Ecclesiastes 1-6

New International Version

Everything Is Meaningless

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

²“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”^(C)

³What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?^(D)
⁴Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.^(E)
⁵The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.^(F)
⁶The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
⁷All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.^(G)
⁸All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,^(H)
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.
⁹What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;^(I)
    there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.
¹¹No one remembers the former generations,^(J)
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.^(K)

Wisdom Is Meaningless

¹²I, the Teacher,^(L) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.^(M) ¹³I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.^(N) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!^(O) ¹⁴I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.^(P)

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be straightened;^(Q)
what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me;^(R) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,^(S) and also of madness and folly,^(T) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

¹⁸For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;^(U)
the more knowledge, the more grief.^(V)

Pleasures Are Meaningless

2 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure^(W) to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. ²“Laughter,”^(X) I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” ³I tried cheering myself with wine,^(Y) and embracing folly^(Z)—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

⁴I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself^(AA) and planted vineyards.^(AB) ⁵I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves^(AC) who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸I amassed silver and gold^(AD) for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.^(AE) I acquired male and female singers,^(AF) and a harem^[b] as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem^(AG) before me.^(AH) In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

¹⁰I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;^(AI)
    nothing was gained under the sun.^(AJ)

Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless

¹²Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
    and also madness and folly.^(AK)
What more can the king’s successor do
    than what has already been done?^(AL)
¹³I saw that wisdom^(AM) is better than folly,^(AN)
    just as light is better than darkness.
¹⁴The wise have eyes in their heads,
    while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
    that the same fate overtakes them both.^(AO)

¹⁵Then I said to myself,

“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
    What then do I gain by being wise?”^(AP)
I said to myself,
    “This too is meaningless.”
¹⁶For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;^(AQ)
    the days have already come when both have been forgotten.^(AR)
Like the fool, the wise too must die!^(AS)

Toil Is Meaningless

¹⁷So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.^(AT) ¹⁸I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.^(AU) ¹⁹And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish?^(AV) Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. ²⁰So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. ²¹For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. ²²What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?^(AW) ²³All their days their work is grief and pain;^(AX) even at night their minds do not rest.^(AY) This too is meaningless.

²⁴A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink^(AZ) and find satisfaction in their own toil.^(BA) This too, I see, is from the hand of God,^(BB) ²⁵for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?^(BC) ²⁶To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom,^(BD) knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth^(BE) to hand it over to the one who pleases God.^(BF) This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time^(BG) for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,^(BH)
³    a time to kill^(BI) and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent^(BJ) and a time to speak,
⁸    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹What do workers gain from their toil?^(BK) ¹⁰I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.^(BL) ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time.^(BM) He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet^[c] no one can fathom^(BN) what God has done from beginning to end.^(BO) ¹²I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³That each of them may eat and drink,^(BP) and find satisfaction^(BQ) in all their toil—this is the gift of God.^(BR) ¹⁴I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.^(BS)

¹⁵Whatever is has already been,^(BT)
and what will be has been before;^(BU)
and God will call the past to account.^[d]

¹⁶And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

¹⁷I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment^(BV)
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time to judge every deed.”^(BW)

¹⁸I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.^(BX) ¹⁹Surely the fate of human beings^(BY) is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath^[e]; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. ²⁰All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.^(BZ) ²¹Who knows if the human spirit rises upward^(CA) and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”

²²So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work,^(CB) because that is their lot.^(CC) For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness

4 Again I looked and saw all the oppression^(CD) that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
    and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
    and they have no comforter.^(CE)
²And I declared that the dead,^(CF)
    who had already died,
are happier than the living,
    who are still alive.^(CG)
³But better than both
    is the one who has never been born,^(CH)
who has not seen the evil
    that is done under the sun.^(CI)

⁴And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.^(CJ)

⁵Fools fold their hands^(CK)
    and ruin themselves.
⁶Better one handful with tranquillity
    than two handfuls with toil^(CL)
    and chasing after the wind.

⁷Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content^(CM) with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

⁹Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹²Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Advancement Is Meaningless

¹³Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. ¹⁴The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. ¹⁵I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. ¹⁶There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Fulfill Your Vow to God

5 ^[f]Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

²Do not be quick with your mouth,
    do not be hasty in your heart
    to utter anything before God.^(CN)
God is in heaven
    and you are on earth,
    so let your words be few.^(CO)
³A dream^(CP) comes when there are many cares,
    and many words mark the speech of a fool.^(CQ)

⁴When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it.^(CR) He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.^(CS) ⁵It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.^(CT) ⁶Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.^(CU)

Riches Are Meaningless

⁸If you see the poor oppressed^(CV) in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. ⁹The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.

¹⁰Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.

¹¹As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
except to feast their eyes on them?

¹²The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.^(CW)

¹³I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:^(CX)

wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
¹⁴    or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
    there is nothing left for them to inherit.
¹⁵Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
    and as everyone comes, so they depart.^(CY)
They take nothing from their toil^(CZ)
    that they can carry in their hands.^(DA)

¹⁶This too is a grievous evil:

As everyone comes, so they depart,
    and what do they gain,
    since they toil for the wind?^(DB)
¹⁷All their days they eat in darkness,
    with great frustration, affliction and anger.

¹⁸This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink^(DC) and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor^(DD) under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. ¹⁹Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions,^(DE) and the ability to enjoy them,^(DF) to accept their lot^(DG) and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.^(DH) ²⁰They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.^(DI)

6 I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: ²God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them,^(DJ) and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.^(DK)

³A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn^(DL) child is better off than he.^(DM) ⁴It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. ⁵Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man— ⁶even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?^(DN)

⁷Everyone’s toil is for their mouth,
    yet their appetite is never satisfied.^(DO)
⁸What advantage have the wise over fools?^(DP)
What do the poor gain
    by knowing how to conduct themselves before others?
⁹Better what the eye sees
    than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless,
    a chasing after the wind.^(DQ)

¹⁰Whatever exists has already been named,^(DR)
    and what humanity is has been known;
no one can contend
    with someone who is stronger.
¹¹The more the words,
    the less the meaning,
    and how does that profit anyone?

¹²For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days^(DS) they pass through like a shadow?^(DT) Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12
Ecclesiastes 2:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 Or also placed ignorance in the human heart, so that
Ecclesiastes 3:15 Or God calls back the past
Ecclesiastes 3:19 Or spirit
Ecclesiastes 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1 is numbered 4:17, and 5:2-20 is numbered 5:1-19.