One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. | 4A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. |
| 5The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. | 5The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it returns to the place where it rises. |
| 6The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. | 6Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles. |
| 7All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again. | 7All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. |
| 8All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. | 8All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing. |
| 9That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. | 9What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. |
| 10Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. | 10Can one say about anything, "Look, this is new"? It has already existed in the ages before us. |
| 11There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after. | 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. |
| 12I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
| 13And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. | 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. |
| 14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. | 14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind. |
| 15What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. | 15What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. |
| 16I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.” | 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." |
| 17And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. | 17I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind. |
| 18For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. | 18For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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