Ecclesiastes 1 CSB ISV Parallel

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◄ Ecclesiastes 1 ►

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1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

1The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2"Absolute futility," says the Teacher. "Absolute futility. Everything is futile."

2"Utterly pointless," says the Teacher. "Absolutely pointless; everything is pointless."

3What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

3What does a man gain from all of the work that he undertakes on earth?

4A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

4A generation goes, a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

5The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it returns to the place where it rises.

5The sun rises, the sun sets, then rushes back to where it arose.

6Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles.

6The wind blows southward, then northward, constantly circulating, and the wind comes back again in its courses.

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 toward the sea, but the sea is never full; then rivers return to the headwaters where they began.

8All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.

8Everything is wearisome, more than man is able to express. The eye is never satisfied by seeing, nor the ear by 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.

9Whatever has happened, will happen again; whatever has been done, will be done again. There is nothing new on earth.

10Can one say about anything, "Look, this is new"? It has already existed in the ages before us.

10Does anything exist about which someone might say, "Look at this! Is this new?" It happened ages ago; it existed before we did.

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 those in the past, nor will they be remembered by those who come after them.

12I, the Teacher, 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.

13I dedicated myself to using wisdom for study and discovery of everything that is done under heaven. God uses terrible things so human beings will struggle with life.

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 observed every activity done on earth. My conclusion: all of it is pointless—like chasing after the wind.

15What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

15What is crooked cannot be made straight; what is not there 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 told myself, "I have become greater and wiser than anyone who ruled before me in Jerusalem—yes, I have acquired a great deal 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.

17So I dedicated myself to learn about wisdom and knowledge, and about insanity and foolishness. And I discovered that this is also like chasing after the wind.

18For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.

18For with much wisdom there is much sorrow; the more someone adds to knowledge, the more someone adds to grief.

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