 |  | Ecclesiastes 1 |  |  |
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The Futility of All Endeavor | ||||
 NASB | KJV | GWT | WEB | DBY |
| 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 1 The words of the spokesman, the son of David and the king in Jerusalem. | 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: | 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 2 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." | 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. | 2 "Absolutely pointless!" says the spokesman. "Absolutely pointless! Everything is pointless." | 2 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." | 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities! all is vanity. | 3 What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun? | 3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? | 3 What do people gain from all their hard work under the sun? | 3 What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun? | 3 What profit hath man of all his labour wherewith he laboureth under the sun? | 4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever. | 4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. | 4 Generations come, and generations go, but the earth lasts forever. | 4 One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever. | 4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the earth standeth for ever. | 5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again. | 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. | 5 The sun rises, and the sun sets, and then it rushes back to the place where it will rise [again]. | 5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to its place where it rises. | 5 The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth. | NASB | KJV | GWT | WEB | DBY |
| 6 Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. | 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. | 6 The wind blows toward the south and shifts toward the north. Round and round it blows. It blows in a full circle. | 6 The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses. | 6 The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about towards the north: it turneth about continually, and the wind returneth again to its circuits. | 7 All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again. | 7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. | 7 All streams flow into the sea, but the sea is never full. The water goes back to the place where the streams began in order to [start] flowing again. | 7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again. | 7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full: unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again. | 8 All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. | 8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. | 8 All of these sayings are worn-out phrases. They are more than anyone can express, comprehend, or understand. | 8 All things are full of weariness beyond uttering. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. | 8 All things are full of toil; none can express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. | 9 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. | 9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. | 9 Whatever has happened before will happen [again]. Whatever has been done before will be done [again]. There is nothing new under the sun. | 9 That which has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. | 9 That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which will be done: and 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. | 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. | 10 Can you say that anything is new? It has already been here long before us. | 10 Is there a thing of which it may be said, "Behold, this is new?" It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us. | 10 Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already in the ages which were before us. | NASB | KJV | GWT | WEB | DBY |
| 11 There 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. | 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. | 11 Nothing from the past is remembered. Even in the future, nothing will be remembered by those who come after us. | 11 There is no memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after. | 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be remembrance of things that are to come with those who shall live afterwards. | The Futility of Wisdom |
| 12 I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12 I, the spokesman, have been king of Israel in Jerusalem. | 12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 13 And 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. | 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. | 13 With all my heart I used wisdom to study and explore everything done under heaven. Mortals are weighed down with a terrible burden that God has placed on them. | 13 I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. | 13 And I applied my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: this grievous occupation hath God given to the children of men to weary themselves therewith. | 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. | 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. | 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun. Look at it! It's all pointless. [It's like] trying to catch the wind. | 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. | 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and pursuit of the wind. | 15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. | 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. | 15 No one can straighten what is bent. No one can count what is not there. | 15 That which is crooked can't be made straight; and that which is lacking can't be counted. | 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. | NASB | KJV | GWT | WEB | DBY |
| 16 I 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." | 16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. | 16 I thought to myself, "I have grown wiser than anyone who [has ruled] Jerusalem before me. I've had a lot of experience with wisdom and knowledge." | 16 I said to myself, "Behold, I have obtained for myself great wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem. Yes, my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge." | 16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have become great and have acquired wisdom more than all they that have been before me over Jerusalem; and my heart hath seen much of wisdom and knowledge. | 17 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. | 17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. | 17 I've used my mind to understand wisdom and knowledge as well as madness and stupidity. [Now] I know that this is [like] trying to catch the wind. | 17 I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also was a chasing after wind. | 17 And I applied my heart to the knowledge of wisdom, and to the knowledge of madness and folly: I perceived that this also is a striving after the wind. | 18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain. | 18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. | 18 With a lot of wisdom [comes] a lot of heartache. The greater [your] knowledge, the greater [your] pain. | 18 For in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. | 18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. |
<< Ecclesiastes 1 >> 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 http://www.lockman.org. GOD'S WORD is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. The World English Bible is a 1997 revision of the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible, first published in 1901. It is in the Public Domain. Please feel free to copy and distribute it freely. Thank you to Michael Paul Johnson for making this work available. For the latest information, to report corrections, or for other correspondence, visit www.ebible.org. | ||||