International Standard Version | Berean Study Bible |
1The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 1These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: |
2"Utterly pointless," says the Teacher. "Absolutely pointless; everything is pointless." | 2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!” |
3What does a man gain from all of the work that he undertakes on earth? | 3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun? |
4A generation goes, a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. | 4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. |
5The sun rises, the sun sets, then rushes back to where it arose. | 5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises. |
6The wind blows southward, then northward, constantly circulating, and the wind comes back again in its courses. | 6The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course. |
7All the rivers flow toward the sea, but the sea is never full; then rivers return to the headwaters where they began. | 7All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow. |
8Everything is wearisome, more than man is able to express. The eye is never satisfied by seeing, nor the ear by hearing. | 8All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing. |
9Whatever has happened, will happen again; whatever has been done, will be done again. There is nothing new on earth. | 9What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. |
10Does anything exist about which someone might say, "Look at this! Is this new?" It happened ages ago; it existed before we did. | 10Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us. |
11No one remembers those in the past, nor will they be remembered by those who come after them. | 11There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after. |
12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
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. | 13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them! |
14I observed every activity done on earth. My conclusion: all of it is pointless—like chasing after the wind. | 14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind. |
15What is crooked cannot be made straight; what is not there cannot be counted. | 15What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. |
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." | 16I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” |
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. | 17So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind. |
18For with much wisdom there is much sorrow; the more someone adds to knowledge, the more someone adds to grief. | 18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | The Berean Bible (Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2018 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. |
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