Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

English Standard Version

All Is Vanity

1 The words of ^(A)the Preacher,^[a] the son of David, ^(B)king in Jerusalem.

²^(C)Vanity^[b] of vanities, says ^(D)the Preacher,
    ^(E)vanity of vanities! ^(F)All is vanity.
³^(G)What ^(H)does man gain by all the toil
    at which he toils under the sun?
⁴A generation goes, and a generation comes,
    but ^(I)the earth remains forever.
⁵^(J)The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
    and hastens^[c] to the place where it rises.
⁶^(K)The wind blows to the south
    and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
    and on its circuits the wind returns.
⁷All ^(L)streams run to the sea,
    but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
    there they flow again.
⁸All things are full of weariness;
    a man cannot utter it;
^(M)the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
    nor the ear filled with hearing.
⁹^(N)What has been is what will be,
    and what has been done is what will be done,
    and there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰Is there a thing of which it is said,
    “See, this is new”?
It has been ^(O)already
    in the ages before us.
¹¹There is no ^(P)remembrance of former things,^[d]
    nor will there be any remembrance
of later things^[e] yet to be
    among those who come after.

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Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or Convener, or Collector; Hebrew Qoheleth (so throughout Ecclesiastes)
Ecclesiastes 1:2 The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context). It appears five times in this verse and in 29 other verses in Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 1:5 Or and returns panting
Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or former people
Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or later people

Ecclesiastes 3:1-17

English Standard Version

A Time for Everything

3 For everything there is a season, and ^(A)a time for every matter under heaven:

²a time to be born, and a time to ^(B)die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴a time to ^(C)weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to ^(D)dance;
⁵a time to ^(E)cast away stones, and a time to ^(F)gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to ^(G)refrain from embracing;
⁶a time to seek, and a time to ^(H)lose;
a time to keep, and a time to ^(I)cast away;
⁷a time to ^(J)tear, and a time to sew;
a time to ^(K)keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸a time to love, and a time to ^(L)hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

The God-Given Task

⁹What ^(M)gain has the worker from his toil? ¹⁰I have seen ^(N)the business that ^(O)God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹¹He has ^(P)made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot ^(Q)find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹²I perceived that there is ^(R)nothing better for them than to be joyful and to ^(S)do good as long as they live; ¹³also ^(T)that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is ^(U)God's gift to man.

¹⁴I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; ^(V)nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. ¹⁵That which is, ^(W)already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God ^(X)seeks what has been driven away.^[a]

From Dust to Dust

¹⁶Moreover, ^(Y)I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even ^(Z)there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. ¹⁷I said in my heart, ^(AA)God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is ^(AB)a time for every matter and for every work.