Ecclesiastes 1-2
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?
4 A 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.
7 All (L)streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All 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.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been (O)already
in the ages before us.
11 There 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.
The Vanity of Wisdom
12 I (Q)the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I (R)applied my heart[f] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy (S)business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is (T)vanity[g] and a striving after wind.[h]
15 (U)What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great (V)wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I (W)applied my heart to know wisdom and to know (X)madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but (Y)a striving after wind.
18 For (Z)in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
The Vanity of Self-Indulgence
2 I (AA)said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.[i] 2 I (AB)said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3 I (AC)searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on (AD)folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. 4 I made great works. I (AE)built houses and planted (AF)vineyards for myself. 5 I made myself (AG)gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had (AH)slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of (AI)herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and (AJ)gold and the treasure of (AK)kings and (AL)provinces. I got (AM)singers, both men and women, and many (AN)concubines,[j] the delight of the sons of man.
9 So I became great and (AO)surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my (AP)wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart (AQ)found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my (AR)reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was (AS)vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing (AT)to be gained under the sun.
The Vanity of Living Wisely
12 (AU)So I turned to consider (AV)wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only (AW)what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 (AX)The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the (AY)same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, (AZ)“What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is (BA)no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. (BB)How the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for (BC)all is vanity and a striving after wind.
The Vanity of Toil
18 I hated (BD)all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must (BE)leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I (BF)turned about and gave my heart up to despair (BG)over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from (BH)all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For (BI)all his days are full of sorrow, and his (BJ)work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
24 (BK)There is nothing better for a person than that he should (BL)eat and drink and find enjoyment[k] in his toil. This also, I saw, is (BM)from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him[l] who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him (BN)God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given (BO)the business of gathering and collecting, (BP)only to give to one who pleases God. (BQ)This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
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 1:13 The Hebrew term denotes the center of one's inner life, including mind, will, and emotions
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or a feeding on wind; compare Hosea 12:1 (also in Ecclesiastes 1:17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9)
- Ecclesiastes 2:1 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verses 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 26 (see note on 1:2)
- Ecclesiastes 2:8 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Ecclesiastes 2:24 Or and make his soul see good
- Ecclesiastes 2:25 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts apart from me
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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