| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. | 1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem." |
| 2"Utterly pointless," says the Teacher. "Absolutely pointless; everything is pointless." | 2Absolute futility," says the Teacher." Absolute futility. Everything is futile." |
| 3What does a man gain from all of the work that he undertakes on earth? | 3What does a man gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? |
| 4A generation goes, a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. | 4A generation goes and a generation comes, 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; panting, it returns to its place where it rises. |
| 6The wind blows southward, then northward, constantly circulating, and the wind comes back again in its courses. | 6Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles. |
| 7All the rivers flow toward the sea, but the sea is never full; then rivers return to the headwaters where they began. | 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. |
| 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; man is unable to speak. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled 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 is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; 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. | 10Can one say about anything," 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 of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them. |
| 12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. | 12I, the Teacher, have been 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. | 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. |
| 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 everything 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; 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, "Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped 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. | 17I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, 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 is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases. |
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